General Schedule · effective January 2026

GS-8 pay scale 2026

GS-8 base pay runs from $47,738 at step 1 to $62,057 at step 10. Every GS employee also gets a locality payment, so actual GS-8 pay at step 1 ranges from $55,882 (Rest of U.S.) to $69,860 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA) across 58 locality pay areas.

GS-8 pay by step

StepBase payRest of U.S. (17.06%)
Step 1$47,738$55,882
Step 2$49,329$57,745
Step 3$50,920$59,607
Step 4$52,511$61,469
Step 5$54,102$63,332
Step 6$55,693$65,194
Step 7$57,284$67,057
Step 8$58,875$68,919
Step 9$60,466$70,781
Step 10$62,057$72,644

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-8 pay by locality

Locality pay areaLocality payStep 1Step 5Step 10
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$57,653$65,339$74,946
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM18.33%$56,488$64,019$73,432
Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$59,095$66,973$76,820
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX20.35%$57,453$65,112$74,686
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$56,445$63,970$73,376
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$63,291$71,728$82,275
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY22.41%$58,436$66,226$75,964
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT19.45%$57,023$64,625$74,127
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC19.67%$57,128$64,744$74,264
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI30.86%$62,470$70,798$81,208
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN21.93%$58,207$65,967$75,666
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA22.23%$58,350$66,129$75,852
Colorado Springs, CO20.15%$57,357$65,004$74,561
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH22.15%$58,312$66,086$75,803
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX17.63%$56,154$63,640$72,998
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK27.26%$60,751$68,850$78,974
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL18.93%$56,775$64,344$73,804
Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH21.42%$57,963$65,691$75,350
Denver-Aurora, CO30.52%$62,308$70,614$80,997
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA18.01%$56,336$63,846$73,233
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI29.12%$61,639$69,857$80,128
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA17.65%$56,164$63,651$73,010
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA19.43%$57,013$64,614$74,115
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$63,052$71,458$81,965
Houston-The Woodlands, TX35%$64,446$73,038$83,777
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$58,197$65,956$75,654
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN18.15%$56,402$63,922$73,320
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS18.97%$56,794$64,365$73,829
Laredo, TX21.59%$58,045$65,783$75,455
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ19.57%$57,080$64,690$74,202
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA36.47%$65,148$73,833$84,689
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL24.67%$59,515$67,449$77,366
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI22.42%$58,441$66,232$75,970
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI27.62%$60,923$69,045$79,197
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA37.95%$65,855$74,634$85,608
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA18.23%$56,441$63,965$73,370
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL17.93%$56,297$63,802$73,184
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD28.99%$61,577$69,786$80,047
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ22.45%$58,455$66,248$75,989
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV21.03%$57,777$65,480$75,108
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA26.13%$60,212$68,239$78,272
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC22.24%$58,355$66,134$75,858
Reno-Fernley, NV17.52%$56,102$63,581$72,929
Richmond, VA22.28%$58,374$66,156$75,883
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY17.88%$56,274$63,775$73,153
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV29.76%$61,945$70,203$80,525
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX18.78%$56,703$64,262$73,711
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA33.72%$63,835$72,345$82,983
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA46.34%$69,860$79,173$90,814
Seattle-Tacoma, WA31.57%$62,809$71,182$81,648
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID17.67%$56,173$63,662$73,022
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL20.03%$57,300$64,939$74,487
State of Alaska32.36%$63,186$71,609$82,139
State of Hawaii22.21%$58,341$66,118$75,840
Tucson-Nogales, AZ19.28%$56,942$64,533$74,022
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC18.8%$56,713$64,273$73,724
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA33.94%$63,940$72,464$83,119
Rest of U.S.17.06%$55,882$63,332$72,644

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 8

Federal employees at grade 8 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