GS-9 Pay Scale 2026

Base salary: $52,721 – $68,534 • With locality: up to $100,293

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

GS-9 Qualifications

Education: Master's degree or 2 years graduate

Experience: 1 year specialized at GS-7

GS-9 Base Pay Table (Before Locality)

Step Annual Salary Biweekly Hourly Wait Time
Step 1 $52,721 $2,028 $25.26 -
Step 2 $54,478 $2,095 $26.10 1 year
Step 3 $56,235 $2,163 $26.95 1 year
Step 4 $57,992 $2,230 $27.79 2 years
Step 5 $59,749 $2,298 $28.63 2 years
Step 6 $61,506 $2,366 $29.47 2 years
Step 7 $63,263 $2,433 $30.31 3 years
Step 8 $65,020 $2,501 $31.15 3 years
Step 9 $66,777 $2,568 $32.00 3 years
Step 10 $68,534 $2,636 $32.84 3 years

GS-9 Salary by Locality Area

Locality pay adjusts your base salary based on where you work. The table below shows GS-9 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% $68,421 $77,542 $88,943 Full Table →
Albany-Schenectady, NY +20.03% $63,281 $71,717 $82,261 Full Table →
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM +18.16% $62,295 $70,599 $80,980 Full Table →
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL +23.69% $65,211 $73,904 $84,770 Full Table →
Austin-Round Rock, TX +21.64% $64,130 $72,679 $83,365 Full Table →
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL +18.33% $62,385 $70,701 $81,096 Full Table →
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME +30.67% $68,891 $78,074 $89,553 Full Table →
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY +20.58% $63,571 $72,045 $82,638 Full Table →
Burlington-South Burlington, VT +19.36% $62,928 $71,316 $81,802 Full Table →
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC +19.42% $62,959 $71,352 $81,843 Full Table →
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI +30.14% $68,611 $77,757 $89,190 Full Table →
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN +21.54% $64,077 $72,619 $83,296 Full Table →
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH +21.49% $64,051 $72,589 $83,262 Full Table →
Colorado Springs, CO +19.73% $63,123 $71,537 $82,056 Full Table →
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH +21.80% $64,214 $72,774 $83,474 Full Table →
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX +17.94% $62,179 $70,468 $80,829 Full Table →
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK +25.42% $66,123 $74,937 $85,955 Full Table →
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL +18.07% $62,248 $70,546 $80,918 Full Table →
Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH +20.49% $63,524 $71,992 $82,577 Full Table →
Denver-Aurora, CO-WY-NE-KS +29.03% $68,026 $77,094 $88,429 Full Table →
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA +19.12% $62,801 $71,173 $81,638 Full Table →
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI +27.22% $67,072 $76,013 $87,189 Full Table →
Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA +19.12% $62,801 $71,173 $81,638 Full Table →
Hartford-East Hartford, CT +28.80% $67,905 $76,957 $88,272 Full Table →
Hawaii +21.73% $64,177 $72,732 $83,426 Full Table →
Houston-The Woodlands, TX +34.15% $70,725 $80,153 $91,938 Full Table →
Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL +22.54% $64,604 $73,216 $83,982 Full Table →
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN +19.71% $63,112 $71,526 $82,042 Full Table →
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS +19.66% $63,086 $71,496 $82,008 Full Table →
Laredo, TX +20.37% $63,460 $71,920 $82,494 Full Table →
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV +19.90% $63,212 $71,639 $82,172 Full Table →
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA +34.62% $70,973 $80,434 $92,260 Full Table →
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL +24.94% $65,870 $74,650 $85,626 Full Table →
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI +22.09% $64,367 $72,948 $83,673 Full Table →
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI +24.56% $65,669 $74,423 $85,366 Full Table →
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA +38.72% $73,135 $82,884 $95,070 Full Table →
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA +18.07% $62,248 $70,546 $80,918 Full Table →
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL +18.55% $62,501 $70,832 $81,247 Full Table →
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD +26.39% $66,634 $75,517 $86,620 Full Table →
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ +21.26% $63,929 $72,452 $83,104 Full Table →
Pittsburgh, PA +20.21% $63,376 $71,824 $82,385 Full Table →
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA +24.49% $65,632 $74,382 $85,318 Full Table →
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC +22.17% $64,409 $72,995 $83,728 Full Table →
Rest of United States +17.06% $61,715 $69,942 $80,226 Full Table →
Richmond, VA +21.01% $63,798 $72,302 $82,933 Full Table →
Sacramento-Roseville, CA +27.96% $67,462 $76,455 $87,696 Full Table →
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX +20.88% $63,729 $72,225 $82,844 Full Table →
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA +30.63% $68,869 $78,050 $89,526 Full Table →
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA +46.34% $77,152 $87,437 $100,293 Full Table →
Seattle-Tacoma, WA +29.54% $68,295 $77,399 $88,779 Full Table →
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL +19.44% $62,970 $71,364 $81,857 Full Table →
Tucson-Nogales, AZ +18.65% $62,553 $70,892 $81,316 Full Table →
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC +22.03% $64,335 $72,912 $83,632 Full Table →
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA +33.94% $70,615 $80,028 $91,794 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-9 Federal Positions

GS-9 positions are mid-level professional roles requiring significant education or specialized experience. Federal employees at GS-9 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-9 base salary ranges from $52,721 (Step 1) to $68,534 (Step 10). With the highest locality adjustment in San Jose-San Francisco (46.34%), a GS-9 Step 10 can earn up to $100,293 annually. In the "Rest of US" locality area (17.06%), the range is $61,715 to $80,226.