2026 Executive Schedule (EX)
OPM's Salary Table No. 2026-EX lists five levels: level I at $253,100, level II at $228,000, level III at $209,600, level IV at $197,200 and level V at $184,900, effective January 2026 (first pay period ). Level IV is the limit OPM applies to GS and LEO locality rates in 2026: 37 of 58 GS locality tables and 37 of 58 LEO locality tables carry at least one cell at $197,200.
Source: OPM, EX.xml (1,744 bytes, SHA-256 83164c0fedf9…) from the 2026 Executive & Senior Level page, fetched .
Rates of Pay for the Executive Schedule, 2026
| Level | Rate |
|---|---|
| Level I | $253,100 |
| Level II | $228,000 |
| Level III | $209,600 |
| Level IV | $197,200 |
| Level V | $184,900 |
OPM's footnote: Under a provision in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (November 12, 2025), the freeze on the payable pay rates for the Vice President and certain senior political appointees continues through January 30, 2026. Future Congressional action will determine whether these frozen rates continue beyond that date.
The positions at each level
The Executive Schedule is the pay schedule for the heads and senior political appointees of the executive departments and agencies (5 U.S.C. 5311). The positions at each level are listed in the statute, not on OPM's table page, which prints the rates only; the list below names the groups each section covers and links the sections for the full enumeration.
| Level | 2026 rate | Positions (5 U.S.C.) |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $253,100 | Section 5312: the heads of the executive departments (the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Defense and the others) and the other positions section 5312 lists |
| Level II | $228,000 | Section 5313: deputy secretaries of the departments, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the other positions section 5313 lists |
| Level III | $209,600 | Section 5314: under secretaries of the departments and the other positions section 5314 lists |
| Level IV | $197,200 | Section 5315: assistant secretaries, general counsels of the departments and the other positions section 5315 lists |
| Level V | $184,900 | Section 5316: the positions section 5316 lists |
What the levels limit
- GS and LEO locality rates: level IV ($197,200). OPM's note on every capped locality table reads "Rate limited to the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5304 (g)(1))". In 2026 the limit reaches GS-15 in 37 areas (Albany-Schenectady, Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Boston-Worcester-Providence, Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, Chicago-Naperville, Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Colorado Springs, Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, Denver-Aurora, Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, Hartford-East Hartford, Houston-The Woodlands, Huntsville-Decatur, Laredo, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-Newark, Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, Phoenix-Mesa, Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, Portland-Vancouver-Salem, Raleigh-Durham-Cary, Richmond, Sacramento-Roseville, San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle-Tacoma, St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, Alaska, Hawaii); see each area's page for the cells OPM marks.
- Administrative law judge, administrative appeals judge and board of contract appeals locality rates: level III ($209,600). OPM's footnote on the three locality tables reads "Rate limited to the rate for level III of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5304(g)(2))"; see the ALJ, AAJ and BCA tables.
- Senior Executive Service and SL/ST basic pay: level III ($209,600), or level II ($228,000) with a certified appraisal system. OPM's compensation page states that the SES "maximum rate of basic pay [is] equal to the rate for Level III of the Executive Schedule", and that "for any agency certified under 5 U.S.C. 5307(d) ... the maximum rate of basic pay will be the rate for Level II of the Executive Schedule"; OPM's 2026 ES and SL/ST tables print those two maximums. See the SES table and the SL/ST table.
- Aggregate limitation on pay: level I ($253,100), or the Vice President's salary for certified systems. OPM's compensation page: "SES members have an annual aggregate limitation on pay equal to the rate for Level I of the Executive Schedule", and "agencies with certified SES performance appraisal systems must apply a higher aggregate limitation on pay--up to the Vice President's salary" (5 U.S.C. 5307).
OPM's footnote on the 2026 table: "Under a provision in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026 (November 12, 2025), the freeze on the payable pay rates for the Vice President and certain senior political appointees continues through January 30, 2026. Future Congressional action will determine whether these frozen rates continue beyond that date."
Related
- The 2026 General Schedule and the LEO tables, where level IV applies.
- Senior Executive Service, Senior Level and Scientific or Professional and judges and boards.
Sources
- OPM, 2026 Executive & Senior Level Employee Pay Tables (index page)
- OPM, Salary Table No. 2026-EX (XML) (1,744 bytes, SHA-256 83164c0fedf9fd4c05c05d59fabf61f412a1e12607f03e6431fdc7cf741d6137)
- OPM, Salary Table No. 2026-EX (HTML rendering)
- 5 U.S.C. 5311 to 5318, the Executive Schedule and the positions at each level
- 5 U.S.C. 5304(g), limits on locality rates (level IV for GS and LEO tables, level III for ALJ, AAJ and BCA tables)
- 5 U.S.C. 5307, aggregate limitation on pay
- OPM, Senior Executive Service compensation (the SES range and aggregate limitation as OPM states them)