PublicPay

Mail and File federal salary series 0305

Full-time federal employees in the Mail and File series earned a median of $47,334 in annualized adjusted basic pay in September 2026, 57% below the all-federal median of $109,641. The middle half earned between $43,452 and $53,525.

Median pay
$47,334
full-time, September 2026
Middle 50%
$43,452–$53,525
25th–75th percentile
Employees
1,514
in this series, all schedules
Change in median
+1%
vs. September 2025
Pay distribution, full-time employees with published pay, September 2026
Mail and File
All federal (full-time)

What shapes mail and file pay

The most common grade with published pay is GS-4 (767 employees, median $44,907). The largest employer of this series with published pay is the Department of Veterans Affairs (855 employees). Among states with at least 30 full-time employees with published pay, the median is highest in District of Columbia ($63,698) and lowest in North Carolina ($43,892), a gap that partly reflects locality pay differences. Federal pay depends mostly on grade and step, plus a locality adjustment for where the job is located; see the GS pay scale explainer.

OPM withheld pay for 28% of employees in this series. The figures here describe only employees with published pay; withholding is concentrated in certain agencies (see data coverage).

Mail and File pay by grade

Grades with at least 30 full-time employees with published pay. GS grades are listed first; other pay plans follow.

Mail and File pay by grade
Pay plan–grade Employees Median pay Middle 50%
GS-4 767 $44,907 $41,608–$47,515
GS-5 369 $53,184 $48,004–$59,046
GS-6 180 $59,222 $52,977–$62,606
GS-7 100 $65,517 $59,994–$73,134

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Mail and File pay by agency

Mail and File pay by agency
Agency Employees Median pay Middle 50%
Department of Veterans Affairs 855 $46,120 $42,479–$49,426
Social Security Administration 87 $57,027 $50,599–$60,593
Department of the Interior 33 $51,808 $46,540–$56,372

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Mail and File pay by state

The 10 states with the most employees in this series and published pay.

Mail and File pay by state
State Employees Median pay Middle 50%
Texas 126 $44,834 $41,341–$47,432
Maryland 74 $59,039 $53,118–$60,593
Illinois 66 $48,843 $44,809–$56,164
California 59 $55,183 $51,121–$58,186
Florida 57 $46,167 $42,479–$50,241
District of Columbia 50 $63,698 $59,879–$70,246
New York 47 $55,781 $50,613–$61,207
Pennsylvania 45 $45,816 $42,100–$49,049
Missouri 43 $47,720 $43,970–$50,596
Tennessee 38 $44,809 $42,479–$47,042

middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) 10th–90th percentile median all-federal median ($109,641)

Compare mail and file pay across all states and agencies →

Change since September 2025

The median moved +1.0% from $46,868 in September 2025 to $47,334 in September 2026. Headcount went from 1,842 to 1,514 (−17.8%). A change in the median reflects both pay adjustments and who joined or left the workforce, so it is not the same as a pay raise.

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