GS-15 pay scale 2026: base pay by step and the GS-15 rate in every locality.
GS-15 base pay for 2026, 2025 and 2024, the GS-15 step 1 and step 10 rates in all 58 locality pay areas, and how long each step takes.
In 2026, GS-15 base pay is $126,384 at step 1 and $164,301 at step 10; each within-grade step adds $4,213. With locality pay, GS-15 step 1 ranges from $147,945 (Rest of U.S.) to $184,950 (San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA), and step 10 in San Jose-San Francisco is $197,200, the $197,200 limit OPM applies to locality rates. OPM caps 95 GS-15 cells across the 58 areas at that limit.
GS-15 base pay by step, 2024 to 2026
Annual rates before locality pay.
| Year | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $126,384 | $130,597 | $134,810 | $139,023 | $143,236 | $147,449 | $151,662 | $155,875 | $160,088 | $164,301 |
| 2025 | $125,133 | $129,304 | $133,475 | $137,646 | $141,817 | $145,988 | $150,159 | $154,330 | $158,501 | $162,672 |
| 2024 | $123,041 | $127,142 | $131,243 | $135,344 | $139,445 | $143,546 | $147,647 | $151,748 | $155,849 | $159,950 |
GS-15 in all 58 locality pay areas, 2026
Sorted from the highest locality payment to the lowest.
| Locality pay area | Locality payment | Step 1 | Step 5 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA | 46.34% | $184,950 | $197,200* | $197,200* |
| New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA | 37.95% | $174,347 | $197,200* | $197,200* |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA | 36.47% | $172,476 | $195,474 | $197,200* |
| Houston-The Woodlands, TX | 35.00% | $170,618 | $193,369 | $197,200* |
| Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA | 33.94% | $169,279 | $191,850 | $197,200* |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 33.72% | $169,001 | $191,535 | $197,200* |
| Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME-VT | 32.58% | $167,560 | $189,902 | $197,200* |
| State of Alaska | 32.36% | $167,282 | $189,587 | $197,200* |
| Hartford-East Hartford, CT-MA | 32.08% | $166,928 | $189,186 | $197,200* |
| Seattle-Tacoma, WA | 31.57% | $166,283 | $188,456 | $197,200* |
| Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI | 30.86% | $165,386 | $187,439 | $197,200* |
| Denver-Aurora, CO | 30.52% | $164,956 | $186,952 | $197,200* |
| Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV | 29.76% | $163,996 | $185,863 | $197,200* |
| Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI | 29.12% | $163,187 | $184,946 | $197,200* |
| Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 28.99% | $163,023 | $184,760 | $197,200* |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI | 27.62% | $161,291 | $182,798 | $197,200* |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK | 27.26% | $160,836 | $182,282 | $197,200* |
| Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA | 26.13% | $159,408 | $180,664 | $197,200* |
| Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL | 24.67% | $157,563 | $178,572 | $197,200* |
| Atlanta--Athens-Clarke County--Sandy Springs, GA-AL | 23.79% | $156,451 | $177,312 | $197,200* |
| Phoenix-Mesa, AZ | 22.45% | $154,757 | $175,392 | $197,200* |
| Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI | 22.42% | $154,719 | $175,350 | $197,200* |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Olean, NY | 22.41% | $154,707 | $175,335 | $197,200* |
| Richmond, VA | 22.28% | $154,542 | $175,149 | $197,200* |
| Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC | 22.24% | $154,492 | $175,092 | $197,200* |
| Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH-PA | 22.23% | $154,479 | $175,077 | $197,200* |
| State of Hawaii | 22.21% | $154,454 | $175,049 | $197,200* |
| Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH | 22.15% | $154,378 | $174,963 | $197,200* |
| Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN | 21.93% | $154,100 | $174,648 | $197,200* |
| Huntsville-Decatur, AL-TN | 21.91% | $154,075 | $174,619 | $197,200* |
| Laredo, TX | 21.59% | $153,670 | $174,161 | $197,200* |
| Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, OH | 21.42% | $153,455 | $173,917 | $197,200* |
| Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV | 21.03% | $152,963 | $173,359 | $197,200* |
| Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA | 20.77% | $152,634 | $172,986 | $197,200* |
| Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 20.35% | $152,103 | $172,385 | $197,200* |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 20.15% | $151,850 | $172,098 | $197,200* |
| St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL | 20.03% | $151,699 | $171,926 | $197,200* |
| Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC | 19.67% | $151,244 | $171,411 | $196,619 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ | 19.57% | $151,117 | $171,267 | $196,455 |
| Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT | 19.45% | $150,966 | $171,095 | $196,258 |
| Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA | 19.43% | $150,940 | $171,067 | $196,225 |
| Tucson-Nogales, AZ | 19.28% | $150,751 | $170,852 | $195,978 |
| Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS | 18.97% | $150,359 | $170,408 | $195,469 |
| Davenport-Moline, IA-IL | 18.93% | $150,308 | $170,351 | $195,403 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC | 18.80% | $150,144 | $170,164 | $195,190 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX | 18.78% | $150,119 | $170,136 | $195,157 |
| Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM | 18.33% | $149,550 | $169,491 | $194,417 |
| Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL | 18.24% | $149,436 | $169,362 | $194,270 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA | 18.23% | $149,424 | $169,348 | $194,253 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN | 18.15% | $149,323 | $169,233 | $194,122 |
| Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA | 18.01% | $149,146 | $169,033 | $193,892 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 17.93% | $149,045 | $168,918 | $193,760 |
| Rochester-Batavia-Seneca Falls, NY | 17.88% | $148,981 | $168,847 | $193,678 |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID | 17.67% | $148,716 | $168,546 | $193,333 |
| Fresno-Madera-Hanford, CA | 17.65% | $148,691 | $168,517 | $193,300 |
| Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX | 17.63% | $148,665 | $168,489 | $193,267 |
| Reno-Fernley, NV | 17.52% | $148,526 | $168,331 | $193,087 |
| Rest of U.S. | 17.06% | $147,945 | $167,672 | $192,331 |
* Rate limited to the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1)).
How long GS-15 steps take
OPM's within-grade increase rules set the waiting time in each step for an employee with a scheduled tour of duty: 52 weeks in each of steps 1 to 3, 104 weeks in each of steps 4 to 6 and 156 weeks in each of steps 7 to 9. Added together that is 936 weeks, about 18 years, from step 1 to step 10 within one grade, if each increase is earned on time (performance must be at an acceptable level).
| Move | Waiting period (OPM) | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 to step 2 | 52 weeks | $126,384 | $130,597 |
| Step 2 to step 3 | 52 weeks | $130,597 | $134,810 |
| Step 3 to step 4 | 52 weeks | $134,810 | $139,023 |
| Step 4 to step 5 | 104 weeks | $139,023 | $143,236 |
| Step 5 to step 6 | 104 weeks | $143,236 | $147,449 |
| Step 6 to step 7 | 104 weeks | $147,449 | $151,662 |
| Step 7 to step 8 | 156 weeks | $151,662 | $155,875 |
| Step 8 to step 9 | 156 weeks | $155,875 | $160,088 |
| Step 9 to step 10 | 156 weeks | $160,088 | $164,301 |
GS-15 next to the grades around it, 2026 base pay
GS-14 step 10 ($139,684) is above GS-15 step 1 ($126,384). Base GS-15 step 1 was $123,041 in 2024 and is $126,384 in 2026.
Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest when we mention it. Every table on this page is free to use without buying anything.
Questions people ask
How much is GS-15 step 1 in 2026?
What is the highest GS-15 salary?
How long does it take to reach GS-15 step 10?
How this page is built
Every pay figure on this page is copied from the General Schedule salary tables that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes; TryHired does not estimate, average or project any rate. We checked every locality cell for 2024, 2025 and 2026 against OPM's base table times one plus the locality payment, rounded to the nearest dollar: all of them match, except the cells OPM limits to the Executive Schedule level IV rate, which OPM marks with an asterisk. Tables fetched from opm.gov on Nov 3, 2026.
- Your own pay: agencies set your grade and step, and some positions are paid from special rate tables or other pay systems that this page does not cover.
- Future tables: we publish a year's figures only after OPM posts that year's tables.
- Hourly, overtime and premium pay: OPM publishes these separately; this page shows annual rates only.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2026-GS (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2026-RUS (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2026-SF (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2025-GS (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2024-GS (public domain), fetched Nov 3, 2026.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Within-Grade Increases fact sheet (public domain).