2018 General Schedule Base Pay Table
The nationwide 2018 GS base schedule. Every grade, every step. If your duty station receives locality pay, open the matching locality pay area instead. Your actual salary will be higher than the base numbers below.
Archive year. This is the 2018 GS base table.
The current year is 2026.
1.4% 2018 across-the-board base raise
$18,785 to $136,659 2018 base range
21.57% Average locality adjustment
FedPayscale.org
GS locality rates
2018 Base GS Pay Scale
Official General Schedule base rates for 2018. Every grade and every step on one printable sheet.
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $18,785 | $19,414 | $20,039 | $20,660 | $21,285 | $21,650 | $22,267 | $22,891 | $22,915 | $23,502 |
| GS-2 | $21,121 | $21,624 | $22,323 | $22,915 | $23,175 | $23,857 | $24,539 | $25,221 | $25,903 | $26,585 |
| GS-3 | $23,045 | $23,813 | $24,581 | $25,349 | $26,117 | $26,885 | $27,653 | $28,421 | $29,189 | $29,957 |
| GS-4 | $25,871 | $26,733 | $27,595 | $28,457 | $29,319 | $30,181 | $31,043 | $31,905 | $32,767 | $33,629 |
| GS-5 | $28,945 | $29,910 | $30,875 | $31,840 | $32,805 | $33,770 | $34,735 | $35,700 | $36,665 | $37,630 |
| GS-6 | $32,264 | $33,339 | $34,414 | $35,489 | $36,564 | $37,639 | $38,714 | $39,789 | $40,864 | $41,939 |
| GS-7 | $35,854 | $37,049 | $38,244 | $39,439 | $40,634 | $41,829 | $43,024 | $44,219 | $45,414 | $46,609 |
| GS-8 | $39,707 | $41,031 | $42,355 | $43,679 | $45,003 | $46,327 | $47,651 | $48,975 | $50,299 | $51,623 |
| GS-9 | $43,857 | $45,319 | $46,781 | $48,243 | $49,705 | $51,167 | $52,629 | $54,091 | $55,553 | $57,015 |
| GS-10 | $48,297 | $49,907 | $51,517 | $53,127 | $54,737 | $56,347 | $57,957 | $59,567 | $61,177 | $62,787 |
| GS-11 | $53,062 | $54,831 | $56,600 | $58,369 | $60,138 | $61,907 | $63,676 | $65,445 | $67,214 | $68,983 |
| GS-12 | $63,600 | $65,720 | $67,840 | $69,960 | $72,080 | $74,200 | $76,320 | $78,440 | $80,560 | $82,680 |
| GS-13 | $75,628 | $78,149 | $80,670 | $83,191 | $85,712 | $88,233 | $90,754 | $93,275 | $95,796 | $98,317 |
| GS-14 | $89,370 | $92,349 | $95,328 | $98,307 | $101,286 | $104,265 | $107,244 | $110,223 | $113,202 | $116,181 |
| GS-15 | $105,123 | $108,627 | $112,131 | $115,635 | $119,139 | $122,643 | $126,147 | $129,651 | $133,155 | $136,659 |
2018 GS base pay table
Every row is a GS grade. Every column is a step inside that grade. Click a grade to open its dedicated pay scale page with all 10 steps, biweekly and hourly pay, and the locality version for every pay area.
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Step 9 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-1 | $18,785 | $19,414 | $20,039 | $20,660 | $21,285 | $21,650 | $22,267 | $22,891 | $22,915 | $23,502 |
| GS-2 | $21,121 | $21,624 | $22,323 | $22,915 | $23,175 | $23,857 | $24,539 | $25,221 | $25,903 | $26,585 |
| GS-3 | $23,045 | $23,813 | $24,581 | $25,349 | $26,117 | $26,885 | $27,653 | $28,421 | $29,189 | $29,957 |
| GS-4 | $25,871 | $26,733 | $27,595 | $28,457 | $29,319 | $30,181 | $31,043 | $31,905 | $32,767 | $33,629 |
| GS-5 | $28,945 | $29,910 | $30,875 | $31,840 | $32,805 | $33,770 | $34,735 | $35,700 | $36,665 | $37,630 |
| GS-6 | $32,264 | $33,339 | $34,414 | $35,489 | $36,564 | $37,639 | $38,714 | $39,789 | $40,864 | $41,939 |
| GS-7 | $35,854 | $37,049 | $38,244 | $39,439 | $40,634 | $41,829 | $43,024 | $44,219 | $45,414 | $46,609 |
| GS-8 | $39,707 | $41,031 | $42,355 | $43,679 | $45,003 | $46,327 | $47,651 | $48,975 | $50,299 | $51,623 |
| GS-9 | $43,857 | $45,319 | $46,781 | $48,243 | $49,705 | $51,167 | $52,629 | $54,091 | $55,553 | $57,015 |
| GS-10 | $48,297 | $49,907 | $51,517 | $53,127 | $54,737 | $56,347 | $57,957 | $59,567 | $61,177 | $62,787 |
| GS-11 | $53,062 | $54,831 | $56,600 | $58,369 | $60,138 | $61,907 | $63,676 | $65,445 | $67,214 | $68,983 |
| GS-12 | $63,600 | $65,720 | $67,840 | $69,960 | $72,080 | $74,200 | $76,320 | $78,440 | $80,560 | $82,680 |
| GS-13 | $75,628 | $78,149 | $80,670 | $83,191 | $85,712 | $88,233 | $90,754 | $93,275 | $95,796 | $98,317 |
| GS-14 | $89,370 | $92,349 | $95,328 | $98,307 | $101,286 | $104,265 | $107,244 | $110,223 | $113,202 | $116,181 |
| GS-15 | $105,123 | $108,627 | $112,131 | $115,635 | $119,139 | $122,643 | $126,147 | $129,651 | $133,155 | $136,659 |
Jump to a specific 2018 grade
Each grade has its own page with all 10 steps, step-increase timing and typical job roles. The salary below each grade is the 2018 nationwide Step 1 base rate for that grade.
GS-1 $18,785
GS-2 $21,121
GS-3 $23,045
GS-4 $25,871
GS-5 $28,945
GS-6 $32,264
GS-7 $35,854
GS-8 $39,707
GS-9 $43,857
GS-10 $48,297
GS-11 $53,062
GS-12 $63,600
GS-13 $75,628
GS-14 $89,370
GS-15 $105,123
Top localities in 2018
Highest locality adjustments
Lowest locality adjustments
About the 2018 GS table
The 2018 base General Schedule applied the 1.4% across-the-board raise set by the annual pay plan. The base table is the starting point. Most civilian federal employees are paid from a locality-adjusted version that adds a geographic percentage on top.
When to use the base table
- Comparing GS raises across years without locality noise.
- Checking historical pay for back-pay or service credit questions.
- Printing a clean reference sheet for a specific year.
When to use a locality table instead
- Your duty station is inside a named pay area. Use the matching locality page.
- Your duty station is not in a named area. Use the Rest of U.S. table.
- You need the actual salary for a promotion, step increase or job offer.
2018 GS pay questions
-
What was the 2018 GS pay raise?
The 2018 across-the-board General Schedule raise was 1.4%. This applied to the nationwide base table before any locality adjustment. See raise history for year-over-year context. -
How did locality pay work in 2018?
2018 had 47 GS locality pay areas including Rest of U.S. Adjustments ranged from 15.37% in Rest of U.S. to 39.28% in San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland. -
What was the highest GS salary in 2018?
For the base table, GS-15 Step 10 was $136,659. In a high-paying locality such as San Francisco, GS-15 Step 10 could exceed that, though some combinations are capped at the Executive Schedule Level 4 limit. -
Where can I find my 2018 locality-adjusted table?
Every 2018 locality table is linked from the locality directory. Pick the pay area tied to your duty station to see all grades and steps with the locality percentage applied.