My Federal Retirement

Financial Planning Resources for Federal & Postal Employees

Guide to 2019 GS Pay Scale for Federal Employees

UPDATED:  November 8, 2018

Will There Be a 2019 Federal Pay Raise -- or a Pay Freeze?

The 2019 GS Pay Scale has not been determined.  Final pay raise tables will be available in mid- to late-December.  Below you can find the latest developments on the 2019 federal employees pay raise.

Updates on GS Pay Scale 2019

GS Pay Scale 2018

Click here to view the complete 2018 GS Pay Scale Tables

President Finalizes 2018 Federal Pay Raise, OPM Releases Official 2018 GS Pay Tables

President Trump on Dec. 22, 2018 issued an executive order finalizing the 2018 federal pay raise.  The memo authorized an average raise of 1.4 percent increase, with an additional 0.5 percent adjusted in locality pay for a total of a 1.9 percent for civilian employees.  The specific amount of the federal pay raise for each employee under the General Schedule will depend on the locality a federal employee is working. The pay raise becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2018.

2018 Locality Pay

There were no new locality pay areas added for 2018. According to a Nov. 22 memo from the Office of Personnel Management “locality payments in 2018 for the same government-wide and single-agency categories of employees who are authorized to receive 2017 locality payments.”

2018 Pay Tables and Calculators for General Schedule and Other Federal Salary Categories

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued the official 2018 federal pay tables for General Schedule, Locality Pay, and other federal salary categories, which are included below.

2018 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables

Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) General Schedule Locality Pay Tables

Executive & Senior Level Employee Pay Tables

Special Rate 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/

Other useful links:

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 2018 GS Pay Scale Tables

2018 GS PAY TABLE – 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 47 locality pay areas, which cover the lower 48 States and Washington, DC, plus Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories and possessions. Forty-four 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.