GS-4 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $31,103 – $40,436 • With locality: up to $59,174

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

GS-4 Qualifications

Education: 2 years above high school

Experience: 1 year general experience

GS-4 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $31,103 $1,196 $14.90 -
Step 2 $32,140 $1,236 $15.40 1 year
Step 3 $33,177 $1,276 $15.90 1 year
Step 4 $34,214 $1,316 $16.39 2 years
Step 5 $35,251 $1,356 $16.89 2 years
Step 6 $36,288 $1,396 $17.39 2 years
Step 7 $37,325 $1,436 $17.88 3 years
Step 8 $38,362 $1,475 $18.38 3 years
Step 9 $39,399 $1,515 $18.88 3 years
Step 10 $40,436 $1,555 $19.38 3 years

GS-4 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-4 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% $40,365 $45,749 $52,478 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $37,333 $42,312 $48,535 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $36,751 $41,653 $47,779 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $38,471 $43,602 $50,015 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $37,834 $42,879 $49,186 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $36,804 $41,713 $47,848 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $40,642 $46,062 $52,838 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $37,504 $42,506 $48,758 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $37,125 $42,076 $48,264 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $37,143 $42,097 $48,289 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $40,477 $45,876 $52,623 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $37,803 $42,844 $49,146 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $37,787 $42,826 $49,126 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $37,240 $42,206 $48,414 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $37,883 $42,936 $49,251 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $36,683 $41,575 $47,690 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $39,009 $44,212 $50,715 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $36,723 $41,621 $47,743 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $37,476 $42,474 $48,721 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $40,132 $45,484 $52,175 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $37,050 $41,991 $48,167 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $39,569 $44,846 $51,443 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $37,050 $41,991 $48,167 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $40,061 $45,403 $52,082 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $37,862 $42,911 $49,223 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $41,725 $47,289 $54,245 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $38,114 $43,197 $49,550 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $37,233 $42,199 $48,406 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $37,218 $42,181 $48,386 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $37,439 $42,432 $48,673 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $37,292 $42,266 $48,483 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $41,871 $47,455 $54,435 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $38,860 $44,043 $50,521 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $37,974 $43,038 $49,368 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $38,742 $43,909 $50,367 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $43,146 $48,900 $56,093 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $36,723 $41,621 $47,743 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $36,873 $41,790 $47,937 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $39,311 $44,554 $51,107 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $37,715 $42,745 $49,033 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $37,389 $42,375 $48,608 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $38,720 $43,884 $50,339 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $37,999 $43,066 $49,401 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $36,409 $41,265 $47,334 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $37,638 $42,657 $48,932 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $39,799 $45,107 $51,742 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $37,597 $42,611 $48,879 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $40,630 $46,048 $52,822 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $45,516 $51,586 $59,174 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $40,291 $45,664 $52,381 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $37,149 $42,104 $48,297 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $36,904 $41,825 $47,977 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $37,955 $43,017 $49,344 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $41,659 $47,215 $54,160 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-4 Federal Positions

GS-4 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-4 positions serve as starting points for federal careers, with promotion potential to higher grades through the career ladder system.

In 2026, GS-4 base salary ranges from $31,103 (Step 1) to $40,436 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-4 Step 10 can earn up to $59,174 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $36,409 to $47,334.