The 2023 GS pay scale incorporates a 2023 federal pay raise with an overall average of 4.6% with a General Schedule (GS) base pay increase of 4.1% and a 2023 GS locality pay increase of 0.5% for a total 2023 pay raise of 4.6% for federal employees.
2023 GS Pay Scale Base Pay Table
Incorporating a 4.1% GS base pay increase
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 | WGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20999 | 21704 | 22401 | 23097 | 23794 | 24202 | 24893 | 25589 | 25617 | 26273 | VARIES |
| 2 | 23612 | 24174 | 24956 | 25617 | 25906 | 26668 | 27430 | 28192 | 28954 | 29716 | VARIES |
| 3 | 25764 | 26623 | 27482 | 28341 | 29200 | 30059 | 30918 | 31777 | 32636 | 33495 | 859 |
| 4 | 28921 | 29885 | 30849 | 31813 | 32777 | 33741 | 34705 | 35669 | 36633 | 37597 | 964 |
| 5 | 32357 | 33436 | 34515 | 35594 | 36673 | 37752 | 38831 | 39910 | 40989 | 42068 | 1079 |
| 6 | 36070 | 37272 | 38474 | 39676 | 40878 | 42080 | 43282 | 44484 | 45686 | 46888 | 1202 |
| 7 | 40082 | 41418 | 42754 | 44090 | 45426 | 46762 | 48098 | 49434 | 50770 | 52106 | 1336 |
| 8 | 44389 | 45869 | 47349 | 48829 | 50309 | 51789 | 53269 | 54749 | 56229 | 57709 | 1480 |
| 9 | 49028 | 50662 | 52296 | 53930 | 55564 | 57198 | 58832 | 60466 | 62100 | 63734 | 1634 |
| 10 | 53990 | 55790 | 57590 | 59390 | 61190 | 62990 | 64790 | 66590 | 68390 | 70190 | 1800 |
| 11 | 59319 | 61296 | 63273 | 65250 | 67227 | 69204 | 71181 | 73158 | 75135 | 77112 | 1977 |
| 12 | 71099 | 73469 | 75839 | 78209 | 80579 | 82949 | 85319 | 87689 | 90059 | 92429 | 2370 |
| 13 | 84546 | 87364 | 90182 | 93000 | 95818 | 98636 | 101454 | 104272 | 107090 | 109908 | 2818 |
| 14 | 99908 | 103238 | 106568 | 109898 | 113228 | 116558 | 119888 | 123218 | 126548 | 129878 | 3330 |
| 15 | 117518 | 121435 | 125352 | 129269 | 133186 | 137103 | 141020 | 144937 | 148854 | 152771 | 3917 |
2023 GS Locality Pay Tables
In addition to the 4.1% base pay increase, the 2023 federal pay raise includes an additional 0.5% for locality pay. The document below is a listing of the complete set of 2023 GS locality pay tables for federal employees under the General Schedule.
Total 2023 Pay Raise For Each GS Locality Pay Area
| Locality Area | Percentage Increase |
| Albany | 4.78 |
| Albuquerque | 4.54 |
| Atlanta | 4.43 |
| Austin | 4.63 |
| Birmingham | 4.63 |
| Boston | 4.87 |
| Buffalo | 4.59 |
| Burlington | 4.71 |
| Charlotte | 4.60 |
| Chicago | 4.59 |
| Cincinnati | 4.45 |
| Cleveland | 4.48 |
| Colorado Springs | 4.71 |
| Columbus | 4.6 |
| Corpus Christi | 4.35 |
| Dallas | 4.67 |
| Davenport | 4.66 |
| Dayton | 4.67 |
| Denver | 4.87 |
| Des Moines | 4.64 |
| Detroit | 4.52 |
| Harrisburg | 4.71 |
| Hartford | 4.67 |
| Houston | 4.5 |
| Huntsville | 4.54 |
| Indianapolis | 4.38 |
| Kansas City | 4.55 |
| Laredo | 4.79 |
| Las Vegas | 4.55 |
| Los Angeles | 5.1 |
| Miami | 4.39 |
| Milwaukee | 4.46 |
| Minneapolis | 4.85 |
| New York | 4.95 |
| Omaha | 4.63 |
| Palm Bay | 4.36 |
| Philadelphia | 4.83 |
| Phoenix | 4.62 |
| Pittsburgh | 4.51 |
| Portland | 4.64 |
| Raleigh | 4.47 |
| Rest of U.S. | 4.37 |
| Richmond | 4.74 |
| Sacramento | 4.92 |
| San Antonio | 4.64 |
| San Diego | 5.01 |
| San Jose | 5.13 |
| Seattle | 5.15 |
| St. Louis | 4.76 |
| Tucson | 4.66 |
| Virginia Beach | 4.78 |
| Washington | 4.86 |
2023 GS Locality Pay Areas
- Alaska
- Albany-Schenectady, NY-MA
- Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM
- Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL
- Austin-Round Rock, TX
- Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL
- Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-ME
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
- Burlington-South Burlington, VT
- Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC
- Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
- Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN
- Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH
- Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice, TX
- Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK
- Davenport-Moline, IA-IL
- Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH
- Denver-Aurora, CO
- Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, IA
- Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI
- Harrisburg-Lebanon, PA
- Hartford-West Hartford, CT-MA
- Hawaii
- Houston-The Woodlands, TX
- Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie, IN
- Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS
- Laredo, TX
- Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL
- Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
- New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA
- Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
- Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
- Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV
- Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA
- Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
- Richmond, VA
- Sacramento-Roseville, CA-NV
- San Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX
- San Diego-Carlsbad, CA
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
- Seattle-Tacoma, WA
- St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL
- Tucson-Nogales, AZ
- Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC
- Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA
- Rest of U.S.
2023 GS Locality Pay News
- 2023 Federal Pay Raise and 2023 GS Pay Scale Finalized
President Biden has issued an Executive Order finalizing the 2023 federal pay raise as well as the 2023 GS pay scale tables. - 2023 GS Locality Pay Tables Published: Here are Localities with Highest and Lowest Pay Increases
These are the 2023 GS locality pay areas with the highest and lowest total pay increases for 2023. - Pay Compression, Pay Caps Impacting Federal Employees Frozen at $183,500
Pay compression and the pay freeze now impact senior federal employees in 31 GS locality pay areas. - Value of GS Locality Pay? In One Example, 53% Increase Over “Rest of the U.S.”
What is the value of joining a GS locality pay area? In this sample, one pay area had a 53% increase over the Rest of the U.S. in one step for a GS 12. - 2023 Federal Employee Pay: Changes in Two 2023 GS Locality Pay Areas
There will be changes to a couple of 2023 GS locality pay areas. - 2023 Locality Pay Report Proposes Changes Increasing Pay for About 16,000 Federal Employees
A 2023 locality pay report recommends changes that would increase pay for about 16,000 federal employees if adopted. - Two New Additions Proposed for Locality Pay Areas
OPM is proposing to add Carroll County, IL and Brooks County, TX into locality pay areas. - Biden Issues Alternative Pay Letter for 2023 Federal Pay Raise: Average 4.6% Raise
President Biden has issued the letter outlining his alternative pay plan of a 4.6% average increase for the 2023 federal pay raise. - FSC Says Federal Employee Pay Disparity Now at 22.47%
The Federal Salary Council said that federal employees are underpaid by an average of over 20%. Does this mean you should expect a pay raise of this size? - Federal Salary Council Adopts “Pro-labor Recommendations” to Raise Pay for Upwards of 30,000 Federal Employees
The Federal Salary Council is recommending changes to raise pay for “tens of thousands” of federal employees.
What is the GS Pay Scale?
The General Schedule (GS) pay system covers the majority of civilian white-collar federal workers employed in professional, technical, administrative, and clerical positions.
There are 15 GS grades establishing base annual salaries that run from 1 (lowest) to 15 (highest). The grade of each job is established by the employing agency based on the level of difficulty, responsibility and required qualifications. Typically, individuals would qualify within the GS grades along these general lines:
- GS-2: Individuals with no additional experience and a high school diploma
- GS-5: Individuals with a bachelor’s degree
- GS-9: Individuals with a master’s degree
How is GS Locality Pay Calculated?
Most federal employees under the General Schedule are entitled to GS locality pay which is a geographic-based percentage rate that reflects pay levels for non-Federal workers in certain geographic areas. These pay levels are determined by surveys conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS measures non-federal compensation in a labor market and compares it to federal pay for GS employees performing similar work in the same geographic area.
What Are Within-Grade Increases (WGI)?
Each GS grade has 10 step rates (steps 1-10) and employees can move to higher steps throughout their federal careers. Within-grade increases (WGI) as they are called are based on an acceptable level of performance and longevity (waiting periods of 1 year at steps 1-3, 2 years at steps 4-6, and 3 years at steps 7-9).
Each WGI amounts to a salary increase of about 3% of an employee’s salary. In effect, a WGI is a pay raise based on the length of time in government service at a particular step and grade in the General Schedule’s pay system.
