GS-5 pay scale 2026 by step and locality

A degree, a grade, a ladder

Many vacancy announcements for trainee and entry positions read "GS-5/7/9" or "GS-5/7/9/11". That means you can be hired at GS-5 and promoted up a career ladder without competing again, one rung at a time, as long as your work supports it. A bachelor's degree is the most common way to qualify at the bottom of that ladder. The OPM qualification standards for each series set the details: some require specific coursework, a few require a degree in a named field, and experience can always substitute when it is at the right level.

GS-5 is also the grade where federal pay starts to look like a full salary everywhere. GS-1 to GS-4 are often held at the floor set by table 001M. From GS-5 on, your locality area alone sets the rate, so the spread between areas is wide: $6,754 a year between Rest of U.S. and Los Angeles at step 1. Compared with GS-4 step 1 in Rest of U.S., $37,193, GS-5 step 1 pays $3,543 more.

The first year and the jump to GS-7

On a ladder, the GS-7 promotion usually comes after one year. Until January 18, 2027, the time-in-grade rule requires 52 weeks at GS-5 before a two-grade promotion to GS-7. OPM's final rule of October 19, 2026 eliminates that requirement from January 19, 2027, but the GS-7 qualification standard still calls for one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-5, so the one-year pace should not change much. The move to GS-5 itself was never subject to a waiting period: the time-in-grade rules covered advancement to GS-6 and above only.

The promotion is computed with the two-step rule. A GS-5 step 3 in Rest of U.S. earning $43,452 goes to GS-7 step 1, $50,460, a gain of $7,008 or 16.1 %. A new hire still at step 1 in Washington moves from $46,610 to $57,736.

When GS-5 is the full-performance grade

Not every GS-5 is a trainee. In clerical and assistant series with one-grade steps, GS-5 can be the top of the position, and then within-grade increases are the main raise. At $1,358 a step in Rest of U.S., ten years of steady performance add a lot: step 10 pays $52,957, which is more than GS-7 step 1 ($50,460) and close to GS-6 step 6 ($52,977). The step increase guide lists the waiting periods: 52 weeks for steps 2 to 4, 104 weeks for 5 to 7, 156 weeks for 8 to 10.

Hours, overtime and the first paycheck

A GS-5 step 1 in Rest of U.S. is paid $19.52 an hour and $1,561.60 gross for an 80-hour pay period. Overtime is time and a half, $29.28 an hour, because every GS-5 rate is below the GS-10 step 1 hourly rate of the same area. Deductions for FERS, federal tax, health insurance and the TSP come out of that gross; the FERS contribution page shows the share taken for retirement.