2026 Executive Schedule Level 5 Pay

$184,900 2026 annual salary

$15,408.33 Monthly equivalent

$88.60 Hourly equivalent

2026 Level 5 salary: $184,900. Compared with GS-15 Step 10, that is higher by $20,599.

2026 Executive Schedule Level 5 pay

Measure	Amount
Annual salary	$184,900
Monthly equivalent	$15,408.33
Hourly equivalent	$88.60
GS-15 Step 10 comparison	+$20,599

Back to SES tables Use the SES calculator Compare with GS-15

What Executive Schedule Level 5 means

Level 5 is the lowest Executive Schedule tier, but it still sits above the regular General Schedule.

It is a common reference point for agency directors, associate directors, and other senior appointed officials.

Common examples at this level include Deputy assistant secretaries, smaller agency boards and commissions, many senior political appointees. These examples are only orientation points. The actual office titles tied to Executive Schedule levels are set by statute and agency structure, not by this page.

Positions commonly listed at Executive Schedule Level 5

FedPayscale tracks 80 positions commonly listed under Executive Schedule Level 5 in published federal pay references. Some titles are current, some are historical, and some move over time as statutes and agency structures change.

Use this as a reference list, not a live staffing roster. If a title has a usable source page, it links out. Otherwise it is shown as plain text only.

Administrator, Bonneville Power Administration, Department of Energy

Administrator, National Capital Transportation Agency

Associate Administrators, Small Business Administration Associate Administrators, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Associate Deputy Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Deputy Associate Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Archivist of the United States

Assistant Attorney General for Administration

Assistant and Science Adviser to the Secretary of the Interior

Chairman, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, Department of Justice

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear & Chemical & Biological Defense Programs, Department of Defense

Chairman of the Renegotiation Board

Chairman of the Subversive Activities Control Board

Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury

Commissioner, Federal Supply Service, General Services Administration

Director, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior

Commissioners, Indian Claims Commission

Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration

Commissioner of Reclamation, Department of the Interior

Commissioner of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Health and Human Services

Commissioner of Welfare, Department of Health and Human Services

Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Defense

Director, United States Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior

Director, United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior

Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Department of the Treasury Deputy General Counsel, Department of Defense Associate Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Associate Director for Volunteers, Peace Corps Associate Director for Program Development and Operations, Peace Corps

Assistants to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice

Assistant Directors, Office of Emergency Planning

Fiscal Assistant Secretary of the Treasury General Counsel of the Agency for International Development General Counsel of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission General Counsel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Manpower Administrator, Department of Labor

Members, Renegotiation Board

Members, Subversive Activities Control Board

Deputy UnderSecretaries of Defense for Research and Engineering, Department of Defense

Assistant Administrator of General Services

Director, United States Travel Service, Department of Commerce

Administrator, Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Division, Department of Labor

Assistant Director Program Planning, Analysis and Research, Office of Economic Opportunity Deputy Director, National Security Agency

Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior

Director, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

National Export Expansion Coordinator, Department of the Commerce

Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense

Staff Director, Commission on Civil Rights Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Transportation

Director, United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Director, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Smithsonian Institution

Administrator, Environmental Science Services Administration Associate Directors, Office of Personnel Management

Assistant Federal Highway Administrator

Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deputy Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Assistant Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Director, Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Department of Justice

Vice Presidents, Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Department of Transportation

General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Executive Director, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Additional officers, Department of Energy Additional officers, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Assistant Administrator for Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Assistant Administrators, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Members, Federal Labor Relations Authority General Counsel, Federal Labor Relations Authority

Additional officers, Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation

Additional officers, Office of Management and Budget Associate Deputy Secretary, Department of Transportation Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Director, Indian Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services

Commissioners, United States Parole Commission Commissioner, Administration for Children and Families Deputy Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration DEA, Department of Justice

Level 5 pay history

FedPayscale tracks Executive Schedule Level 5 from 2014 through 2026. Since 2014, this level has changed by $37,700 or 25.61%.

Year	Salary
2026	$184,900
2025	$183,100
2024	$180,000
2023	$172,100
2022	$165,300
2021	$161,700
2020	$160,100
2019	$156,000
2018	$153,800
2017	$151,700
2016	$150,200
2015	$148,700
2014	$147,200

How Level 5 fits with SES and GS pay

Compared with SES

Executive Schedule levels are fixed statutory salaries. SES pay works differently. Agencies set individual SES salaries inside the annual SES range, subject to the caps shown on the 2026 SES pay page.

Compared with GS

The highest regular GS salary starts at GS-15 Step 10 and can be capped in high-locality areas. Level 4 is the main GS pay cap reference, while Level 5 helps show where this level sits above the regular GS structure.