Where is the GS pay scale?

At the top of this page. The calculator is OPM Salary Table 2026-GS (all 15 grades and 10 steps) with the locality rates from Executive Order 14368, and it reproduces OPM's published tables to the dollar.

What is locality pay?

A percentage added to the nationwide GS base rate for where the job is. There are 58 locality pay areas in 2026, from 17.06% for Rest of U.S. to 46.34% in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area. The same grade and step can differ by tens of thousands of dollars across them.

How long until I move up a step?

Within-grade increases take 52 weeks of creditable service for steps 1 to 3, 104 weeks for steps 4 to 6, and 156 weeks for steps 7 to 9. Step 10 is the top of the grade, so pay rises from there only by promotion, a locality change, or the annual adjustment.

Where do the posted salary figures come from?

Pay ranges published in 124,298 open government postings, parsed from the employer's own announcement. No surveys, no self-reported salaries.

Why do so many government jobs show no pay?

61.6% of 201,750 open postings publish a range. Postings without one are excluded rather than estimated.

What does a government job pay?

Two answers. Federal pay is published to the dollar: pick a grade and step below. Everything else is measured from open listings.

GS pay calculator · 2026

Grade

Step

Locality pay area

2026 annual basic pay

GS-13, Step 1 · Rest of U.S.

$106,437

$4,080.00 biweekly$51.00 / hour

Base rate (nationwide): $90,925
Locality pay+17.06%: +$15,512
Total basic pay: $106,437

Step 2 pays $109,985 (+$3,548) after 1 year of creditable service at this step.

Every step of GS-13 in Rest of U.S.

Annual	Biweekly	Hourly	Gain
$106,437	$4,080.00	$51.00	—
$109,985	$4,216.00	$52.70	+$3,548
$113,533	$4,352.00	$54.40	+$3,548
$117,081	$4,488.00	$56.10	+$3,548
$120,629	$4,624.00	$57.80	+$3,548
$124,177	$4,760.00	$59.50	+$3,548
$127,725	$4,896.00	$61.20	+$3,548
$131,273	$5,032.00	$62.90	+$3,548
$134,822	$5,168.00	$64.60	+$3,549
$138,370	$5,304.00	$66.30	+$3,548

Basic pay only: no locality-exempt premiums, overtime, law-enforcement availability pay, special salary rates, or the value of FEHB, FERS and TSP. Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-GS and E.O. 14368 Schedule 9.

What open listings actually pay

State, county, city and contractor jobs have no GS table. This is the posted range on live postings, including federal ones, which is how you see where a grade sits against the wider market.

Posted salary

All government jobs

$91,291

n = 124,298Open listings

10th – median – 90th

10th: $44,117
Median: $91,291
90th: $185,000

Posted ranges, not survey estimates. No benefits, overtime or locality.61.6% of 201,750 open postings publish pay ·/analytics/salary-distribution2026-10-10

Contractor53,262 postings$133,876

Research Lab1,021 postings$121,500

Health System1,857 postings$86,840

Transit195 postings$83,157

County3,045 postings$74,473

City4,050 postings$66,487

Federal16,845 postings$64,910

University3,705 postings$63,631

State25,170 postings$63,552

School District12,740 postings$55,790

Nonprofit1,521 postings$38,480

Tribal201 postings$36,400

Employer	Posted salary	Postings
Contractor	$133,876	53,262
Research Lab	$121,500	1,021
Health System	$86,840	1,857
Transit	$83,157	195
County	$74,473	3,045
City	$66,487	4,050
Federal	$64,910	16,845
University	$63,631	3,705
State	$63,552	25,170
School District	$55,790	12,740
Nonprofit	$38,480	1,521
Tribal	$36,400	201

Federal includes the Postal Service, which posts many hourly, entry-level roles, so the federal median sits below what General Schedule jobs pay. The GS calculator above has the published federal rates.

The same role, priced across every employer

IT specialist · Rest of U.S.

State and local governments lead on both salary ($102,300) and the full package ($157,029 a year). A federal agency can add up to $32,377 in the first year through a recruitment incentive and student loan repayment.

Tech company
Defense and govtech companies
No posts from this kind of employer in scope.
Government contractor
Contractors to government
$136K / yr
Federal agency
GS-12 step 1 · Rest of U.S.
$137K / yr
+ up to $32K year one
State or local government
States, cities, counties and districts
$157K / yr

Salary
Retirement
Health insurance
Paid time off
First-year extras (not guaranteed)
Striped = estimated from a published average

Full package: salary plus bonus, retirement, health and time off. Market rows come from job posts; the federal row from the published GS tables for the grade agencies hire at most. As of Oct 10, 2026.

Send us a role

Hiring for this role? Free market brief. Job seekers: the GS calculator above is the complete federal answer, free.

Where is the GS pay scale?: At the top of this page. The calculator is OPM Salary Table 2026-GS (all 15 grades and 10 steps) with the locality rates from Executive Order 14368, and it reproduces OPM's published tables to the dollar.
What is locality pay?: A percentage added to the nationwide GS base rate for where the job is. There are 58 locality pay areas in 2026, from 17.06% for Rest of U.S. to 46.34% in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area. The same grade and step can differ by tens of thousands of dollars across them.
How long until I move up a step?: Within-grade increases take 52 weeks of creditable service for steps 1 to 3, 104 weeks for steps 4 to 6, and 156 weeks for steps 7 to 9. Step 10 is the top of the grade, so pay rises from there only by promotion, a locality change, or the annual adjustment.
Is this base pay or total compensation?: The calculator shows annual basic pay: base plus locality, capped at Executive Schedule level IV ($197,200). It excludes overtime, law-enforcement availability pay, special salary rates, and the employer value of FEHB, FERS and TSP. The posted-listing figures below it are advertised base pay as the employer wrote it.
Where do the posted salary figures come from?: Pay ranges published in 124,298 open government postings, parsed from the employer's own announcement. No surveys, no self-reported salaries.
Why do so many government jobs show no pay?: 61.6% of 201,750 open postings publish a range. Postings without one are excluded rather than estimated.