PublicPay

Language Specialist federal salary series 1040

Full-time federal employees in the Language Specialist series earned a median of $119,485 in annualized adjusted basic pay in September 2026, 9% above the all-federal median of $109,641. The middle half earned between $106,040 and $133,428.

Median pay
$119,485
full-time, September 2026
Middle 50%
$106,040–$133,428
25th–75th percentile
Employees
890
in this series, all schedules
Change in median
+4%
vs. September 2025
Pay distribution, full-time employees with published pay, September 2026
Language Specialist
All federal (full-time)

What shapes language specialist pay

The most common grade with published pay is GS-12 (553 employees, median $116,071). The largest employer of this series with published pay is the Department of Justice (632 employees). 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 63% of employees in this series. The figures here describe only employees with published pay; withholding is concentrated in certain agencies (see data coverage).

Language Specialist pay by grade

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

Language Specialist pay by grade
Pay plan–grade Employees Median pay Middle 50%
GS-12 553 $116,071 $107,275–$126,313
GS-13 137 $142,084 $133,964–$150,203

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

Language Specialist pay by agency

Language Specialist pay by agency
Agency Employees Median pay Middle 50%
Department of Justice 632 $116,990 $108,038–$133,142
Department of Homeland Security 79 $125,431 $112,513–$133,794

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

Language Specialist pay by state

The 2 states with the most employees in this series and published pay.

Language Specialist pay by state
State Employees Median pay Middle 50%
District of Columbia 109 $133,142 $119,485–$150,203
New York 76 $123,062 $119,546–$130,095

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

Change since September 2025

The median moved +4.0% from $114,923 in September 2025 to $119,485 in September 2026. Headcount went from 968 to 890 (−8.1%). 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.

Related occupations in Information and Arts Group