Reviewed by Jonathan Teplitsky · Updated June 2026
GS Pay Scale 2026 and 2025 (with Locality Pay)
The General Schedule has two components: base pay (uniform nationwide) and locality pay (17.14% to 46.91% in 2025). Most online GS charts show only base — that's the wrong number for almost every federal employee. A GS-13 Step 5 base of ~$98,000 is actually ~$115,000 in Rest of US and ~$144,000 in San Jose-SF.
This page covers both years' base pay, the 15-grade/10-step structure, WGI, FWS, and SES. Locality-by-locality breakdowns (GS-7 in Boston, GS-13 in Atlanta) will be a follow-up content series.
How GS pay works
15 grades (GS-1 to GS-15), 10 steps per grade. Grade reflects job level; step reflects time and performance.
Base × (1 + locality %) = Adjusted basic pay
Adjusted basic is your paycheck — and the figure used for FERS high-3.
2025 GS base pay (selected)
2025 raise was 2.0% across-the-board:
- GS-5 Step 1: ~$33,900
- GS-7 Step 5: ~$45,800
- GS-9 Step 10: ~$66,200
- GS-11 Step 5: ~$70,300
- GS-12 Step 5: ~$84,300
- GS-13 Step 5: ~$98,000
- GS-13 Step 10: ~$117,000
- GS-14 Step 5: ~$116,000
- GS-15 Step 10: ~$167,000 (Executive Schedule Level IV cap)
2026 GS base pay
Set by executive determination, finalized with March 2026 budget proposal. Plan small single-digit increase on each 2025 figure. Locality percentages adjust separately.
Locality pay
53 metro areas + Rest of US. 2025 highlights:
- San Jose-San Francisco: 46.91%
- New York City: 42.74%
- Hartford: 41.18%
- Los Angeles: 40.48%
- Washington DC: 33.94%
- Rest of US: 17.14%
GS-12 Step 5 base ~$84,300 → ~$98,800 Rest of US, ~$113,000 DC, ~$124,000 San Jose-SF. Locality long-tail (GS-7 in Seattle, GS-13 in Denver) covered in follow-up series.
Within-Grade Increases (WGI)
- Steps 1→4: 1 year each (52 weeks)
- Steps 4→8: 2 years each (104 weeks)
- Steps 8→10: 3 years each (156 weeks)
18 years total Step 1 to Step 10. Quality Step Increase (QSI) for sustained high performance adds extra step outside WGI clock.
Standard career ladders
- Entry/clerical: GS-5 → 7 → 9
- Professional: GS-7 → 9 → 11 → 12
- Technical: GS-9 → 11 → 12 → 13
- Senior/management: GS-12 → 13 → 14 → 15
Ladder promotions are non-competitive; competitive promotions require a vacancy announcement.
Federal Wage System (FWS)
Blue-collar/trade: mechanics, electricians, machinists, painters, equipment operators. WG (worker), WL (leader), WS (supervisor). Rates set by local wage surveys, not GS+locality. A WG-10 in San Diego is benchmarked against San Diego private trade wages.
Senior Executive Service (SES)
Above GS-15. Most agencies set single rate by performance; some use ES-1 to ES-5 tier. Not stepped — moves through annual performance reviews. Capped at Executive Schedule Level III (or II for certified appraisal systems).
Next
Federal employees hub, benefits, federal retirement, FSO pay, GS vs WG pay scale.
Sources
- OPM Pay & Leave
- Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
- 5 U.S.C. Chapter 53
Military rank to GS grade: the approximate equivalency
No official DoD-wide chart converts a military rank into a General Schedule grade for pay or authority. One government table does exist, in DoD Instruction 1000.01. It was written for a narrow purpose: identifying civilians who are captured as prisoners of war.
That table is still the closest thing to an official reference, and it is where most crosswalks you find online originally came from. Treat it as protocol guidance, not a pay or command equivalence.
| Military pay grade | Approximate GS grade | Example rank (Army) |
|---|---|---|
| O-8 | Senior Executive Service (SES) | Major General |
| O-6 | GS-15 | Colonel |
| O-5 | GS-14, GS-13 | Lieutenant Colonel |
| O-4 | GS-12 | Major |
| O-3 | GS-11, GS-10 | Captain |
| O-2 | GS-9, GS-8 | First Lieutenant |
| O-1 | GS-7 | Second Lieutenant |
| E-9, E-8, E-7 | GS-6 | Sergeant Major, Master Sergeant, Sergeant First Class |
| E-6, E-5 | GS-5 | Staff Sergeant, Sergeant |
| E-4 | GS-4 | Corporal, Specialist |
| E-3 to E-1 | GS-3 to GS-1 | Private First Class, Private |
The instruction lists no civilian grade for O-7, O-9, or O-10. Warrant officers W-1 through W-5 fall in the same category as company-grade officers, roughly the GS-7 to GS-11 band, with no single GS number assigned.
Full rank titles by branch are on our military ranks hub. For base pay by grade and years of service, see the military pay hub.
What this table does not mean
The equivalency grants no rank, no command authority, and no matching salary. DoD Instruction 1000.01 states that these rank equivalencies "will be used throughout the DoD for POW identification purposes." Agencies also lean on them informally for seating at ceremonies and protocol at joint events.
Pay does not line up. A GS-13 Step 5 earns one salary figure, while an O-5 earns base pay plus BAH, BAS, and other tax-free allowances. The two totals rarely match, and neither grade controls the other's paycheck.
Supervisory authority comes from the position, not the grade. A GS-12 program lead can direct an O-5 assigned to that program, and the reverse happens just as often. Treat any chart that claims a GS grade outranks a military rank as marketing, not policy.
Does military rank transfer to a police department?
Military rank does not carry over to police rank. Almost every department starts new hires as a recruit or probationary officer, whatever grade they held in uniform. Promotion to sergeant, lieutenant, or captain follows that department's own testing and time-in-service rules.
Veterans still get real credit at hiring. Many agencies award veterans preference points, accept military police training toward academy requirements, and move veteran applicants through screening faster. That is a hiring advantage, not a rank transfer.
The same logic applies to federal jobs. Your grade in uniform does not set your GS grade, but veterans preference and the qualification standards for the position both work in your favor. See the federal employees hub for how that hiring process runs.