Federal Pay Raise Calculator
Find your 2026 GS salary for any grade, step and locality area from the OPM tables, with hourly and biweekly pay, and project 2027 pay under the President's plan, the statutory formula or your own raise.
How the calculator works
- 2026 pay. Pick your grade, step and locality area. The calculator reads OPM's 2026 General Schedule base rate and applies the area's locality percentage, rounding to the dollar and capping at $197,200, the same way OPM's published tables do. Every one of OPM's 2026 annual and hourly table cells is reproduced exactly.
- Hourly and biweekly. Annual ÷ 2,087 hours, rounded to the cent, then × 80 for a two-week pay period.
- 2027 projection. Choose the President's plan (0%), the statutory formula (3.1%) or your own figure. The raise is applied to the base table and your area's 2026 locality percentage is kept. Turn on the step increase if you will move up a step during 2027.
The 2027 numbers are projected until OPM publishes the 2027 tables. The final raise is set by the President's December pay order or by Congress. Our 2027 federal pay raise guide tracks where it stands.
Example: GS-12 step 5, Rest of U.S.
- 2026 annual pay: $101,443 ($86,659 base × 1.1706), $48.61 an hour, $3,888.80 biweekly.
- 2027 under the President's plan (0%): $101,443, unchanged. With a step increase to step 6: $104,427.
- 2027 if the 3.1% formula raise applied to the base table: $104,587. This is our arithmetic and illustrative only.
2026 GS pay, step 1, in selected areas
| Grade | Rest of U.S. (17.06%) | Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA (33.94%) | New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA (37.95%) | Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (36.47%) | San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA (46.34%) | Houston-The Woodlands, TX (35.00%) | State of Alaska (32.36%) | State of Hawaii (22.21%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-5 | $40,736 | $46,610 | $48,005 | $47,490 | $50,925 | $46,979 | $46,060 | $42,528 |
| GS-7 | $50,460 | $57,736 | $59,465 | $58,827 | $63,081 | $58,193 | $57,055 | $52,680 |
| GS-9 | $61,722 | $70,623 | $72,737 | $71,957 | $77,161 | $71,181 | $69,789 | $64,438 |
| GS-11 | $74,678 | $85,447 | $88,005 | $87,061 | $93,358 | $86,123 | $84,439 | $77,964 |
| GS-12 | $89,508 | $102,415 | $105,481 | $104,349 | $111,896 | $103,225 | $101,206 | $93,445 |
| GS-13 | $106,437 | $121,785 | $125,431 | $124,085 | $133,060 | $122,749 | $120,348 | $111,119 |
| GS-14 | $125,776 | $143,913 | $148,222 | $146,632 | $157,236 | $145,052 | $142,216 | $131,310 |
| GS-15 | $147,945 | $169,279 | $174,347 | $172,476 | $184,950 | $170,618 | $167,282 | $154,454 |
Highest 2026 locality percentages: San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 46.34%, New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA 37.95%, Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA 36.47%. Lowest: Rest of U.S., 17.06%. The Washington-Baltimore area pays 33.94%. Source: OPM 2026 salary tables.
What this calculator leaves out
- Special rate tables, law enforcement officer pay and the separate 2027 law enforcement increase.
- Other pay systems: the Federal Wage System, SES, VA Title 38, the Foreign Service and agency-specific pay plans.
- Retention and recruitment incentives, overtime, night and Sunday differentials.
- Taxes, FERS contributions, TSP, health and other deductions. For take-home pay, use the paycheck calculator.
Planning retirement from federal service? See the FERS retirement calculator and the TSP calculator.
Sources
OPM 2026 General Schedule and locality salary tables (base table and all 58 locality areas, annual and hourly); 5 U.S.C. 5304 (locality pay and the Executive Schedule level IV cap), 5335 (within-grade increases), 5504 (hourly and biweekly rates); 2027 options from House Document 119-189, the President's alternative pay plan of August 26, 2026, as covered in our 2027 federal pay raise guide. 2027 figures are projections until OPM publishes the 2027 tables. This is an estimate for general information, not an official pay determination or financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 2027 federal pay raise?
Under the President's alternative pay plan of August 26, 2026, civilian base and locality pay would stay at the 2026 rates: a 0% raise. The statutory formula would have given 3.1% across the board plus locality increases. Congress can still set a different figure, and the final rates come in OPM's 2027 tables after the December executive order. See our 2027 federal pay raise guide for the details.
How is GS locality pay calculated?
Your locality rate is the General Schedule base rate for your grade and step times (1 + your area's locality percentage), rounded to the nearest dollar. Example: GS-12 step 5 is $86,659 on the 2026 base table; with the 17.06% Rest of U.S. locality payment it comes to $101,443.
What is the most a GS employee can be paid?
Locality rates are capped at the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule, $197,200 in 2026 (5 U.S.C. 5304(g)). In the highest-paying areas, the top steps of GS-15 all stop at that cap, so the calculator shows the same figure for them.
How is GS hourly and biweekly pay worked out?
Hourly basic pay is the annual rate divided by 2,087 hours, rounded to the cent, and biweekly pay is the hourly rate times 80 (5 U.S.C. 5504). For GS-12 step 5, Rest of U.S., that is $48.61 an hour and $3,888.80 every two weeks, before taxes and deductions.
Does a step increase count on top of the raise?
Yes. A within-grade increase is separate from the annual raise. You move up one step after 52 weeks at steps 1 to 3, 104 weeks at steps 4 to 6 and 156 weeks at steps 7 to 9, if your performance is at an acceptable level (5 U.S.C. 5335). Even under a 0% raise, a GS-12 moving from step 5 to step 6 in the Rest of U.S. goes from $101,443 to $104,427.
Which locality area am I in?
It depends on your duty station, not where you live. OPM lists the counties in each of the 58 locality pay areas. Anywhere in the 48 contiguous states that is not in a named area falls under Rest of U.S. (17.06% in 2026). Alaska and Hawaii have their own statewide areas.
Is this calculator right for law enforcement or special rate jobs?
Not fully. It uses the regular GS and locality tables. Special rate tables, law enforcement officer pay and the separate 3.8% law enforcement increase the President directed for 2027 are not modelled. Check your own special rate table or your agency payroll office.
