GS-12 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $76,463 – $99,404 • With locality: up to $145,468

54 locality areas • 10 steps • 18 years to top step

GS-12 Qualifications

Education: Experience only (no education substitution)

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-11

At GS-12 and above, there is no education substitution. All candidates — degreed or not — must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level.

GS-12 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $76,463 $2,941 $36.64 -
Step 2 $79,012 $3,039 $37.86 1 year
Step 3 $81,561 $3,137 $39.08 1 year
Step 4 $84,110 $3,235 $40.30 2 years
Step 5 $86,659 $3,333 $41.52 2 years
Step 6 $89,208 $3,431 $42.74 2 years
Step 7 $91,757 $3,529 $43.97 3 years
Step 8 $94,306 $3,627 $45.19 3 years
Step 9 $96,855 $3,725 $46.41 3 years
Step 10 $99,404 $3,823 $47.63 3 years

GS-12 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-12 Step 1 and Step 10 salaries for each of the 54 federal pay areas. Click any locality to see the full 10-step breakdown.

Locality Area Adjustment Step 1 Step 5 Step 10
Alaska +29.78% $99,234 $112,466 $129,007 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $91,779 $104,017 $119,315 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $90,349 $102,396 $117,456 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $94,577 $107,189 $122,953 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $93,010 $105,412 $120,915 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $90,479 $102,544 $117,625 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $99,914 $113,237 $129,891 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $92,199 $104,493 $119,861 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $91,266 $103,436 $118,649 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $91,312 $103,488 $118,708 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $99,509 $112,778 $129,364 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $92,933 $105,325 $120,816 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $92,895 $105,282 $120,766 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $91,549 $103,757 $119,016 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $93,132 $105,551 $121,074 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $90,180 $102,206 $117,237 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $95,900 $108,688 $124,672 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $90,280 $102,318 $117,366 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $92,130 $104,415 $119,772 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $98,660 $111,816 $128,261 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $91,083 $103,228 $118,410 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $97,276 $110,248 $126,462 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $91,083 $103,228 $118,410 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $98,484 $111,617 $128,032 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $93,078 $105,490 $121,004 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $102,575 $116,253 $133,350 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $93,698 $106,192 $121,810 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $91,534 $103,739 $118,997 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $91,496 $103,696 $118,947 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $92,039 $104,311 $119,653 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $91,679 $103,904 $119,185 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $102,934 $116,660 $133,818 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $95,533 $108,272 $124,195 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $93,354 $105,802 $121,362 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $95,242 $107,942 $123,818 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $106,069 $120,213 $137,893 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $90,280 $102,318 $117,366 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $90,647 $102,734 $117,843 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $96,642 $109,528 $125,637 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $92,719 $105,083 $120,537 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $91,916 $104,173 $119,494 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $95,189 $107,882 $123,748 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $93,415 $105,871 $121,442 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $89,508 $101,443 $116,362 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $92,528 $104,866 $120,289 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $97,842 $110,889 $127,197 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $92,428 $104,753 $120,160 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $99,884 $113,203 $129,851 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $111,896 $126,817 $145,468 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $99,050 $112,258 $128,768 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $91,327 $103,506 $118,728 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $90,723 $102,821 $117,943 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $93,308 $105,750 $121,303 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $102,415 $116,071 $133,142 Full Table →

Other GS Pay Grades

GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 GS-5 GS-6 GS-7 GS-8 GS-9 GS-10 GS-11 GS-12 GS-13 GS-14 GS-15

About GS-12 Federal Positions

GS-12 is a senior-level position in the federal government representing experienced professionals, managers, and subject matter experts. At this grade, all candidates must demonstrate one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level — no education substitution is available. GS-12 employees often lead teams, manage programs, or serve as technical authorities in their fields.

In 2026, GS-12 base salary ranges from $76,463 (Step 1) to $99,404 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-12 Step 10 can earn up to $145,468 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $89,508 to $116,362.