GS-8 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $47,741 – $62,060 • With locality: up to $90,819

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

GS-8 Qualifications

Education: N/A (experience only)

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-7

GS-8 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $47,741 $1,836 $22.88 -
Step 2 $49,332 $1,897 $23.64 1 year
Step 3 $50,923 $1,959 $24.40 1 year
Step 4 $52,514 $2,020 $25.16 2 years
Step 5 $54,105 $2,081 $25.92 2 years
Step 6 $55,696 $2,142 $26.69 2 years
Step 7 $57,287 $2,203 $27.45 3 years
Step 8 $58,878 $2,265 $28.21 3 years
Step 9 $60,469 $2,326 $28.97 3 years
Step 10 $62,060 $2,387 $29.74 3 years

GS-8 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-8 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% $61,958 $70,217 $80,541 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $57,304 $64,942 $74,491 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $56,411 $63,930 $73,330 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $59,051 $66,922 $76,762 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $58,072 $65,813 $75,490 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $56,492 $64,022 $73,436 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $62,383 $70,699 $81,094 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $57,566 $65,240 $74,832 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $56,984 $64,580 $74,075 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $57,012 $64,612 $74,112 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $62,130 $70,412 $80,765 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $58,024 $65,759 $75,428 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $58,001 $65,732 $75,397 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $57,160 $64,780 $74,304 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $58,149 $65,900 $75,589 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $56,306 $63,811 $73,194 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $59,877 $67,858 $77,836 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $56,368 $63,882 $73,274 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $57,523 $65,191 $74,776 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $61,600 $69,812 $80,076 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $56,869 $64,450 $73,926 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $60,736 $68,832 $78,953 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $56,869 $64,450 $73,926 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $61,490 $69,687 $79,933 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $58,115 $65,862 $75,546 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $64,045 $72,582 $83,253 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $58,502 $66,300 $76,048 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $57,151 $64,769 $74,292 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $57,127 $64,742 $74,261 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $57,466 $65,126 $74,702 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $57,241 $64,872 $74,410 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $64,269 $72,836 $83,545 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $59,648 $67,599 $77,538 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $58,287 $66,057 $75,769 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $59,466 $67,393 $77,302 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $66,226 $75,054 $86,090 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $56,368 $63,882 $73,274 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $56,597 $64,141 $73,572 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $60,340 $68,383 $78,438 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $57,891 $65,608 $75,254 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $57,389 $65,040 $74,602 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $59,433 $67,355 $77,258 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $58,325 $66,100 $75,819 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $55,886 $63,335 $72,647 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $57,771 $65,472 $75,099 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $61,089 $69,233 $79,412 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $57,709 $65,402 $75,018 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $62,364 $70,677 $81,069 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $69,864 $79,177 $90,819 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $61,844 $70,088 $80,393 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $57,022 $64,623 $74,124 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $56,645 $64,196 $73,634 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $58,258 $66,024 $75,732 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $63,944 $72,468 $83,123 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-8 Federal Positions

GS-8 positions are mid-level professional roles requiring significant education or specialized experience. Federal employees at GS-8 often work as experienced analysts, specialists, engineers, or scientists. These positions typically involve independent work with moderate supervision and may include team coordination responsibilities.

In 2026, GS-8 base salary ranges from $47,741 (Step 1) to $62,060 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-8 Step 10 can earn up to $90,819 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $55,886 to $72,647.