GS-5 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $34,799 – $45,239 • With locality: up to $66,203

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

GS-5 Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-4

GS-5 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $34,799 $1,338 $16.67 -
Step 2 $35,959 $1,383 $17.23 1 year
Step 3 $37,119 $1,428 $17.79 1 year
Step 4 $38,279 $1,472 $18.34 2 years
Step 5 $39,439 $1,517 $18.90 2 years
Step 6 $40,599 $1,562 $19.45 2 years
Step 7 $41,759 $1,606 $20.01 3 years
Step 8 $42,919 $1,651 $20.56 3 years
Step 9 $44,079 $1,695 $21.12 3 years
Step 10 $45,239 $1,740 $21.68 3 years

GS-5 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-5 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% $45,162 $51,184 $58,711 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $41,769 $47,339 $54,300 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $41,118 $46,601 $53,454 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $43,043 $48,782 $55,956 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $42,330 $47,974 $55,029 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $41,178 $46,668 $53,531 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $45,472 $51,535 $59,114 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $41,961 $47,556 $54,549 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $41,536 $47,074 $53,997 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $41,557 $47,098 $54,024 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $45,287 $51,326 $58,874 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $42,295 $47,934 $54,983 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $42,277 $47,914 $54,961 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $41,665 $47,220 $54,165 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $42,385 $48,037 $55,101 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $41,042 $46,514 $53,355 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $43,645 $49,464 $56,739 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $41,087 $46,566 $53,414 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $41,929 $47,520 $54,508 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $44,901 $50,888 $58,372 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $41,453 $46,980 $53,889 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $44,271 $50,174 $57,553 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $41,453 $46,980 $53,889 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $44,821 $50,797 $58,268 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $42,361 $48,009 $55,069 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $46,683 $52,907 $60,688 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $42,643 $48,329 $55,436 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $41,658 $47,212 $54,156 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $41,640 $47,193 $54,133 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $41,888 $47,473 $54,454 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $41,724 $47,287 $54,242 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $46,846 $53,093 $60,901 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $43,478 $49,275 $56,522 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $42,486 $48,151 $55,232 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $43,346 $49,125 $56,350 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $48,273 $54,710 $62,756 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $41,087 $46,566 $53,414 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $41,254 $46,755 $53,631 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $43,982 $49,847 $57,178 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $42,197 $47,824 $54,857 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $41,832 $47,410 $54,382 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $43,321 $49,098 $56,318 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $42,514 $48,183 $55,268 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $40,736 $46,167 $52,957 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $42,110 $47,725 $54,744 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $44,529 $50,466 $57,888 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $42,065 $47,674 $54,685 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $45,458 $51,519 $59,096 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $50,925 $57,715 $66,203 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $45,079 $51,089 $58,603 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $41,564 $47,106 $54,033 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $41,289 $46,794 $53,676 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $42,465 $48,127 $55,205 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $46,610 $52,825 $60,593 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-5 Federal Positions

GS-5 positions represent early-career professional roles in the federal government. At this level, positions typically require a bachelor's degree or equivalent specialized experience. Common GS-5 job series include program analysts, management assistants, IT specialists, and various professional and technical positions across agencies like the VA, IRS, SSA, and DoD.

In 2026, GS-5 base salary ranges from $34,799 (Step 1) to $45,239 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-5 Step 10 can earn up to $66,203 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $40,736 to $52,957.