GS-3 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $27,708 – $36,024 • With locality: up to $52,718

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

GS-3 Qualifications

Education: 1 year above high school

Experience: 6 months general experience

GS-3 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $27,708 $1,066 $13.28 -
Step 2 $28,632 $1,101 $13.72 1 year
Step 3 $29,556 $1,137 $14.16 1 year
Step 4 $30,480 $1,172 $14.60 2 years
Step 5 $31,404 $1,208 $15.05 2 years
Step 6 $32,328 $1,243 $15.49 2 years
Step 7 $33,252 $1,279 $15.93 3 years
Step 8 $34,176 $1,314 $16.38 3 years
Step 9 $35,100 $1,350 $16.82 3 years
Step 10 $36,024 $1,386 $17.26 3 years

GS-3 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-3 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% $35,959 $40,756 $46,752 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $33,258 $37,694 $43,240 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $32,740 $37,107 $42,566 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $34,272 $38,844 $44,558 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $33,704 $38,200 $43,820 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $32,787 $37,160 $42,627 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $36,206 $41,036 $47,073 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $33,410 $37,867 $43,438 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $33,072 $37,484 $42,998 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $33,089 $37,503 $43,020 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $36,059 $40,869 $46,882 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $33,676 $38,168 $43,784 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $33,662 $38,153 $43,766 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $33,175 $37,600 $43,132 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $33,748 $38,250 $43,877 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $32,679 $37,038 $42,487 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $34,751 $39,387 $45,181 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $32,715 $37,079 $42,534 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $33,385 $37,839 $43,405 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $35,752 $40,521 $46,482 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $33,006 $37,408 $42,912 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $35,250 $39,952 $45,830 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $33,006 $37,408 $42,912 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $35,688 $40,448 $46,399 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $33,729 $38,228 $43,852 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $37,170 $42,128 $48,326 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $33,953 $38,482 $44,144 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $33,169 $37,594 $43,124 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $33,155 $37,578 $43,106 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $33,352 $37,801 $43,362 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $33,222 $37,653 $43,193 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $37,301 $42,276 $48,496 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $34,618 $39,236 $45,008 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $33,829 $38,341 $43,982 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $34,513 $39,117 $44,871 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $38,437 $43,564 $49,972 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $32,715 $37,079 $42,534 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $32,848 $37,229 $42,706 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $35,020 $39,692 $45,531 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $33,599 $38,080 $43,683 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $33,308 $37,751 $43,304 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $34,494 $39,095 $44,846 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $33,851 $38,366 $44,011 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $32,435 $36,762 $42,170 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $33,529 $38,002 $43,593 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $35,455 $40,185 $46,096 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $33,493 $37,961 $43,546 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $36,195 $41,023 $47,058 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $40,548 $45,957 $52,718 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $35,893 $40,681 $46,665 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $33,094 $37,509 $43,027 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $32,876 $37,261 $42,742 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $33,812 $38,322 $43,960 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $37,112 $42,063 $48,251 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-3 Federal Positions

GS-3 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-3 positions serve as starting points for federal careers, with promotion potential to higher grades through the career ladder system.

In 2026, GS-3 base salary ranges from $27,708 (Step 1) to $36,024 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-3 Step 10 can earn up to $52,718 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $32,435 to $42,170.