GS-13 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $90,937 – $118,216 • With locality: up to $172,997

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

GS-13 Qualifications

Education: Experience only

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-12

At GS-13 and above, there is no education substitution. All candidates — degreed or not — must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 level.

GS-13 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $90,937 $3,498 $43.57 -
Step 2 $93,968 $3,614 $45.03 1 year
Step 3 $96,999 $3,731 $46.48 1 year
Step 4 $100,030 $3,847 $47.93 2 years
Step 5 $103,061 $3,964 $49.38 2 years
Step 6 $106,092 $4,080 $50.83 2 years
Step 7 $109,123 $4,197 $52.29 3 years
Step 8 $112,154 $4,314 $53.74 3 years
Step 9 $115,185 $4,430 $55.19 3 years
Step 10 $118,216 $4,547 $56.64 3 years

GS-13 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-13 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% $118,018 $133,753 $153,421 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $109,152 $123,704 $141,895 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $107,451 $121,777 $139,684 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $112,480 $127,476 $146,221 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $110,616 $125,363 $143,798 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $107,606 $121,952 $139,885 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $118,827 $134,670 $154,473 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $109,652 $124,271 $142,545 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $108,542 $123,014 $141,103 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $108,597 $123,075 $141,174 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $118,345 $134,124 $153,846 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $110,525 $125,260 $143,680 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $110,479 $125,209 $143,621 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $108,879 $123,395 $141,540 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $110,761 $125,528 $143,987 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $107,251 $121,550 $139,424 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $114,053 $129,259 $148,267 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $107,369 $121,684 $139,578 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $109,570 $124,178 $142,438 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $117,336 $132,980 $152,534 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $108,324 $122,766 $140,819 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $115,690 $131,114 $150,394 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $108,324 $122,766 $140,819 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $117,127 $132,743 $152,262 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $110,698 $125,456 $143,904 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $121,992 $138,256 $158,587 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $111,434 $126,291 $144,862 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $108,861 $123,374 $141,516 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $108,815 $123,323 $141,457 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $109,461 $124,055 $142,297 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $109,033 $123,570 $141,741 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $122,419 $138,741 $159,142 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $113,617 $128,764 $147,699 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $111,025 $125,827 $144,330 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $113,271 $128,373 $147,250 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $126,148 $142,966 $163,989 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $107,369 $121,684 $139,578 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $107,806 $122,179 $140,145 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $114,935 $130,259 $149,413 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $110,270 $124,972 $143,349 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $109,315 $123,890 $142,107 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $113,207 $128,301 $147,167 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $111,098 $125,910 $144,424 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $106,451 $120,643 $138,384 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $110,043 $124,714 $143,053 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $116,363 $131,877 $151,269 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $109,925 $124,580 $142,900 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $118,791 $134,629 $154,426 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $133,077 $150,819 $172,997 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $117,800 $133,505 $153,137 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $108,615 $123,096 $141,197 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $107,897 $122,282 $140,263 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $110,970 $125,765 $144,259 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $121,801 $138,040 $158,339 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-13 Federal Positions

GS-13 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-12 level — no education substitution is available. GS-13 employees often lead teams, manage programs, or serve as technical authorities in their fields.

In 2026, GS-13 base salary ranges from $90,937 (Step 1) to $118,216 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-13 Step 10 can earn up to $172,997 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $106,451 to $138,384.