GS-6 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $38,794 – $50,431 • With locality: up to $73,801

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

GS-6 Qualifications

Education: N/A (experience only)

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-5

GS-6 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $38,794 $1,492 $18.59 -
Step 2 $40,087 $1,542 $19.21 1 year
Step 3 $41,380 $1,592 $19.83 1 year
Step 4 $42,673 $1,641 $20.45 2 years
Step 5 $43,966 $1,691 $21.07 2 years
Step 6 $45,259 $1,741 $21.69 2 years
Step 7 $46,552 $1,790 $22.31 3 years
Step 8 $47,845 $1,840 $22.93 3 years
Step 9 $49,138 $1,890 $23.54 3 years
Step 10 $50,431 $1,940 $24.16 3 years

GS-6 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-6 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% $50,347 $57,059 $65,449 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $46,564 $52,772 $60,532 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $45,839 $51,950 $59,589 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $47,984 $54,382 $62,378 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $47,189 $53,480 $61,344 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $45,905 $52,025 $59,675 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $50,692 $57,450 $65,898 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $46,778 $53,014 $60,810 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $46,305 $52,478 $60,194 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $46,328 $52,504 $60,225 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $50,487 $57,217 $65,631 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $47,150 $53,436 $61,294 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $47,131 $53,414 $61,269 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $46,448 $52,640 $60,381 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $47,251 $53,551 $61,425 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $45,754 $51,854 $59,478 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $48,655 $55,142 $63,251 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $45,804 $51,911 $59,544 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $46,743 $52,975 $60,764 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $50,056 $56,729 $65,071 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $46,211 $52,372 $60,073 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $49,354 $55,934 $64,158 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $46,211 $52,372 $60,073 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $49,967 $56,628 $64,955 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $47,224 $53,520 $61,390 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $52,042 $58,980 $67,653 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $47,538 $53,876 $61,798 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $46,440 $52,632 $60,371 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $46,421 $52,610 $60,346 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $46,696 $52,922 $60,704 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $46,514 $52,715 $60,467 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $52,224 $59,187 $67,890 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $48,469 $54,931 $63,008 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $47,364 $53,678 $61,571 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $48,322 $54,764 $62,817 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $53,815 $60,990 $69,958 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $45,804 $51,911 $59,544 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $45,990 $52,122 $59,786 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $49,032 $55,569 $63,740 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $47,042 $53,313 $61,153 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $46,634 $52,852 $60,623 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $48,295 $54,733 $62,782 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $47,395 $53,713 $61,612 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $45,412 $51,467 $59,035 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $46,945 $53,203 $61,027 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $49,641 $56,259 $64,532 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $46,894 $53,146 $60,961 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $50,677 $57,433 $65,878 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $56,771 $64,340 $73,801 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $50,254 $56,954 $65,328 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $46,336 $52,513 $60,235 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $46,029 $52,166 $59,836 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $47,340 $53,652 $61,541 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $51,961 $58,888 $67,547 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-6 Federal Positions

GS-6 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-6 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-6 base salary ranges from $38,794 (Step 1) to $50,431 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-6 Step 10 can earn up to $73,801 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $45,412 to $59,035.