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General Schedule Pay Scale

Everything you ever wanted to know about government pay.

Over 70 percent of the Federal workforce is paid according to the General Pay Scale. The scale can be difficult to understand for both new and even experienced Federal employees. This article attempts to clarify exactly how government wages are distributed to government employees.

Each Federal job is given a specific rating from one to fifteen depending on the amount of education and experience required for each position. While there is no specific correspondence between the GS rate and each position’s educational requirements, Bachelor’s degrees are usually required for GS-5 positions, and Master’s degrees for GS-9. Base salary ranges for each grade are provided below, but increase based on location. For instance a GS-7 position pays $36,783 in Atlanta, while the same position pays $41,367 in San Francisco because of the difference in cost of living.

GS Pay Scale Overview

The nearly 30 percent of the Federal workforce not covered under the General Scale are either paid hourly (10 percent), or operate under the separate systems of the U.S. Postal Service, the Foreign Service, the Veterans Health Administration, and Senior Executives.

Locality Rates

The specific locality rates for the following metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Dallas-Ft. Worth, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Hartford, Houston, Huntsville (AL), Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond (VA), Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland, Seattle-Tacoma, Washington-Baltimore.

Click on each of the above links to see a salary table for each metro and a definition of which counties each area includes.

GS Pay Grades: GS-1

2007

Salary: $16,630-$20,798

Hourly Rate: $8.98-$11.23

2008

Salary (3% increase): $19,247-$24,071 Salary (3.5% increase): $19,292-$24,127

Percent of Federal Workforce: 0.2%

GS-2

2007

Salary Range: $18,698-$23,527

Hourly Rate: $10.09-$12.70

2008

Salary (3% increase): $21,640-$27,230 Salary (3.5% increase): $21,691-$27,293

Percent of Federal Workforce: 0.3%

GS-3

2007

Salary Range: $20,401-$26,521

Hourly Rate: $11.01-$14.31

2008

Salary (3% increase): $23,612-$30,695 Salary (3.5% increase): $23,667-$30,766

Percent of Federal Workforce: 1.2%

GS-4

2007

Salary Range: $22,902-$29,769

Hourly Rate: $12.36-$16.07

2008

Salary (3% increase): $26,506-$34,454 Salary (3.5% increase): $26,568-$34,535

Percent of Federal Workforce: 3.0%

GS-5

2007

Salary Range: $25,623-$33,309

Hourly Rate: $13.83-$17.98

2008

Salary (3% increase): $29,656-$38,551 Salary (3.5% increase): $29,725-$38,641

Percent of Federal Workforce: 5.3%

GS-6

2007

Salary Range: $28,562-$37,130

Hourly Rate: $15.42-$20.04

2008

Salary (3% increase): $33,057-$42,973 Salary (3.5% increase): $33,134-$43,074

Percent of Federal Workforce: 4.1%

GS-7

2007

Salary Range: $31,740-$41,262

Hourly Rate: $17.13-$22.27

2008

Salary (3% increase): $36,735-$47,756 Salary (3.5% increase): $36,821-$47,868

Percent of Federal Workforce: 7.0%

GS-8

2007

Salary Range: $35,151-$45,699

Hourly Rate: $18.97-$24.66

2008

Salary (3% increase): $40,683-$52,891 Salary (3.5% increase): $40,778-$53,014

Percent of Federal Workforce: 3.0%

GS-9

2007

Salary Range: $38,824-$50,470

Hourly Rate: $20.95-$27.24

2008

Salary (3% increase): $44,934-$58,412 Salary (3.5% increase): $45,039-$58,549

Percent of Federal Workforce: 6.6%

GS-10

2007

Salary Range: $42,755-$55,580

Hourly Rate: $23.08-$30.00

2008

Salary (3% increase): $49,483-$64,327 Salary (3.5% increase): $49,599-$64,477

Percent of Federal Workforce: 0.8%

GS-11

2007

Salary Range: $46,974-$61,068

Hourly Rate: $25.35-$32.96

2008

Salary (3% increase): $54,367-$70,679 Salary (3.5% increase): $54,494-$70,844

Percent of Federal Workforce: 9.9%

GS-12

2007

Salary Range: $56,301-$73,194

Hourly Rate: $30.39-$39.50

2008

Salary (3% increase): $65,161-$84,713 Salary (3.5% increase): $65,313-$84,911

Percent of Federal Workforce: 11.2%

GS-13

2007

Salary Range: $66,951-$87,039

Hourly Rate: $36.14-$46.98

2008

Salary (3% increase): $77,488-$100,737 Salary (3.5% increase): $77,669-$100,972

Percent of Federal Workforce: 10.0%

GS-14

2007

Salary Range: $79,115-$102,848

Hourly Rate: $42.70-$55.51

2008

Salary (3% increase): $91,566-$119,034 Salary (3.5% increase): $91,780-$119,312

Percent of Federal Workforce: 4.9%

GS-15

2007

Salary Range: $93,063-$120,981

Hourly Rate: $50.23-$65.30

2008

Salary (3% increase): $107,709-$140,021 Salary (3.5% increase): $107,960-$140,348

Percent of Federal Workforce: 3.2%

Sources

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management
• Best Places to Work in the Federal Government

More Resources

• GS Pay Scale Frequently Asked Questions
• What Determines Where You Stand on the GS Pay Scale?
• 25 Highest Annual Salaries in Government
• Highest Paying Federal Careers (2008)
• Highest Paying State Government Careers
• Learn More About Your 2008 Federal Pay Raise
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