GS-1 pay scale 2026 by step and locality
The lowest grade of the General Schedule, and the one where locality matters least. Choose a county to confirm your rate.
GS-1 step 1, Washington DC, 2026
$35,048
Special rate table 001M applies: it is higher than the Washington DC locality rate of $30,249.
| Base pay (GS table) | $22,584 |
| Locality payment, Washington DC | $12,464 |
| Hourly rate | $16.79 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $1,343.20 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $29,949 (+$5,099) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$724 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · 2026 OPM tables, rebuilt cell by cell
GS-1 is the first grade of the General Schedule and very few federal positions are classified there. Its pay in 2026 works differently from the grades above it. The base table gives $22,584 at step 1, and even the 17.06 % Rest of U.S. locality payment only lifts that to $26,437. Special rate table 001M, which OPM sets nationwide for GS-1 to GS-4, pays more: $35,048 at step 1 and $41,564 at step 10. Because 001M is higher than the locality rate almost everywhere, a GS-1 step 1 earns $35,048 in Rest of U.S., $35,048 in Washington and $35,048 in San Francisco, the highest locality area. Hourly pay at step 1 is $16.79, overtime is $25.19 an hour, and each step adds $724 a year. Those figures include the 1 % raise of 2026.
One national rate instead of 58 local ones
At every other grade, your locality area decides your pay: the same GS-9 step 1 is worth thousands of dollars more in New York than in a rural county. GS-1 is the exception. The locality percentages run from 17.06 % to 46.34 %, but the GS-1 base rates are so low that special rate table 001M beats the locality rate in all but 1 of the 580 GS-1 cells across the 58 areas. The exception is step 8 in San Francisco, where the locality rate of $40,271 is higher than the 001M rate of $40,116. In practice, a GS-1 is paid the same salary in Boston, Omaha or Honolulu.
The table in all 58 areas below this text shows it: the same three figures repeat line after line. Your official worksite still matters for the record on your SF-50, and it matters as soon as you move to a grade where locality pay takes over, but it does not change a GS-1 paycheck. The special rates page explains how OPM builds these tables and why they exist for the lowest grades.
An uneven base table that nobody is paid
The GS-1 base table has a quirk. Steps are normally spaced by a fixed amount, but GS-1 is not: the gaps run from about $757 down to $31, the smallest one between step 8 and step 9 ($27,519 to $27,550). Table 001M does not follow that pattern, with an even $724 a year between each step, so the odd spacing has no effect on what you are paid.
Hourly pay and overtime
At a grade this low, the hourly rate is often the figure people compare with jobs outside government. OPM divides the annual rate by 2,087 hours: $16.79 at step 1, $19.92 at step 10. A full biweekly pay period of 80 hours at step 1 is $1,343.20 gross. Overtime is time and a half at every step, because GS-1 sits far below the GS-10 step 1 rate that limits overtime for FLSA-exempt employees. In New York, GS-1 step 5 pays $37,944, the 001M rate, and $27.27 for an overtime hour, exactly what it pays in Rest of U.S.
GS-1 hourly and overtime for one pay period
GS-1 step 1, hourly
$16.79
| Regular 80 hours | $1,343.20 |
| Overtime, 8 hours | $201.52 |
| Gross for the pay period | $1,544.72 |
| Overtime rule | time and a half |
Who is hired at GS-1
Positions at this grade cover simple tasks done under close supervision. For most clerical and assistant series, OPM qualification standards ask for little or nothing in education or experience at GS-1, and a high school diploma is enough for GS-2. That makes GS-1 a door for a first job, not a career: employees usually move to GS-2 or GS-3 as soon as the work allows. Advancement up to GS-5 has no 52-week waiting period under the time-in-grade rules of 5 CFR part 300, as long as the new grade is no more than two grades above the lowest grade held in the previous 52 weeks.
A move up pays less than you might expect, because table 001M compresses the low grades: GS-2 step 1 pays $701 more than GS-1 step 1, and GS-3 step 1 pays $1,416 more. See the GS-2 page for the next rung.
GS-1 in all 58 locality areas
| Locality area | Step 1 | Step 5 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| New York | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Los Angeles | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Houston | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Washington DC | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| San Diego | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Boston | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Alaska | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Hartford | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Seattle | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Chicago | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Denver | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Sacramento | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Detroit | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Philadelphia | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Minneapolis | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Portland | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Miami | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Atlanta | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Phoenix | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Milwaukee | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Buffalo | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Richmond | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Raleigh | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Cleveland | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Hawaii | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Columbus | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Cincinnati | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Huntsville | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Laredo | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Dayton | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Pittsburgh | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Albany | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Austin | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Colorado Springs | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| St. Louis | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Charlotte | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Las Vegas | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Burlington | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Harrisburg | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Tucson | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Kansas City | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Davenport | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Virginia Beach | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| San Antonio | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Albuquerque | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Birmingham | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Omaha | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Indianapolis | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Des Moines | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Palm Bay | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Rochester | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Spokane | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Fresno | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Corpus Christi | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Reno | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |
| Rest of U.S. | $35,048 | $37,944 | $41,564 |