General Schedule · effective January 2026

GS-6 pay scale 2026

GS-6 base pay runs from $38,791 at step 1 to $50,428 at step 10. Every GS employee also gets a locality payment, so actual GS-6 pay at step 1 ranges from $45,409 (Rest of U.S.) to $56,767 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA) across 58 locality pay areas.

GS-6 pay by step

StepBase payRest of U.S. (17.06%)
Step 1$38,791$45,409
Step 2$40,084$46,922
Step 3$41,377$48,436
Step 4$42,670$49,950
Step 5$43,963$51,463
Step 6$45,256$52,977
Step 7$46,549$54,490
Step 8$47,842$56,004
Step 9$49,135$57,517
Step 10$50,428$59,031

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-6 pay by locality

Locality pay areaLocality payStep 1Step 5Step 10
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$46,848$53,094$60,902
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM18.33%$45,901$52,021$59,671
Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$48,019$54,422$62,425
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX20.35%$46,685$52,909$60,690
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$45,866$51,982$59,626
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$51,429$58,286$66,857
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY22.41%$47,484$53,815$61,729
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT19.45%$46,336$52,514$60,236
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC19.67%$46,421$52,611$60,347
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI30.86%$50,762$57,530$65,990
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN21.93%$47,298$53,604$61,487
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA22.23%$47,414$53,736$61,638
Colorado Springs, CO20.15%$46,607$52,822$60,589
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH22.15%$47,383$53,701$61,598
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX17.63%$45,630$51,714$59,318
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK27.26%$49,365$55,947$64,175
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL18.93%$46,134$52,285$59,974
Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH21.42%$47,100$53,380$61,230
Denver-Aurora, CO30.52%$50,630$57,381$65,819
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA18.01%$45,777$51,881$59,510
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI29.12%$50,087$56,765$65,113
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA17.65%$45,638$51,722$59,329
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA19.43%$46,328$52,505$60,226
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$51,235$58,066$66,605
Houston-The Woodlands, TX35%$52,368$59,350$68,078
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$47,290$53,595$61,477
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN18.15%$45,832$51,942$59,581
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS18.97%$46,150$52,303$59,994
Laredo, TX21.59%$47,166$53,455$61,315
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ19.57%$46,382$52,567$60,297
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA36.47%$52,938$59,996$68,819
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL24.67%$48,361$54,809$62,869
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI22.42%$47,488$53,820$61,734
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI27.62%$49,505$56,106$64,356
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA37.95%$53,512$60,647$69,565
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA18.23%$45,863$51,977$59,621
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL17.93%$45,746$51,846$59,470
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD28.99%$50,037$56,708$65,047
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ22.45%$47,500$53,833$61,749
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV21.03%$46,949$53,208$61,033
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA26.13%$48,927$55,451$63,605
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC22.24%$47,418$53,740$61,643
Reno-Fernley, NV17.52%$45,587$51,665$59,263
Richmond, VA22.28%$47,434$53,758$61,663
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY17.88%$45,727$51,824$59,445
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV29.76%$50,335$57,046$65,435
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX18.78%$46,076$52,219$59,898
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA33.72%$51,871$58,787$67,432
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA46.34%$56,767$64,335$73,796
Seattle-Tacoma, WA31.57%$51,037$57,842$66,348
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID17.67%$45,645$51,731$59,339
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL20.03%$46,561$52,769$60,529
State of Alaska32.36%$51,344$58,189$66,747
State of Hawaii22.21%$47,406$53,727$61,628
Tucson-Nogales, AZ19.28%$46,270$52,439$60,151
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC18.8%$46,084$52,228$59,908
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA33.94%$51,957$58,884$67,543
Rest of U.S.17.06%$45,409$51,463$59,031

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 6

Federal employees at grade 6 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