The federal GS pay scale, explained
The General Schedule (GS) is the pay system for most federal white-collar employees: 1,270,220 people in September 2026, about 63% of the civilian workforce. Here's how it sets pay, and what each grade actually pays today.
How GS pay is set
Grades 1–15
Each job is assigned a grade from GS-1 to GS-15 based on its duties and qualifications. Entry-level professional jobs usually start at GS-5 or GS-7; senior specialists and managers are GS-13 to GS-15. Above GS-15 is the Senior Executive Service, a separate system.
Ten steps per grade
Each grade has 10 steps. Employees normally move up a step after a waiting period (one year for steps 2–4, two years for steps 5–7, three years for steps 8–10), given acceptable performance. Step 10 is about 30% above step 1.
Locality pay
Base GS rates are raised by a locality percentage that depends on where the job is. High-cost areas such as San Francisco, New York and Washington, DC get the largest adjustments; everywhere not in a named area gets the "Rest of U.S." rate.
Pay caps and special rates
Some hard-to-fill jobs get special salary rates above the standard table. Total GS pay, including locality, is capped by law at the rate for Executive Schedule level IV, which is why many GS-15 salaries are identical.
The official GS tables for each year and locality area are published by OPM at opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages. This page shows what employees are actually paid, not the official tables.
What each GS grade actually pays
Median annualized adjusted basic pay of full-time GS employees by grade in September 2026, all locality areas combined. A GS-9 employee's median was $74,070; a GS-12's was $111,306. GS-13, one of the most common senior grades, had a median of $137,622. At GS-15, the median and 90th percentile are both $197,200, showing how many salaries sit at the pay cap. The most common grade overall is GS-12 with 277,646 employees.
| Grade | Employees | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | 229 | $35,048 |
| GS-2 | 229 | $38,206 |
| GS-3 | 3,710 | $39,236 |
| GS-4 | 12,188 | $43,693 |
| GS-5 | 54,542 | $50,925 |
| GS-6 | 81,523 | $58,583 |
| GS-7 | 82,953 | $62,050 |
| GS-8 | 45,172 | $67,733 |
| GS-9 | 103,665 | $74,070 |
| GS-10 | 13,044 | $79,969 |
| GS-11 | 179,178 | $90,934 |
| GS-12 | 277,646 | $111,306 |
| GS-13 | 240,439 | $137,622 |
| GS-14 | 122,925 | $165,917 |
| GS-15 | 52,689 | $197,200 |
middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)
Ranges are wide within a grade because of steps and locality pay. GS-1 and GS-2 have few full-time employees with published pay.
Other federal pay systems
Not every federal employee is on the GS. The largest other systems in September 2026:
| Pay plan | Employees | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| WG Nonsupervisory Pay Schedules - Federal Wage System | 113,623 | $56,119 |
| VN Nursing | 90,341 | $127,190 |
| NH Business Management and Technical Management Professional | 73,321 | withheld |
| SV Transportation Security Administration Employees Other Than Executives | 59,072 | $121,371 |
| AD Administratively Determined Rates, Not Elsewhere Specified | 42,587 | $150,203 |
| GG Grades Similar to General Schedule | 36,091 | $150,203 |
| GL General Schedule Employees in Grades 3 Through 10 Paid a Law Enforcement Officer Special Base Rate Under Section 403 of the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990. | 35,871 | $76,202 |
| VM Medical and Dental | 22,737 | $298,428 |
| FV Federal Aviation Administration Core Compensation Plan | 20,378 | $133,515 |
| WS Supervisory Pay Schedules - Federal Wage System | 20,259 | $87,091 |
| AT Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Controller Compensation Plan | 18,887 | $161,459 |
| ND Demonstration Scientific and Engineering | 16,728 | withheld |
| GW GS Employees in Grades 1-15 Paid a Wildland Firefighter Special Base Rate Under 5 U.S.C. 5332a on or After 3/23/2025. | 16,678 | $71,714 |
| WL Leader Pay Schedule - Federal Wage System | 12,238 | $66,377 |
Federal Wage System (WG, WS, WL) jobs are hourly blue-collar trades; their pay here is annualized. "Withheld" means fewer than 30 full-time employees in the plan have published pay.