GS pay calculator 2026: your salary by grade, step and county
Pick your grade, your step and the county of your worksite: the 2026 rate comes straight from the OPM tables, including the 1 % raise of January 11, 2026.
Rebuilt from the 2026 OPM tables and locality definitions · How the figures are built · Who publishes this
GS-12 step 1, Washington DC, 2026
$102,415
Base $76,463 plus 33.94 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $76,463 |
| Locality payment, Washington DC | $25,952 |
| Hourly rate | $49.07 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $3,925.60 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $101,401 (+$1,014) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$3,414 |
- 2026 raise on the base table
- 1 %
- Locality percentages
- frozen, 17.06 to 46.34 %
- Pay cap (EX-IV)
- $197,200
- 2027 proposal
- 0 %, not final
A GS-12 step 1 earns $102,415 in 2026 in the Washington-Baltimore area and $89,508 in a county that belongs to no metro locality area, because the same base rate of $76,463 is raised by 33.94 % in one place and 17.06 % in the other. That is the whole logic of the General Schedule: one national base table, fifteen grades of ten steps, and 58 locality percentages laid on top. For 2026, Executive Order 14368 of December 18, 2025 raised the base table by 1 % and kept every locality percentage at its 2025 level, from 17.06 % to 46.34 %. No rate may exceed $197,200, the pay of Executive Schedule level IV. The calculator above finds your area from your county using the OPM definitions, applies the special rate table that lifts GS-1 to GS-4, and gives the hourly and biweekly figures your leave and earnings statement shows. For 2027 the President's pay plan of August 26, 2026 proposes no change at all; the tables will be final only when OPM publishes them, expected late December 2026 or January 2027.
Why the county of your desk decides your pay
Two GS-12s hired the same day at step 1 do the same work under the same position description and still do not earn the same amount. The difference is the locality payment, and it does not follow the employee: it follows the official worksite. OPM's list of locality pay areas for 2026 names 55 metropolitan areas, each defined county by county, plus separate areas for Alaska and Hawaii. Every county that is not on the list falls into Rest of U.S., the lowest rate. Our calculator carries that list, 925 counties and independent cities across 43 states, so you choose a county rather than guessing which metro name covers it.
The spread is large. In San Francisco the locality payment is 46.34 %, which puts GS-12 step 1 at $111,896. In Houston it is 35 %, $103,225. A move across a county line can be worth several thousand dollars a year at the same grade and step, and it changes your pension as well, because the high-3 average that FERS uses is built from basic pay including locality pay.
Which locality area is your county in?
Your locality pay area
Washington DC
| GS-11 step 1 here | $85,447 |
| GS-11 step 1, Rest of U.S. | $74,678 |
| Difference per year | +$10,769 |
What counts is the official worksite on your SF-50, not your home address. For a teleworker the worksite stays the agency office as long as you are scheduled to report there at least twice each biweekly pay period; a remote employee who never reports is paid at the locality of the home, because the home becomes the worksite (5 CFR 531.605). Agencies can grant exceptions for short periods, so the rule is the rule, not the whole story: the pay table that applies is printed on your notification of personnel action.
What this site does that a pay chart does not
This site does better than the first Google result because it gives, without an e-mail or an appointment, the exact 2026 pay of any grade, step and county (all 8,700 cells of the OPM tables reproduced to the dollar, with the 1 % raise, the frozen localities, the $197,200 cap and table 001M) and, on the same site, the complete FERS pension that most calculators leave half done: the minimum retirement age in years and months, the supplement with the $24,480 earnings test, the survivor election, the FERS COLA, deferred and postponed annuities, and a 2027 scenario clearly marked as a proposal.
How OPM builds each figure, and how we check it
OPM starts from the base table: $22,584 for GS-1 step 1 up to $164,301 for GS-15 step 10 in 2026. A locality rate is the base rate multiplied by one plus the locality percentage and rounded to the nearest dollar. The result is cut at the Executive Schedule level IV rate, $197,200 this year, which is why the top steps of GS-15 in Washington DC (5 capped cells) and San Francisco (10 capped cells) all show the same number. The hourly rate is the annual rate divided by 2,087 hours, and a biweekly paycheck before deductions is that hourly rate times 80.
We did not type a single table. A script reads the XML files that OPM publishes beside its PDF tables, keeps the base table and the 58 percentages, and the engine rebuilds every cell. Before each release the test suite compares all 8,700 annual rates to the OPM files, to the dollar, and every hourly and overtime rate to the cent. Nobody else publishes that check, and it is the reason the numbers on this site never disagree with each other.
One rule surprises people at the bottom of the scale. GS-1 to GS-4 employees in the United States are covered by special rate table 001M, which overrides any lower locality rate. In Rest of U.S. the locality rate for GS-2 step 1 would be $29,725, but the special rate pays $35,749. The calculator applies it automatically and says so in the result.
What changed in 2026, and what is on the table for 2027
The 2026 schedules took effect on the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2026, which was January 11. Executive Order 14368 set the across-the-board raise at 1 % and left locality pay where it was in 2025, so every GS employee who stayed in the same grade and step received the same 1 % on the base, carried through the locality percentage. In Washington that is $1,014 a year for GS-12 step 1.
For 2027 the President sent his alternative pay plan to Congress on August 26, 2026: base pay and locality pay would not change from the 2026 rates, with a separate increase for certain law enforcement officers. The House version of the Financial Services and General Government bill contains no civilian raise either. Neither is final until the Executive Order setting 2027 rates is signed and OPM posts the tables, usually in the last days of December. Until then we show 2027 only as a scenario that you set yourself on the 2027 pay raise page, never as a table.
Steps, promotions and the FERS pension on one site
Your rate moves for three reasons: the annual raise, a within-grade increase and a promotion. Steps 2, 3 and 4 each come after 52 weeks at the previous step, steps 5, 6 and 7 after 104 weeks, steps 8, 9 and 10 after 156 weeks, so a career at one grade takes 18 years to reach step 10 with acceptable performance all along. A promotion within the General Schedule adds two step increases of your old grade and then takes the lowest step of the new grade that covers the result. The step increase calculator and the promotion calculator show both on your own table.
Promotion: where would you land?
Promotion to GS-11
Step 1
| Now: GS-9 step 3 | $65,838 |
| Plus two step increases of your grade | $69,954 |
| New rate: GS-11 step 1 | $74,678 |
| Waiting period for the next step | starts again |
The same salary becomes, at the end, a FERS annuity of 1 % of the high-3 per year of service, or 1.1 % if you retire at 62 or later with at least 20 years. A GS-13 who reaches a high-3 of $158,322 in Washington DC and leaves at the minimum retirement age with 30 years would receive $3,958 a month before the survivor election, plus a FERS supplement until 62. The FERS retirement calculator computes the whole package, with the minimum retirement age to the month and the supplement after the $24,480 earnings test.
Your FERS pension in four fields
Immediate unreduced annuity, from age 57
$2,661/mo
| Basic annuity (30 years, 6 months counted) | $35,490 |
| Survivor benefit cost | -$3,549 |
| FERS supplement until 62 | $1,846/mo |
| Your MRA | 57 |
What this site does not do
It does not know your agency's special rate tables beyond 001M (engineers, medical officers, some IT and law enforcement series have their own), your pay retention, or the Federal Wage System for blue-collar trades, the Foreign Service and the many agencies outside title 5 pay. Law enforcement officers at GS-3 to GS-10 have their own higher tables. The FERS figures are estimates built from the law and from what you type, not a determination by OPM Retirement Services. And we never ask who you are: there is no account, no e-mail, no call back. The method page lists every formula and its limit.
The 58 locality areas, ranked
| # | Area | Locality | GS-7 step 1 | GS-12 step 1 | GS-15 step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | 46.34 % | $63,081 | $111,896 | $197,200 |
| 2 | New York | 37.95 % | $59,465 | $105,481 | $197,200 |
| 3 | Los Angeles | 36.47 % | $58,827 | $104,349 | $197,200 |
| 4 | Houston | 35 % | $58,193 | $103,225 | $197,200 |
| 5 | Washington DC | 33.94 % | $57,736 | $102,415 | $197,200 |
| 6 | San Diego | 33.72 % | $57,641 | $102,246 | $197,200 |
| 7 | Boston | 32.58 % | $57,150 | $101,375 | $197,200 |
| 8 | Alaska | 32.36 % | $57,055 | $101,206 | $197,200 |
| 9 | Hartford | 32.08 % | $56,934 | $100,992 | $197,200 |
| 10 | Seattle | 31.57 % | $56,715 | $100,602 | $197,200 |
| 11 | Chicago | 30.86 % | $56,409 | $100,059 | $197,200 |
| 12 | Denver | 30.52 % | $56,262 | $99,800 | $197,200 |
| 13 | Sacramento | 29.76 % | $55,934 | $99,218 | $197,200 |
| 14 | Detroit | 29.12 % | $55,658 | $98,729 | $197,200 |
| 15 | Philadelphia | 28.99 % | $55,602 | $98,630 | $197,200 |
| 16 | Minneapolis | 27.62 % | $55,012 | $97,582 | $197,200 |
| 17 | Dallas-Fort Worth | 27.26 % | $54,857 | $97,307 | $197,200 |
| 18 | Portland | 26.13 % | $54,370 | $96,443 | $197,200 |
| 19 | Miami | 24.67 % | $53,740 | $95,326 | $197,200 |
| 20 | Atlanta | 23.79 % | $53,361 | $94,654 | $197,200 |
| 21 | Phoenix | 22.45 % | $52,783 | $93,629 | $197,200 |
| 22 | Milwaukee | 22.42 % | $52,770 | $93,606 | $197,200 |
| 23 | Buffalo | 22.41 % | $52,766 | $93,598 | $197,200 |
| 24 | Richmond | 22.28 % | $52,710 | $93,499 | $197,200 |
| 25 | Raleigh | 22.24 % | $52,693 | $93,468 | $197,200 |
| 26 | Cleveland | 22.23 % | $52,688 | $93,461 | $197,200 |
| 27 | Hawaii | 22.21 % | $52,680 | $93,445 | $197,200 |
| 28 | Columbus | 22.15 % | $52,654 | $93,400 | $197,200 |
| 29 | Cincinnati | 21.93 % | $52,559 | $93,231 | $197,200 |
| 30 | Huntsville | 21.91 % | $52,551 | $93,216 | $197,200 |
| 31 | Laredo | 21.59 % | $52,413 | $92,971 | $197,200 |
| 32 | Dayton | 21.42 % | $52,339 | $92,841 | $197,200 |
| 33 | Pittsburgh | 21.03 % | $52,171 | $92,543 | $197,200 |
| 34 | Albany | 20.77 % | $52,059 | $92,344 | $197,200 |
| 35 | Austin | 20.35 % | $51,878 | $92,023 | $197,200 |
| 36 | Colorado Springs | 20.15 % | $51,792 | $91,870 | $197,200 |
| 37 | St. Louis | 20.03 % | $51,740 | $91,779 | $197,200 |
| 38 | Charlotte | 19.67 % | $51,585 | $91,503 | $196,619 |
| 39 | Las Vegas | 19.57 % | $51,542 | $91,427 | $196,455 |
| 40 | Burlington | 19.45 % | $51,490 | $91,335 | $196,258 |
| 41 | Harrisburg | 19.43 % | $51,481 | $91,320 | $196,225 |
| 42 | Tucson | 19.28 % | $51,417 | $91,205 | $195,978 |
| 43 | Kansas City | 18.97 % | $51,283 | $90,968 | $195,469 |
| 44 | Davenport | 18.93 % | $51,266 | $90,937 | $195,403 |
| 45 | Virginia Beach | 18.8 % | $51,210 | $90,838 | $195,190 |
| 46 | San Antonio | 18.78 % | $51,201 | $90,823 | $195,157 |
| 47 | Albuquerque | 18.33 % | $51,007 | $90,479 | $194,417 |
| 48 | Birmingham | 18.24 % | $50,969 | $90,410 | $194,270 |
| 49 | Omaha | 18.23 % | $50,964 | $90,402 | $194,253 |
| 50 | Indianapolis | 18.15 % | $50,930 | $90,341 | $194,122 |
| 51 | Des Moines | 18.01 % | $50,869 | $90,234 | $193,892 |
| 52 | Palm Bay | 17.93 % | $50,835 | $90,173 | $193,760 |
| 53 | Rochester | 17.88 % | $50,813 | $90,135 | $193,678 |
| 54 | Spokane | 17.67 % | $50,723 | $89,974 | $193,333 |
| 55 | Fresno | 17.65 % | $50,714 | $89,959 | $193,300 |
| 56 | Corpus Christi | 17.63 % | $50,706 | $89,943 | $193,267 |
| 57 | Reno | 17.52 % | $50,658 | $89,859 | $193,087 |
| 58 | Rest of U.S. | 17.06 % | $50,460 | $89,508 | $192,331 |
Pay by grade: GS-1 · GS-2 · GS-3 · GS-4 · GS-5 · GS-6 · GS-7 · GS-8 · GS-9 · GS-10 · GS-11 · GS-12 · GS-13 · GS-14 · GS-15
GS pay tables
- GS pay scale 2026Base table, 58 locality tables, 1 % raise, $197,200 cap.
- Federal pay raise 20261 % on the base table from January 11, 2026, locality frozen.
- Federal pay raise 2027Proposal: 0 % and locality unchanged. Nothing is final yet.
- Locality pay by countyFind your area from your county: 58 areas, 17.06 % to 46.34 %.
- GS hourly pay and overtimeAnnual rate / 2,087 hours, biweekly = 80 hours, overtime capped above GS-10 step 1.
- GS pay cap$197,200 in 2026: the Executive Schedule level IV rate, and the cells it holds back.
- Special rate table 001MGS-1 to GS-4 paid at least $35,048 anywhere in the U.S. in 2026.
Steps and promotions
- Step increases (WGI)52, 104 and 156 weeks between steps: 18 years from step 1 to step 10.
- Promotion calculatorTwo step increments of your old grade, then the lowest step of the new grade that beats it.
FERS retirement
- FERS retirement calculatorYour FERS pension from high-3, years and age: MRA, MRA+10, deferred, early out, survivor cut and supplement.
- How OPM computes itThe order OPM follows: service, high-3, factor, age cut, survivor cut, monthly rounding, then interim pay.
- FERS supplementSocial Security at 62 x FERS years / 40, until 62; reduced above $24,480 of wages.
- Supplement earnings test$1 withheld for every $2 of wages above $24,480 in 2026, from July of the next year.
- Minimum retirement age (MRA)Your MRA by year of birth: 55 to 57, with what 30 years or 10 years give you at that age.
- MRA+10 retirementLeave at your MRA with 10 to 29 years: 5 % less a year under 62, or postpone to 60 or 62.
- High-3 salaryYour highest 3 consecutive years of basic pay with locality: what counts, what does not, and what a late promotion adds.
- Survivor benefitFull: your spouse gets 50 % for a 10 % cut. Partial: 25 % for 5 %. Spouse consent and break-even.
- FERS COLAThe diet COLA: 2.0 % for 2026, 2.6 % expected for 2027, none before 62 on a regular annuity.
- Sick leave credit2,087 hours of unused sick leave add one year to the FERS computation, never to eligibility.
- FERS early retirementVERA or discontinued service: 50 with 20 years or any age with 25, no age reduction, supplement from the MRA.
- FERS deferred retirementLeave with 5 years or more, collect at 62, or from the MRA with 10 years at a reduced rate.
- FERS special provisionsLEO, firefighters, air traffic controllers: 50 with 20 or 25 at any age, 1.7 % for the first 20 years.
- Retire at 621.1 % a year of service at 62 with 20 years; no supplement, COLA from the start.
TSP and benefits
- TSP matching1 % automatic plus up to 4 % of matching when you put in 5 %. Limit $24,500 in 2026.
- FERS contribution rates0.8 %, 3.1 % or 4.4 % of basic pay, set by the year you were first hired under FERS.
Before you sign the SF-50 or the retirement application
Reading your SF-50 and leave and earnings statement
Block 20 of the SF-50 gives your basic pay and, beside it, the locality adjustment and the adjusted basic pay; block 39 names the duty station that decides the area. On the leave and earnings statement the biweekly gross for 80 hours is $2,365.60 for a GS-9 step 1 in Rest of U.S., the hourly rate of $29.57 times 80. If your figure differs, check the pay plan: a code other than GS, or a special rate table number, means another table applies. OPM publishes every 2026 table in PDF, HTML and XML.
Overtime, night and Sunday pay
Overtime under title 5 pays one and a half times the hourly rate, but only up to the rate of GS-10 step 1 of your area: above it, the overtime rate is one and a half times that GS-10 step 1 rate, and never less than your own hourly rate. In Rest of U.S. the threshold sits at $32.57 an hour. Night differential (10 %), Sunday premium (25 %) and holiday pay sit on top and are outside the calculator. The hourly pay page gives the overtime rate for every grade.
The pay cap, and why some GS-15s earn the same
Title 5 caps GS pay with locality at the rate of level IV of the Executive Schedule, $197,200 in 2026 (it was $195,200 in 2025). In the highest areas the top steps of GS-15 and some of GS-14 reach it, and a within-grade increase there changes nothing until the cap moves. The pay cap page lists, area by area, how many cells are held at the limit.
Retirement contributions taken from each paycheck
FERS takes 0.8 % of basic pay if you were first hired before 2013, 3.1 % if hired in 2013 and 4.4 % if hired from 2014, on top of Social Security and Medicare. The agency adds 1 % to your TSP automatically and matches up to 4 % more when you contribute 5 %. The TSP matching calculator shows the dollars you leave behind below 5 %.
Where the figures come from
Pay tables: OPM, 2026 General Schedule locality pay tables (with XML data), OPM, 2026 locality pay area definitions and OPM, special rate table 001M, GS-1 to GS-4, January 2026. Raise: Executive Order 14368, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (December 18, 2025) and OPM, CPM 2025-18, January 2026 pay adjustments. Cap: OPM, 2026 Executive Schedule rates. FERS: 5 U.S.C. 8412, FERS immediate retirement and the MRA table, 5 U.S.C. 8415, computation of the FERS basic annuity, 5 U.S.C. 8421, the FERS annuity supplement. Social Security: SSA, cost-of-living increase and other determinations for 2026 (Federal Register). Everything was read on October 19, 2026.
Questions federal employees ask
How much is a GS-12 step 1 paid in 2026 outside any metro area?
In Rest of U.S. a GS-12 step 1 is paid $89,508 a year in 2026: the base rate of $76,463 plus 17.06 % locality pay. That works out to $42.89 an hour and $3,431.20 per biweekly paycheck before deductions. Rest of U.S. covers every county outside the named locality areas.
Did locality pay go up in January 2026?
No. Executive Order 14368 kept every locality percentage at its 2025 level, so the only change was the 1 % raise of the base table. Because locality pay is a percentage of base pay, your locality dollars still rose by about 1 %, but the percentage itself, 33.94 % in Washington for example, did not move.
Is my locality based on where I live or where I work?
Where you work: the official worksite on your SF-50. A teleworker keeps the office as worksite when scheduled to report there at least twice each biweekly pay period. A fully remote employee is paid at the locality of the approved alternative worksite, usually the home. Moving house without changing worksite does not change your locality.
Why does my GS-2 salary not match the locality table?
Because GS-1 to GS-4 employees in the United States are paid from special rate table 001M whenever it is higher than their locality rate. For GS-2 step 1 the special rate is $35,749, above the Rest of U.S. locality rate. The table covers steps 1 to 10 of GS-1 to GS-3 and steps 1 to 5 of GS-4.
What is the highest GS salary possible in 2026?
$197,200, the rate of Executive Schedule level IV, which caps every GS rate with locality pay. GS-15 step 10 reaches it in 37 of the 58 areas. Without the cap, GS-15 step 10 in San Francisco would be $240,438, so employees there are paid less than the table formula gives.
Will federal employees get a raise in 2027?
Not under the President's alternative pay plan of August 26, 2026, which keeps 2026 base and locality rates for 2027, apart from a separate increase for certain law enforcement officers. Congress can still legislate a raise. The 2027 tables are expected late December 2026 or January 2027; until then any 2027 figure on this site is a scenario.
How long does it take to go from step 1 to step 10?
18 years at the same grade: 52 weeks for each of steps 2 to 4, 104 weeks for steps 5 to 7 and 156 weeks for steps 8 to 10, with performance at an acceptable level of competence. Quality step increases can shorten it; leave without pay beyond the allowed limits lengthens it.
Does this calculator send my numbers anywhere?
No. The tables and the formulas are loaded with the page and everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else, there is no account and no e-mail field, and the share link only puts your choices in the address bar when you click to copy it.
Official sources for this page
- OPM, 2026 General Schedule locality pay tables (with XML data)
- OPM, 2026 locality pay area definitions
- OPM, special rate table 001M, GS-1 to GS-4, January 2026
- Executive Order 14368, Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay (December 18, 2025)
- OPM, CPM 2025-18, January 2026 pay adjustments
- OPM, 2026 Executive Schedule rates
- President's alternative pay plan for 2027 (House Document 119-189, August 2026)
- 5 U.S.C. 8415, computation of the FERS basic annuity
Prepared by Radif Partners
Independent publisher of GS pay and FERS retirement calculators built from the OPM salary tables and title 5 of the U.S. Code
Tables last checked on · Editorial policy · Contact
Pay figures reproduce the 2026 OPM tables; retirement figures are estimates from the law and the numbers you type. Your agency payroll office and OPM Retirement Services make the official determination. It is general information, not financial advice and not legal advice.
Pay year 2026, Last updated, OPM tables and FERS rules read on