GS Pay Scale
The General Schedule (GS) is the most common federal pay system, covering 1,517,243 employees across 15 grades, OPM FedScope (March 2025).
According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management FedScope dataset (March 2025), 1,517,357 federal civilian employees are paid on the General Schedule's 15 numbered grades (GS-1 through GS-15), each with 10 within-grade steps. The figures below show the employee count and average salary at each grade - see our methodology.
Total GS Employees
1,517,243
Lowest Avg Salary (GS-1)
$34,623
Highest Avg Salary (GS-15)
$186,965
| Grade | Employees | % of GS | Avg Salary | Avg LOS | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | 336 | 0.0% | $34,623 | 1.7 yrs | |
| GS-2 | 456 | 0.0% | $36,674 | 4.6 yrs | |
| GS-3 | 4,544 | 0.3% | $39,009 | 5.1 yrs | |
| GS-4 | 19,280 | 1.3% | $42,016 | 5.8 yrs | |
| GS-5 | 68,519 | 4.5% | $48,472 | 6.4 yrs | |
| GS-6 | 98,352 | 6.5% | $57,288 | 7.7 yrs | |
| GS-7 | 110,507 | 7.3% | $60,616 | 8.6 yrs | |
| GS-8 | 47,646 | 3.1% | $68,621 | 11.5 yrs | |
| GS-9 | 139,481 | 9.2% | $72,937 | 9.5 yrs | |
| GS-10 | 14,619 | 1.0% | $85,012 | 10.8 yrs | |
| GS-11 | 208,051 | 13.7% | $89,602 | 11.1 yrs | |
| GS-12 | 311,959 | 20.6% | $109,709 | 13.1 yrs | |
| GS-13 | 280,522 | 18.5% | $133,513 | 14.9 yrs | |
| GS-14 | 147,667 | 9.7% | $160,692 | 17 yrs | |
| GS-15 | 65,304 | 4.3% | $186,965 | 19 yrs | |
2026 GS Base Pay Table
The official 2026 General Schedule base rates, every grade (GS-1 through GS-15) and within-grade step (1 through 10), 1% across-the-board General Schedule increase, effective January 2026. These are base rates before locality adjustment - your actual salary adds the locality-pay percentage for your duty station on top (estimate your locality-adjusted pay). (The table above shows the FedScope average salary actually paid at each grade.)
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $22,584 | $23,341 | $24,092 | $24,840 | $25,589 | $26,028 | $26,771 | $27,519 | $27,550 | $28,248 |
| GS-2 | $25,393 | $25,997 | $26,839 | $27,550 | $27,858 | $28,677 | $29,496 | $30,315 | $31,134 | $31,953 |
| GS-3 | $27,708 | $28,632 | $29,556 | $30,480 | $31,404 | $32,328 | $33,252 | $34,176 | $35,100 | $36,024 |
| GS-4 | $31,103 | $32,140 | $33,177 | $34,214 | $35,251 | $36,288 | $37,325 | $38,362 | $39,399 | $40,436 |
| GS-5 | $34,799 | $35,959 | $37,119 | $38,279 | $39,439 | $40,599 | $41,759 | $42,919 | $44,079 | $45,239 |
| GS-6 | $38,791 | $40,084 | $41,377 | $42,670 | $43,963 | $45,256 | $46,549 | $47,842 | $49,135 | $50,428 |
| GS-7 | $43,106 | $44,543 | $45,980 | $47,417 | $48,854 | $50,291 | $51,728 | $53,165 | $54,602 | $56,039 |
| GS-8 | $47,738 | $49,329 | $50,920 | $52,511 | $54,102 | $55,693 | $57,284 | $58,875 | $60,466 | $62,057 |
| GS-9 | $52,727 | $54,485 | $56,243 | $58,001 | $59,759 | $61,517 | $63,275 | $65,033 | $66,791 | $68,549 |
| GS-10 | $58,064 | $59,999 | $61,934 | $63,869 | $65,804 | $67,739 | $69,674 | $71,609 | $73,544 | $75,479 |
| GS-11 | $63,795 | $65,922 | $68,049 | $70,176 | $72,303 | $74,430 | $76,557 | $78,684 | $80,811 | $82,938 |
| GS-12 | $76,463 | $79,012 | $81,561 | $84,110 | $86,659 | $89,208 | $91,757 | $94,306 | $96,855 | $99,404 |
| GS-13 | $90,925 | $93,956 | $96,987 | $100,018 | $103,049 | $106,080 | $109,111 | $112,142 | $115,173 | $118,204 |
| GS-14 | $107,446 | $111,028 | $114,610 | $118,192 | $121,774 | $125,356 | $128,938 | $132,520 | $136,102 | $139,684 |
| GS-15 | $126,384 | $130,597 | $134,810 | $139,023 | $143,236 | $147,449 | $151,662 | $155,875 | $160,088 | $164,301 |
Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Salary Table 2026-GS. Base rates only, add the applicable locality-pay percentage (varies by duty station) for actual salary.
About the GS Pay Scale
The General Schedule (GS) is the predominant pay scale for federal employees. It consists of 15 grades (GS-1 through GS-15), each with 10 step increases.
GS-1 through GS-7 typically represent entry-level and clerical positions. GS-9 through GS-12 cover professional and technical roles. GS-13 through GS-15 are senior professional and supervisory positions.
Actual pay varies by locality. The figures shown are national averages across all locality pay areas.