GS-15 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $126,390 – $164,307 • With locality: up to $197,200

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

GS-15 Qualifications

Education: Experience only

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-14

At GS-15 and above, there is no education substitution. All candidates — degreed or not — must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-14 level.

GS-15 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $126,390 $4,861 $60.56 -
Step 2 $130,603 $5,023 $62.58 1 year
Step 3 $134,816 $5,185 $64.60 1 year
Step 4 $139,029 $5,347 $66.62 2 years
Step 5 $143,242 $5,509 $68.64 2 years
Step 6 $147,455 $5,671 $70.65 2 years
Step 7 $151,668 $5,833 $72.67 3 years
Step 8 $155,881 $5,995 $74.69 3 years
Step 9 $160,094 $6,157 $76.71 3 years
Step 10 $164,307 $6,320 $78.73 3 years

GS-15 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-15 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% $164,029 $185,899 $197,200* Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $151,706 $171,933 $197,200* Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $149,342 $169,255 $194,145 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $156,332 $177,176 $197,200* Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $153,741 $174,240 $197,200* Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $149,557 $169,498 $194,424 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $165,154 $187,174 $197,200* Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $152,401 $172,721 $197,200* Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $150,859 $170,974 $196,117 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $150,935 $171,060 $196,215 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $164,484 $186,415 $197,200* Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $153,614 $174,096 $197,200* Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $153,551 $174,025 $197,200* Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $151,327 $171,504 $196,725 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $153,943 $174,469 $197,200* Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $149,064 $168,940 $193,784 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $158,518 $179,654 $197,200* Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $149,229 $169,126 $193,997 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $152,287 $172,592 $197,200* Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $163,081 $184,825 $197,200* Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $150,556 $170,630 $195,722 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $160,793 $182,232 $197,200* Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $150,556 $170,630 $195,722 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $162,790 $184,496 $197,200* Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $153,855 $174,368 $197,200* Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $169,552 $192,159 $197,200* Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $154,878 $175,529 $197,200* Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $151,301 $171,475 $196,692 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $151,238 $171,403 $196,610 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $152,136 $172,420 $197,200* Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $151,542 $171,747 $197,004 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $170,146 $192,832 $197,200* Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $157,912 $178,967 $197,200* Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $154,310 $174,884 $197,200* Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $157,431 $178,422 $197,200* Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $175,328 $197,200 $197,200* Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $149,229 $169,126 $193,997 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $149,835 $169,813 $194,786 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $159,744 $181,044 $197,200* Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $153,261 $173,695 $197,200* Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $151,933 $172,191 $197,200* Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $157,343 $178,322 $197,200* Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $154,411 $174,999 $197,200* Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $147,952 $167,679 $192,338 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $152,945 $173,337 $197,200* Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $161,729 $183,292 $197,200* Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $152,780 $173,151 $197,200* Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $165,103 $187,117 $197,200* Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $184,959 $197,200 $197,200* Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $163,726 $185,556 $197,200* Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $150,960 $171,088 $196,248 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $149,962 $169,957 $194,950 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $154,234 $174,798 $197,200* Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $169,287 $191,858 $197,200* Full Table →

* Salary capped at Executive Schedule Level IV ($197,200)

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-15 Federal Positions

GS-15 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-14 level — no education substitution is available. GS-15 employees often lead teams, manage programs, or serve as technical authorities in their fields.

In 2026, GS-15 base salary ranges from $126,390 (Step 1) to $164,307 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-15 Step 10 can earn up to $197,200 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $147,952 to $192,338.