General Schedule · effective January 2026

GS-1 pay scale 2026

GS-1 base pay runs from $22,584 at step 1 to $28,248 at step 10. Every GS employee also gets a locality payment, so actual GS-1 pay at step 1 ranges from $26,437 (Rest of U.S.) to $33,049 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA) across 58 locality pay areas.

GS-1 pay by step

StepBase payRest of U.S. (17.06%)
Step 1$22,584$26,437
Step 2$23,341$27,323
Step 3$24,092$28,202
Step 4$24,840$29,078
Step 5$25,589$29,954
Step 6$26,028$30,468
Step 7$26,771$31,338
Step 8$27,519$32,214
Step 9$27,550$32,250
Step 10$28,248$33,067

Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule (GS) pay tables, 2026 — base and locality pay tables (annual rates) and locality pay area definitions. Data captured October 2, 2026.

GS-1 pay by locality

Locality pay areaLocality payStep 1Step 5Step 10
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$27,275$30,904$34,115
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM18.33%$26,724$30,279$33,426
Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$27,957$31,677$34,968
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX20.35%$27,180$30,796$33,996
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$26,703$30,256$33,400
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$29,942$33,926$37,451
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY22.41%$27,645$31,323$34,578
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT19.45%$26,977$30,566$33,742
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC19.67%$27,026$30,622$33,804
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI30.86%$29,553$33,486$36,965
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN21.93%$27,537$31,201$34,443
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA22.23%$27,604$31,277$34,528
Colorado Springs, CO20.15%$27,135$30,745$33,940
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH22.15%$27,586$31,257$34,505
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX17.63%$26,566$30,100$33,228
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK27.26%$28,740$32,565$35,948
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL18.93%$26,859$30,433$33,595
Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH21.42%$27,421$31,070$34,299
Denver-Aurora, CO30.52%$29,477$33,399$36,869
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA18.01%$26,651$30,198$33,335
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI29.12%$29,160$33,041$36,474
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA17.65%$26,570$30,105$33,234
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA19.43%$26,972$30,561$33,737
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$29,829$33,798$37,310
Houston-The Woodlands, TX35%$30,488$34,545$38,135
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$27,532$31,196$34,437
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN18.15%$26,683$30,233$33,375
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS18.97%$26,868$30,443$33,607
Laredo, TX21.59%$27,460$31,114$34,347
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ19.57%$27,004$30,597$33,776
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA36.47%$30,820$34,921$38,550
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL24.67%$28,155$31,902$35,217
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI22.42%$27,647$31,326$34,581
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI27.62%$28,822$32,657$36,050
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA37.95%$31,155$35,300$38,968
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA18.23%$26,701$30,254$33,398
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL17.93%$26,633$30,177$33,313
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD28.99%$29,131$33,007$36,437
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ22.45%$27,654$31,334$34,590
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV21.03%$27,333$30,970$34,189
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA26.13%$28,485$32,275$35,629
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC22.24%$27,607$31,280$34,530
Reno-Fernley, NV17.52%$26,541$30,072$33,197
Richmond, VA22.28%$27,616$31,290$34,542
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY17.88%$26,622$30,164$33,299
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV29.76%$29,305$33,204$36,655
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX18.78%$26,825$30,395$33,553
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA33.72%$30,199$34,218$37,773
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA46.34%$33,049$37,447$41,338
Seattle-Tacoma, WA31.57%$29,714$33,667$37,166
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID17.67%$26,575$30,111$33,239
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL20.03%$27,108$30,714$33,906
State of Alaska32.36%$29,892$33,870$37,389
State of Hawaii22.21%$27,600$31,272$34,522
Tucson-Nogales, AZ19.28%$26,938$30,523$33,694
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC18.8%$26,830$30,400$33,559
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA33.94%$30,249$34,274$37,835
Rest of U.S.17.06%$26,437$29,954$33,067

Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule (GS) pay tables, 2026 — base and locality pay tables (annual rates) and locality pay area definitions. Data captured October 2, 2026.

Federal jobs at grade 1

Federal employees at grade 1 on the GS or GL (law enforcement) pay plan in each job's occupational series.

Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Workforce Data — Employment, July 2026 (federal civilian employees by agency, occupational series, pay plan, grade, duty state and pay). Data captured October 2, 2026.

Other GS grades

Base pay at step 1. GS pay scale 2026: all grades and locality areas