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Guide to 2019 GS Pay Scale for Federal Employees

UPDATED:  January 15, 2019

2019 Federal Pay Freeze Formalized in Executive Order

President Trump signed an executive order Dec. 28 providing that the 2019 GS pay scale rates for civilian employee pay schedules covered by the order remain at 2018 levels. This follows the president's alternative pay plan to freeze 2019 pay issued on Aug. 30, 2018.

Retroactive Pay Raise Still Possible for 2019

The Senate had approved a 2019 federal pay raise of 1.9 percent in August as part of a spending bill package. While the House was silent earlier this year on a pay raise, in October the House signaled that it had reached a tentative agreement with the Senate to pursue the 1.9 percent pay increase.

In December, Democratic lawmakers indicated they would like to issue a federal employees a 1.9 percent pay increase when they gain control of the House in Jan. 2019. This pay raise could be added to a spending bill and would be retroactive to Jan. 1.

The pay freeze does not affect military personnel. Members of the military services will receive a 2.6 percent raise in 2019.

SEE ALSO:  2019 Federal Retiree COLA (CSRS, FERS, Social Security)

2019 Locality Pay

According to a final rule published in the Federal Register Dec. 7, the new 2019 General Schedule (GS) locality pay areas are:

  • Birmingham, Alabama
  • Burlington, Vermont
  • Corpus Christi, Texas
  • Omaha, Nebraska
  • San Antonio, Texas
  • Virginia Beach/Norfolk, Virginia

The final regulations also establish McKinley County, NM, as an area of application to the Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM, locality pay area; establish San Luis Obispo County, CA, as an area of application to the Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA, locality pay area; and make minor clarifying changes to the names of two locality pay areas (the Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA locality pay area and the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME locality pay area).

The changes in locality pay area definitions are applicable on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2019.

2019 Pay Tables and Federal Salary Calculators from OPM

"While the pay schedules in the executive order will not increase in 2019, employees may continue to receive individually-based pay increases such as performance-based pay increases and promotion increases to the extent authorized by applicable statute, regulation, and agency policy and subject to 2019 pay limitations," the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in a memo Friday.

Below are OPM's official 2019 GS pay tables posted on Dec. 28, 2018.

The 2019 pay schedules will become effective the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2019 (January 6, 2019, based on the standard biweekly payroll cycle).

2018 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables

All other federal pay and leave information from OPM can be found at:
http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/

What is the Federal General Schedule Pay System?

The General Schedule (GS) pay system (or “GS Pay Scale“) includes about 1.5 million federal employees in civilian white-collar jobs.  The jobs are widely in clerical, administrative, professional and technical positions.

How Many Pay Grades and are in the GS Pay Scale?

The General Schedule includes 15 different pay grades.  Each job is classified by the federal agency based on the qualifications required as well as the level of responsibility and difficulty to preform in the position.  Educational backgrounds for the grades are generally as follows:

GS-2 positions:  high school diploma and no additional experience
GS-5 positions:  college Bachelor’s degree
GS-9 positions:  Master’s degree

Each of the 15 pay grades has 10 step rates (steps 1-10).  Movement up to the next step (known as “within-grade step increases”) is based on acceptable job performance and varying periods of longevity as follows:

  • 1 year at steps 1-3
  • 2 years at steps 4-6
  • 3 years at steps 7-9

In terms of salary difference, each step is worth about 3% of the federal employee’s salary.

What is the Current GS Pay Scale Table (Base Pay)?

Click here for the current 2019 GS Pay Scale Tables

2019 GS PAY TABLE – BASE PAY

 

2019 General Schedule (Base Pay)

A new GS employee is usually hired at step one of the applicable GS grade. However, in special circumstances, agencies may authorize a higher step rate for a newly-appointed federal employee based on a special need of the agency or superior qualifications of the prospective employee. Current Federal employees who move to a GS position and are not considered newly appointed may have pay set above step 1 based only on a previous Federal civilian rate of pay (i.e., maximum payable rate rule) under the gaining agency’s policies.

GS employees may advance to higher grades by promotion at certain intervals (generally after at least a year), as determined by OPM regulations and qualification standards and agency policies, up to the full promotion potential advertised in the job announcement. After that, competition under merit system principles is necessary to advance to a higher GS grade. Generally, a GS promotion increase is equal to at least two steps at the GS grade immediately before promotion to the higher GS grade.

When Will There Be an GS Pay Schedule Increase?

The GS base pay schedule is usually adjusted annually each January with an across-the-board federal pay increase based on nationwide changes in the cost of wages and salaries of private industry workers. Most GS employees are also entitled to locality pay, which is a geographic-based percentage rate that reflects pay levels for non-federal workers in certain geographic areas as determined by surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What are the Current GS Locality Pay Areas?

There are currently more than 40 locality pay areas, which cover the lower 48 States and Washington, DC, plus Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories and possessions. Most of the locality pay areas cover large metropolitan areas (e.g., Los Angeles, New York, Washington, DC), two cover entire States—Alaska and Hawaii, and the remainder of the United States and its territories and possessions are included in the catch-all Rest of U.S. (RUS) locality pay area. GS employees in foreign areas are not eligible for locality pay. The President and Congress may make changes in the otherwise applicable across-the-board and locality pay adjustments.

OPM may approve special rates which are higher than the normal GS rates due to difficulties in staffing certain occupations at GS grade levels in certain geographic areas.