General Schedule · effective January 2026

GS-5 pay scale 2026

GS-5 base pay runs from $34,799 at step 1 to $45,239 at step 10. Every GS employee also gets a locality payment, so actual GS-5 pay at step 1 ranges from $40,736 (Rest of U.S.) to $50,925 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA) across 58 locality pay areas.

GS-5 pay by step

StepBase payRest of U.S. (17.06%)
Step 1$34,799$40,736
Step 2$35,959$42,094
Step 3$37,119$43,452
Step 4$38,279$44,809
Step 5$39,439$46,167
Step 6$40,599$47,525
Step 7$41,759$48,883
Step 8$42,919$50,241
Step 9$44,079$51,599
Step 10$45,239$52,957

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-5 pay by locality

Locality pay areaLocality payStep 1Step 5Step 10
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$42,027$47,630$54,635
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM18.33%$41,178$46,668$53,531
Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$43,078$48,822$56,001
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX20.35%$41,881$47,465$54,445
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$41,146$46,633$53,491
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$46,137$52,288$59,978
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY22.41%$42,597$48,277$55,377
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT19.45%$41,567$47,110$54,038
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC19.67%$41,644$47,197$54,138
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI30.86%$45,538$51,610$59,200
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN21.93%$42,430$48,088$55,160
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA22.23%$42,535$48,206$55,296
Colorado Springs, CO20.15%$41,811$47,386$54,355
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH22.15%$42,507$48,175$55,259
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX17.63%$40,934$46,392$53,215
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK27.26%$44,285$50,190$57,571
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL18.93%$41,386$46,905$53,803
Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH21.42%$42,253$47,887$54,929
Denver-Aurora, CO30.52%$45,420$51,476$59,046
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA18.01%$41,066$46,542$53,387
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI29.12%$44,932$50,924$58,413
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA17.65%$40,941$46,400$53,224
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA19.43%$41,560$47,102$54,029
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$45,963$52,091$59,752
Houston-The Woodlands, TX35%$46,979$53,243$61,073
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$42,423$48,080$55,151
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN18.15%$41,115$46,597$53,450
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS18.97%$41,400$46,921$53,821
Laredo, TX21.59%$42,312$47,954$55,006
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ19.57%$41,609$47,157$54,092
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA36.47%$47,490$53,822$61,738
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL24.67%$43,384$49,169$56,399
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI22.42%$42,601$48,281$55,382
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI27.62%$44,410$50,332$57,734
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA37.95%$48,005$54,406$62,407
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA18.23%$41,143$46,629$53,486
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL17.93%$41,038$46,510$53,350
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD28.99%$44,887$50,872$58,354
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ22.45%$42,611$48,293$55,395
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV21.03%$42,117$47,733$54,753
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA26.13%$43,892$49,744$57,060
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC22.24%$42,538$48,210$55,300
Reno-Fernley, NV17.52%$40,896$46,349$53,165
Richmond, VA22.28%$42,552$48,226$55,318
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY17.88%$41,021$46,491$53,328
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV29.76%$45,155$51,176$58,702
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX18.78%$41,334$46,846$53,735
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA33.72%$46,533$52,738$60,494
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA46.34%$50,925$57,715$66,203
Seattle-Tacoma, WA31.57%$45,785$51,890$59,521
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID17.67%$40,948$46,408$53,233
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL20.03%$41,769$47,339$54,300
State of Alaska32.36%$46,060$52,201$59,878
State of Hawaii22.21%$42,528$48,198$55,287
Tucson-Nogales, AZ19.28%$41,508$47,043$53,961
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC18.8%$41,341$46,854$53,744
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA33.94%$46,610$52,825$60,593
Rest of U.S.17.06%$40,736$46,167$52,957

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 5

Federal employees at grade 5 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