Federal pay: the 2026 General Schedule
The General Schedule (GS) is the pay system for most white-collar federal civilian employees. OPM publishes one base table and one table for each of 58 locality pay areas. In 2026 the base table incorporates a 1% across-the-board increase and runs from $22,584 (GS-1, step 1) to $164,301 (GS-15, step 10); locality payments add 17.06% (Rest of U.S.) to 46.34% (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland).
Source: OPM, 2026 General Schedule pay tables and locality pay area definitions, fetched . Tables effective January 2026 (first pay period: ).
2026 GS base table (annual rates)
Base rates before any locality payment. Every federal employee on the GS is paid from a locality table, not from this one; the base table page also carries the hourly and overtime rates. Source table: Salary Table 2026-GS.
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 | Within-grade increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $22,584 | $23,341 | $24,092 | $24,840 | $25,589 | $26,028 | $26,771 | $27,519 | $27,550 | $28,248 | varies |
| GS-2 | $25,393 | $25,997 | $26,839 | $27,550 | $27,858 | $28,677 | $29,496 | $30,315 | $31,134 | $31,953 | varies |
| GS-3 | $27,708 | $28,632 | $29,556 | $30,480 | $31,404 | $32,328 | $33,252 | $34,176 | $35,100 | $36,024 | $924 |
| GS-4 | $31,103 | $32,140 | $33,177 | $34,214 | $35,251 | $36,288 | $37,325 | $38,362 | $39,399 | $40,436 | $1,037 |
| GS-5 | $34,799 | $35,959 | $37,119 | $38,279 | $39,439 | $40,599 | $41,759 | $42,919 | $44,079 | $45,239 | $1,160 |
| GS-6 | $38,791 | $40,084 | $41,377 | $42,670 | $43,963 | $45,256 | $46,549 | $47,842 | $49,135 | $50,428 | $1,293 |
| GS-7 | $43,106 | $44,543 | $45,980 | $47,417 | $48,854 | $50,291 | $51,728 | $53,165 | $54,602 | $56,039 | $1,437 |
| GS-8 | $47,738 | $49,329 | $50,920 | $52,511 | $54,102 | $55,693 | $57,284 | $58,875 | $60,466 | $62,057 | $1,591 |
| GS-9 | $52,727 | $54,485 | $56,243 | $58,001 | $59,759 | $61,517 | $63,275 | $65,033 | $66,791 | $68,549 | $1,758 |
| GS-10 | $58,064 | $59,999 | $61,934 | $63,869 | $65,804 | $67,739 | $69,674 | $71,609 | $73,544 | $75,479 | $1,935 |
| GS-11 | $63,795 | $65,922 | $68,049 | $70,176 | $72,303 | $74,430 | $76,557 | $78,684 | $80,811 | $82,938 | $2,127 |
| GS-12 | $76,463 | $79,012 | $81,561 | $84,110 | $86,659 | $89,208 | $91,757 | $94,306 | $96,855 | $99,404 | $2,549 |
| GS-13 | $90,925 | $93,956 | $96,987 | $100,018 | $103,049 | $106,080 | $109,111 | $112,142 | $115,173 | $118,204 | $3,031 |
| GS-14 | $107,446 | $111,028 | $114,610 | $118,192 | $121,774 | $125,356 | $128,938 | $132,520 | $136,102 | $139,684 | $3,582 |
| GS-15 | $126,384 | $130,597 | $134,810 | $139,023 | $143,236 | $147,449 | $151,662 | $155,875 | $160,088 | $164,301 | $4,213 |
Locality pay areas, 2026
Each area's table is the base table raised by the locality percentage OPM sets for it, with GS-15 rates limited to Executive Schedule level IV where OPM marks them. Sorted by percentage; the Rest of U.S. table applies everywhere not in a named area.
| Locality pay area | OPM code | Locality payment | GS-7 step 1 | GS-12 step 1 | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland | SF | 46.34% | $63,081 | $111,896 | CA |
| New York-Newark | NY | 37.95% | $59,465 | $105,481 | NY, NJ, CT, PA |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach | LA | 36.47% | $58,827 | $104,349 | CA |
| Houston-The Woodlands | HOU | 35.00% | $58,193 | $103,225 | TX |
| Washington-Baltimore-Arlington | DCB | 33.94% | $57,736 | $102,415 | DC, MD, VA, WV, PA |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | SD | 33.72% | $57,641 | $102,246 | CA |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence | BOS | 32.58% | $57,150 | $101,375 | MA, RI, NH, CT, ME, VT |
| Alaska | AK | 32.36% | $57,055 | $101,206 | AK |
| Hartford-East Hartford | HAR | 32.08% | $56,934 | $100,992 | CT, MA |
| Seattle-Tacoma | SEA | 31.57% | $56,715 | $100,602 | WA |
| Chicago-Naperville | CHI | 30.86% | $56,409 | $100,059 | IL, IN, WI |
| Denver-Aurora | DEN | 30.52% | $56,262 | $99,800 | CO |
| Sacramento-Roseville | SAC | 29.76% | $55,934 | $99,218 | CA, NV |
| Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor | DET | 29.12% | $55,658 | $98,729 | MI |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden | PHL | 28.99% | $55,602 | $98,630 | PA, NJ, DE, MD |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | MSP | 27.62% | $55,012 | $97,582 | MN, WI |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | DFW | 27.26% | $54,857 | $97,307 | TX, OK |
| Portland-Vancouver-Salem | POR | 26.13% | $54,370 | $96,443 | OR, WA |
| Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale | MFL | 24.67% | $53,740 | $95,326 | FL |
| Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs | ATL | 23.79% | $53,361 | $94,654 | GA, AL |
| Phoenix-Mesa | PX | 22.45% | $52,783 | $93,629 | AZ |
| Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha | MIL | 22.42% | $52,770 | $93,606 | WI |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean | BU | 22.41% | $52,766 | $93,598 | NY |
| Richmond | RCH | 22.28% | $52,710 | $93,499 | VA |
| Raleigh-Durham-Cary | RA | 22.24% | $52,693 | $93,468 | NC |
| Cleveland-Akron-Canton | CLE | 22.23% | $52,688 | $93,461 | OH, PA |
| Hawaii | HI | 22.21% | $52,680 | $93,445 | HI |
| Columbus-Marion-Zanesville | COL | 22.15% | $52,654 | $93,400 | OH |
| Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville | CIN | 21.93% | $52,559 | $93,231 | OH, KY, IN |
| Huntsville-Decatur | HNT | 21.91% | $52,551 | $93,216 | AL, TN |
| Laredo | LR | 21.59% | $52,413 | $92,971 | TX |
| Dayton-Springfield-Kettering | DAY | 21.42% | $52,339 | $92,841 | OH |
| Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton | PIT | 21.03% | $52,171 | $92,543 | PA, OH, WV |
| Albany-Schenectady | AL | 20.77% | $52,059 | $92,344 | NY, MA |
| Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown | AU | 20.35% | $51,878 | $92,023 | TX |
| Colorado Springs | CS | 20.15% | $51,792 | $91,870 | CO |
| St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington | SL | 20.03% | $51,740 | $91,779 | MO, IL |
| Charlotte-Concord | CT | 19.67% | $51,585 | $91,503 | NC, SC |
| Las Vegas-Henderson | LV | 19.57% | $51,542 | $91,427 | NV, AZ |
| Burlington-South Burlington-Barre | BN | 19.45% | $51,490 | $91,335 | VT |
| Harrisburg-Lebanon | HB | 19.43% | $51,481 | $91,320 | PA |
| Tucson-Nogales | TU | 19.28% | $51,417 | $91,205 | AZ |
| Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City | KC | 18.97% | $51,283 | $90,968 | MO, KS |
| Davenport-Moline | DV | 18.93% | $51,266 | $90,937 | IA, IL |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk | VB | 18.80% | $51,210 | $90,838 | VA, NC |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall | SO | 18.78% | $51,201 | $90,823 | TX |
| Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas | AQ | 18.33% | $51,007 | $90,479 | NM |
| Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega | BH | 18.24% | $50,969 | $90,410 | AL |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont | OM | 18.23% | $50,964 | $90,402 | NE, IA |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie | IND | 18.15% | $50,930 | $90,341 | IN |
| Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines | DM | 18.01% | $50,869 | $90,234 | IA |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | PB | 17.93% | $50,835 | $90,173 | FL |
| Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls | RT | 17.88% | $50,813 | $90,135 | NY |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene | SN | 17.67% | $50,723 | $89,974 | WA, ID |
| Fresno-Madera-Hanford | FN | 17.65% | $50,714 | $89,959 | CA |
| Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice | CC | 17.63% | $50,706 | $89,943 | TX |
| Reno-Fernley | RN | 17.52% | $50,658 | $89,859 | NV |
| Rest of U.S. | RUS | 17.06% | $50,460 | $89,508 | all other areas |
How GS pay works
A GS position is classified to one of 15 grades by the difficulty and responsibility of the work, and each grade has 10 steps. Base pay is the rate for the employee's grade and step in OPM's base table. On top of that, employees in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the non-foreign areas receive a locality payment: a percentage of base pay set for the locality pay area where their official duty station is. OPM publishes the result as a separate table for each area, so the figure in the locality table is the employee's annual rate of basic pay for most purposes (retirement, life insurance, premium pay caps). The across-the-board increase (1% in 2026) and the locality percentages are set each year under 5 U.S.C. 5303 and 5304, by the President's pay agent and, where the law allows, an alternative plan; the 2026 schedules were issued by Executive Order 14368 of December 18, 2025. Rates above Executive Schedule level IV are capped, which is why the highest GS-15 steps in several areas show the same figure.
Steps and within-grade increases, as OPM states them
OPM's within-grade increase fact sheet states that advancement to the next step requires an acceptable level of performance and the completion of a waiting period: 52 weeks for steps 2, 3 and 4; 104 weeks for steps 5, 6 and 7; and 156 weeks for steps 8, 9 and 10. The base table's last column is OPM's within-grade increase amount for the grade ("varies" for GS-1 and GS-2, whose step intervals are not uniform). Quality step increases, promotions and the two-step rule are described on OPM's site; this page does not apply them to anyone's situation.
Related
- GS pay by locality and step calculator on FastCalc, for a specific grade, step and area. This site computes nothing.
- How federal GS pay works in Learn.
- Military basic pay (DFAS tables by grade and years of service).
- Prevailing wage: Davis-Bacon, Service Contract Act and H-1B wage levels.
- State wage profiles and occupations for what the same work pays outside government.
Other 2026 pay schedules
OPM's other 2026 tables, each parsed from OPM's XML file with the same checks as the GS tables; nothing on this site is typed in.
- Law enforcement officer (LEO) tables: special base rates GL-3 to GL-10 ($33,252 to $77,414), the outside-US table, and a LEO table on each of the 58 locality area pages.
- Executive Schedule (EX): levels I to V, $184,900 to $253,100, and the limits levels II, III and IV set on the other schedules.
- Senior Executive Service (ES): $151,661 to $228,000 with a certified appraisal system, to $209,600 without.
- Senior Level and Scientific or Professional (SL/ST): $151,661 to $228,000 with a certified appraisal system, to $209,600 without.
- Administrative law judges, appeals judges and boards of contract appeals: AL-3/A $131,700 to AL-1 $197,200, the AAJ and BCA tables, and the three locality tables.
Overviews only
- Federal Wage System: the hourly trade and craft system, set per wage area by DoD's Wage and Salary Division. No schedule is mirrored; the page explains the system and links the official site.
- Special rates: OPM's higher GS rates for hard-to-staff occupations and places. No table is mirrored; the page explains the authority and how to find a table.