GS-2 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $25,393 – $31,953 • With locality: up to $46,760

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

GS-2 Qualifications

Education: High school diploma or GED

Experience: 3 months general experience

GS-2 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $25,393 $977 $12.17 -
Step 2 $25,997 $1,000 $12.46 1 year
Step 3 $26,839 $1,032 $12.86 1 year
Step 4 $27,550 $1,060 $13.20 2 years
Step 5 $27,858 $1,071 $13.35 2 years
Step 6 $28,677 $1,103 $13.74 2 years
Step 7 $29,496 $1,134 $14.13 3 years
Step 8 $30,315 $1,166 $14.53 3 years
Step 9 $31,134 $1,197 $14.92 3 years
Step 10 $31,953 $1,229 $15.31 3 years

GS-2 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-2 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% $32,955 $36,154 $41,469 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $30,479 $33,438 $38,353 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $30,004 $32,917 $37,756 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $31,409 $34,458 $39,523 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $30,888 $33,886 $38,868 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $30,048 $32,964 $37,810 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $33,181 $36,402 $41,753 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $30,619 $33,591 $38,529 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $30,309 $33,251 $38,139 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $30,324 $33,268 $38,158 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $33,046 $36,254 $41,584 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $30,863 $33,859 $38,836 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $30,850 $33,845 $38,820 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $30,403 $33,354 $38,257 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $30,929 $33,931 $38,919 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $29,949 $32,856 $37,685 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $31,848 $34,940 $40,075 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $29,982 $32,892 $37,727 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $30,596 $33,566 $38,500 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $32,765 $35,945 $41,229 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $30,248 $33,184 $38,062 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $32,305 $35,441 $40,651 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $30,248 $33,184 $38,062 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $32,706 $35,881 $41,155 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $30,911 $33,912 $38,896 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $34,065 $37,372 $42,865 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $31,117 $34,137 $39,155 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $30,398 $33,349 $38,251 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $30,385 $33,335 $38,235 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $30,566 $33,533 $38,462 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $30,446 $33,402 $38,312 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $34,184 $37,502 $43,015 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $31,726 $34,806 $39,922 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $31,002 $34,012 $39,011 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $31,630 $34,700 $39,801 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $35,225 $38,645 $44,325 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $29,982 $32,892 $37,727 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $30,103 $33,026 $37,880 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $32,094 $35,210 $40,385 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $30,792 $33,781 $38,746 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $30,525 $33,488 $38,411 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $31,612 $34,680 $39,778 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $31,023 $34,034 $39,037 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $29,725 $32,611 $37,404 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $30,728 $33,711 $38,666 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $32,493 $35,647 $40,887 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $30,695 $33,675 $38,625 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $33,171 $36,391 $41,740 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $37,160 $40,767 $46,760 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $32,894 $36,087 $41,392 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $30,329 $33,274 $38,165 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $30,129 $33,054 $37,912 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $30,987 $33,995 $38,992 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $34,011 $37,313 $42,798 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-2 Federal Positions

GS-2 positions are entry-level federal roles typically requiring a high school diploma or equivalent. These positions include clerical, administrative support, and technical assistant roles across federal agencies. Many GS-2 positions serve as starting points for federal careers, with promotion potential to higher grades through the career ladder system.

In 2026, GS-2 base salary ranges from $25,393 (Step 1) to $31,953 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-2 Step 10 can earn up to $46,760 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $29,725 to $37,404.