GS-9 pay scale 2026 by step and locality
The grade of a new hire with a master's degree and the middle rung of the 5, 7, 9, 11 ladder. Set your county to read your own rate.
GS-9 step 1, Washington DC, 2026
$70,623
Base $52,727 plus 33.94 % locality pay.
| Base pay (GS table) | $52,727 |
| Locality payment, Washington DC | $17,896 |
| Hourly rate | $33.84 |
| Biweekly paycheck (gross, 80 hours) | $2,707.20 |
| Same cell in 2025 | $69,923 (+$700) |
| Next step (52 weeks in step) | +$2,354 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · 2026 OPM tables, rebuilt cell by cell
GS-9 is the developmental grade that most two-grade-interval careers pass through on the way from GS-7 to GS-11. Many hires arrive here with a master's degree or two full years of graduate study, which the OPM qualification standards for a large number of professional and administrative series accept for GS-9 in place of specialized experience. In 2026 the GS-9 base table starts at $52,727, and locality pay brings step 1 to $61,722 in Rest of U.S. (17.06 %), $71,181 in Houston and $70,623 in the Washington area. Step 10 in Rest of U.S. is $80,243. Each step is worth $2,058 a year in Rest of U.S. Hourly pay at step 1 there is $29.57, and overtime is paid at time and a half, $44.36 an hour. Most GS-9 employees on a ladder are promoted to GS-11 after about a year, so the steps you climb here are fewer than at the grades above.
How people get to GS-9
There are two usual doors. The first is a career ladder: you were hired at GS-5 or GS-7 into a position with a full-performance level of GS-11 or GS-12, and your agency moves you up one rung each year if your work supports it. The second is a direct hire at GS-9, most often with a master's degree, two years of progressively higher graduate education, or a year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7. Which of those counts, and in which field, is set by the qualification standard of each series, so read the announcement before you count on a degree alone.
A promotion from GS-7 step 3 in Rest of U.S. shows how the ladder pays. You earn $53,824 today; the two-step rule places you at GS-9 step 1, $61,722, a gain of $7,898. That jump is larger than any within-grade increase you would get at GS-7.
A grade you are meant to leave
On a ladder, GS-9 is a training stage: assignments grow in difficulty and you work toward the duties of the full-performance grade. Until January 18, 2027, the time-in-grade rule asks for 52 weeks at GS-9 before a two-grade-interval promotion to GS-11. The final rule OPM published on October 19, 2026 removes that requirement from January 19, 2027. The qualification standard still asks for one year of specialized experience at the GS-9 level, so a year in the grade remains the normal pace for most people.
The move from GS-9 step 4 to GS-11 in Rest of U.S. goes from $67,896 to GS-11 step 1, $74,678. Test your own step below.
Your GS-9 step promoted to GS-11
Promotion to GS-11
Step 1
| Now: GS-9 step 2 | $63,780 |
| Plus two step increases of your grade | $67,896 |
| New rate: GS-11 step 1 | $74,678 |
| Waiting period for the next step | starts again |
If you stay at GS-9
Some positions have a full-performance level of GS-9, and in one-grade-interval series the next rung is GS-10 or a competitive move. Then the within-grade increases are your raises. From step 2 with four months already served, step 3 comes in about 8 months, step 5 in about 44 months, and step 10 only after 17 years or so. The step increase guide explains how breaks in service and quality step increases change those dates.
Overtime and hourly pay at GS-9
GS-9 sits below the GS-10 step 1 line that limits overtime for FLSA-exempt employees, so at every GS-9 step overtime is a full time and a half. In New York, step 1 pays $72,737 a year, $34.85 an hour and $52.28 for each overtime hour. The hourly pay page shows where the cap starts.
GS-9 in all 58 locality areas
| Locality area | Step 1 | Step 5 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $77,161 | $87,451 | $100,315 |
| New York | $72,737 | $82,438 | $94,563 |
| Los Angeles | $71,957 | $81,553 | $93,549 |
| Houston | $71,181 | $80,675 | $92,541 |
| Washington DC | $70,623 | $80,041 | $91,815 |
| San Diego | $70,507 | $79,910 | $91,664 |
| Boston | $69,905 | $79,228 | $90,882 |
| Alaska | $69,789 | $79,097 | $90,731 |
| Hartford | $69,642 | $78,930 | $90,540 |
| Seattle | $69,373 | $78,625 | $90,190 |
| Chicago | $68,999 | $78,201 | $89,703 |
| Denver | $68,819 | $77,997 | $89,470 |
| Sacramento | $68,419 | $77,543 | $88,949 |
| Detroit | $68,081 | $77,161 | $88,510 |
| Philadelphia | $68,013 | $77,083 | $88,421 |
| Minneapolis | $67,290 | $76,264 | $87,482 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $67,100 | $76,049 | $87,235 |
| Portland | $66,505 | $75,374 | $86,461 |
| Miami | $65,735 | $74,502 | $85,460 |
| Atlanta | $65,271 | $73,976 | $84,857 |
| Phoenix | $64,564 | $73,175 | $83,938 |
| Milwaukee | $64,548 | $73,157 | $83,918 |
| Buffalo | $64,543 | $73,151 | $83,911 |
| Richmond | $64,475 | $73,073 | $83,822 |
| Raleigh | $64,453 | $73,049 | $83,794 |
| Cleveland | $64,448 | $73,043 | $83,787 |
| Hawaii | $64,438 | $73,031 | $83,774 |
| Columbus | $64,406 | $72,996 | $83,733 |
| Cincinnati | $64,290 | $72,864 | $83,582 |
| Huntsville | $64,279 | $72,852 | $83,568 |
| Laredo | $64,111 | $72,661 | $83,349 |
| Dayton | $64,021 | $72,559 | $83,232 |
| Pittsburgh | $63,815 | $72,326 | $82,965 |
| Albany | $63,678 | $72,171 | $82,787 |
| Austin | $63,457 | $71,920 | $82,499 |
| Colorado Springs | $63,351 | $71,800 | $82,362 |
| St. Louis | $63,288 | $71,729 | $82,279 |
| Charlotte | $63,098 | $71,514 | $82,033 |
| Las Vegas | $63,046 | $71,454 | $81,964 |
| Burlington | $62,982 | $71,382 | $81,882 |
| Harrisburg | $62,972 | $71,370 | $81,868 |
| Tucson | $62,893 | $71,281 | $81,765 |
| Kansas City | $62,729 | $71,095 | $81,553 |
| Davenport | $62,708 | $71,071 | $81,525 |
| Virginia Beach | $62,640 | $70,994 | $81,436 |
| San Antonio | $62,629 | $70,982 | $81,423 |
| Albuquerque | $62,392 | $70,713 | $81,114 |
| Birmingham | $62,344 | $70,659 | $81,052 |
| Omaha | $62,339 | $70,653 | $81,045 |
| Indianapolis | $62,297 | $70,605 | $80,991 |
| Des Moines | $62,223 | $70,522 | $80,895 |
| Palm Bay | $62,181 | $70,474 | $80,840 |
| Rochester | $62,155 | $70,444 | $80,806 |
| Spokane | $62,044 | $70,318 | $80,662 |
| Fresno | $62,033 | $70,306 | $80,648 |
| Corpus Christi | $62,023 | $70,295 | $80,634 |
| Reno | $61,965 | $70,229 | $80,559 |
| Rest of U.S. | $61,722 | $69,954 | $80,243 |