2023 GS Pay Scale With Locality

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

GradeStep 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5Step 6Step 7Step 8Step 9Step 10WGI
120999217042240123097237942420224893255892561726273VARIES
223612241742495625617259062666827430281922895429716VARIES
325764266232748228341292003005930918317773263633495859
428921298853084931813327773374134705356693663337597964
5323573343634515355943667337752388313991040989420681079
6360703727238474396764087842080432824448445686468881202
7400824141842754440904542646762480984943450770521061336
8443894586947349488295030951789532695474956229577091480
9490285066252296539305556457198588326046662100637341634
10539905579057590593906119062990647906659068390701901800
11593196129663273652506722769204711817315875135771121977
12710997346975839782098057982949853198768990059924292370
138454687364901829300095818986361014541042721070901099082818
14999081032381065681098981132281165581198881232181265481298783330
151175181214351253521292691331861371031410201449371488541527713917

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 AreaPercentage Increase
Albany4.78
Albuquerque4.54
Atlanta4.43
Austin4.63
Birmingham4.63
Boston4.87
Buffalo4.59
Burlington4.71
Charlotte4.60
Chicago4.59
Cincinnati4.45
Cleveland4.48
Colorado Springs4.71
Columbus4.6
Corpus Christi4.35
Dallas4.67
Davenport4.66
Dayton4.67
Denver4.87
Des Moines4.64
Detroit4.52
Harrisburg4.71
Hartford4.67
Houston4.5
Huntsville4.54
Indianapolis4.38
Kansas City4.55
Laredo4.79
Las Vegas4.55
Los Angeles5.1
Miami4.39
Milwaukee4.46
Minneapolis4.85
New York4.95
Omaha4.63
Palm Bay4.36
Philadelphia4.83
Phoenix4.62
Pittsburgh4.51
Portland4.64
Raleigh4.47
Rest of U.S.4.37
Richmond4.74
Sacramento4.92
San Antonio4.64
San Diego5.01
San Jose5.13
Seattle5.15
St. Louis4.76
Tucson4.66
Virginia Beach4.78
Washington4.86

2023 GS Locality Pay Areas

2023 GS Locality Pay News

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.

Additional GS Pay Resources