General Schedule · effective January 2026

GS-9 pay scale 2026

GS-9 base pay runs from $52,727 at step 1 to $68,549 at step 10. Every GS employee also gets a locality payment, so actual GS-9 pay at step 1 ranges from $61,722 (Rest of U.S.) to $77,161 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA) across 58 locality pay areas.

GS-9 pay by step

StepBase payRest of U.S. (17.06%)
Step 1$52,727$61,722
Step 2$54,485$63,780
Step 3$56,243$65,838
Step 4$58,001$67,896
Step 5$59,759$69,954
Step 6$61,517$72,012
Step 7$63,275$74,070
Step 8$65,033$76,128
Step 9$66,791$78,186
Step 10$68,549$80,243

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-9 pay by locality

Locality pay areaLocality payStep 1Step 5Step 10
Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA20.77%$63,678$72,171$82,787
Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM18.33%$62,392$70,713$81,114
Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL23.79%$65,271$73,976$84,857
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX20.35%$63,457$71,920$82,499
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL18.24%$62,344$70,659$81,052
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT32.58%$69,905$79,228$90,882
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY22.41%$64,543$73,151$83,911
Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT19.45%$62,982$71,382$81,882
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC19.67%$63,098$71,514$82,033
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI30.86%$68,999$78,201$89,703
Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN21.93%$64,290$72,864$83,582
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA22.23%$64,448$73,043$83,787
Colorado Springs, CO20.15%$63,351$71,800$82,362
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH22.15%$64,406$72,996$83,733
Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX17.63%$62,023$70,295$80,634
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK27.26%$67,100$76,049$87,235
Davenport-Moline, IA-IL18.93%$62,708$71,071$81,525
Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH21.42%$64,021$72,559$83,232
Denver-Aurora, CO30.52%$68,819$77,997$89,470
Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA18.01%$62,223$70,522$80,895
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI29.12%$68,081$77,161$88,510
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA17.65%$62,033$70,306$80,648
Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA19.43%$62,972$71,370$81,868
Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA32.08%$69,642$78,930$90,540
Houston-The Woodlands, TX35%$71,181$80,675$92,541
Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN21.91%$64,279$72,852$83,568
Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN18.15%$62,297$70,605$80,991
Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS18.97%$62,729$71,095$81,553
Laredo, TX21.59%$64,111$72,661$83,349
Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ19.57%$63,046$71,454$81,964
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA36.47%$71,957$81,553$93,549
Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL24.67%$65,735$74,502$85,460
Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI22.42%$64,548$73,157$83,918
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI27.62%$67,290$76,264$87,482
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA37.95%$72,737$82,438$94,563
Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA18.23%$62,339$70,653$81,045
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL17.93%$62,181$70,474$80,840
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD28.99%$68,013$77,083$88,421
Phoenix-Mesa, AZ22.45%$64,564$73,175$83,938
Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV21.03%$63,815$72,326$82,965
Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA26.13%$66,505$75,374$86,461
Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC22.24%$64,453$73,049$83,794
Reno-Fernley, NV17.52%$61,965$70,229$80,559
Richmond, VA22.28%$64,475$73,073$83,822
Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY17.88%$62,155$70,444$80,806
Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV29.76%$68,419$77,543$88,949
San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX18.78%$62,629$70,982$81,423
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA33.72%$70,507$79,910$91,664
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA46.34%$77,161$87,451$100,315
Seattle-Tacoma, WA31.57%$69,373$78,625$90,190
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID17.67%$62,044$70,318$80,662
St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL20.03%$63,288$71,729$82,279
State of Alaska32.36%$69,789$79,097$90,731
State of Hawaii22.21%$64,438$73,031$83,774
Tucson-Nogales, AZ19.28%$62,893$71,281$81,765
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC18.8%$62,640$70,994$81,436
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA33.94%$70,623$80,041$91,815
Rest of U.S.17.06%$61,722$69,954$80,243

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 9

Federal employees at grade 9 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