General Schedule · effective January 2026

GS-2 pay scale 2026

GS-2 base pay runs from $25,393 at step 1 to $31,953 at step 10. Every GS employee also gets a locality payment, so actual GS-2 pay at step 1 ranges from $29,725 (Rest of U.S.) to $37,160 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA) across 58 locality pay areas.

GS-2 pay by step

StepBase payRest of U.S. (17.06%)
Step 1$25,393$29,725
Step 2$25,997$30,432
Step 3$26,839$31,418
Step 4$27,550$32,250
Step 5$27,858$32,611
Step 6$28,677$33,569
Step 7$29,496$34,528
Step 8$30,315$35,487
Step 9$31,134$36,445
Step 10$31,953$37,404

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-2 pay by locality

Locality pay areaLocality payStep 1Step 5Step 10
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$30,667$33,644$38,590
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM18.33%$30,048$32,964$37,810
Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$31,434$34,485$39,555
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX20.35%$30,560$33,527$38,455
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$30,025$32,939$37,781
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$33,666$36,934$42,363
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY22.41%$31,084$34,101$39,114
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT19.45%$30,332$33,276$38,168
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC19.67%$30,388$33,338$38,238
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI30.86%$33,229$36,455$41,814
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN21.93%$30,962$33,967$38,960
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA22.23%$31,038$34,051$39,056
Colorado Springs, CO20.15%$30,510$33,471$38,392
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH22.15%$31,018$34,029$39,031
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX17.63%$29,870$32,769$37,586
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK27.26%$32,315$35,452$40,663
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL18.93%$30,200$33,132$38,002
Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH21.42%$30,832$33,825$38,797
Denver-Aurora, CO30.52%$33,143$36,360$41,705
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA18.01%$29,966$32,875$37,708
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI29.12%$32,787$35,970$41,258
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA17.65%$29,875$32,775$37,593
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA19.43%$30,327$33,271$38,161
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$33,539$36,795$42,204
Houston-The Woodlands, TX35%$34,281$37,608$43,137
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$30,957$33,962$38,954
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN18.15%$30,002$32,914$37,752
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS18.97%$30,210$33,143$38,014
Laredo, TX21.59%$30,875$33,873$38,852
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ19.57%$30,362$33,310$38,206
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA36.47%$34,654$38,018$43,606
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL24.67%$31,657$34,731$39,836
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI22.42%$31,086$34,104$39,117
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI27.62%$32,407$35,552$40,778
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA37.95%$35,030$38,430$44,079
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA18.23%$30,022$32,937$37,778
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL17.93%$29,946$32,853$37,682
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD28.99%$32,754$35,934$41,216
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ22.45%$31,094$34,112$39,126
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV21.03%$30,733$33,717$38,673
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA26.13%$32,028$35,137$40,302
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC22.24%$31,040$34,054$39,059
Reno-Fernley, NV17.52%$29,842$32,739$37,551
Richmond, VA22.28%$31,051$34,065$39,072
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY17.88%$29,933$32,839$37,666
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV29.76%$32,950$36,149$41,462
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX18.78%$30,162$33,090$37,954
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA33.72%$33,956$37,252$42,728
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA46.34%$37,160$40,767$46,760
Seattle-Tacoma, WA31.57%$33,410$36,653$42,041
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID17.67%$29,880$32,781$37,599
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL20.03%$30,479$33,438$38,353
State of Alaska32.36%$33,610$36,873$42,293
State of Hawaii22.21%$31,033$34,045$39,050
Tucson-Nogales, AZ19.28%$30,289$33,229$38,114
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC18.8%$30,167$33,095$37,960
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA33.94%$34,011$37,313$42,798
Rest of U.S.17.06%$29,725$32,611$37,404

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 2

Federal employees at grade 2 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