2027 GS Pay Scale and Pay Chart: Freeze at 2026 Rates

The General Schedule (GS) pay scale sets base pay for roughly 1.5 million civilian federal employees. This page tracks confirmed raises and the latest proposals for each year. For 2027, the debate is almost over: President Trump’s August 26, 2026 letter to Congress set a pay freeze for most civilian employees, with law enforcement carved out for a 3.8% raise. (For reference, the 2026 raise was confirmed at 1%.)

2027 GS Pay Scale (Projected): Base Pay by Grade and Step

Projected 2027 rates. Under the freeze, 2027 base pay stays at OPM’s Salary Table 2026-GS (which included the 1% raise effective January 2026). OPM publishes the official 2027 tables in December. Excludes locality pay.

Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-GS. For locality pay adjustments (which can add 15%–35%+ depending on your metro area), see the full locality tables at OPM.

2027 GS Pay Raise: Freeze Confirmed, Law Enforcement Gets 3.8%

The Trump administration’s FY2027 budget, submitted to Congress in spring 2026, was silent on civilian pay — a signal OMB officials said at the time meant a planned freeze. That signal became official on August 26, 2026, when Trump transmitted the annual “alternative pay plan” letter required under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA). The letter states plainly that “base pay and locality pay for civilian Federal employees will not change from the 2026 rates.”

Without this alternative plan, the law’s default formula would have triggered a 3.1% across-the-board base increase plus an average 20.6% jump in locality pay — a combined cost the letter puts at $26 billion in the first year alone. Trump’s letter cites that price tag, along with “fiscal responsibility,” as the reason for setting the adjustment at zero.

That’s a sharp contrast with what the military is getting: the same letter sets a tiered raise up to 7% for service members — one of the largest gaps between military and civilian federal pay in modern history.

The FAIR Act’s 4.1% Counter-Proposal Never Advanced

Democratic lawmakers had introduced the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act (H.R. 7480), led by Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) in the House and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) in the Senate, as a counter-proposal. The FAIR Act would have provided:

• 3.1% across-the-board base pay increase
• 1.0% average locality pay adjustment
• 4.1% total average increase effective January 2027

Even with growing co-sponsor support (around 25 by August 2026, up from 19 in February), the bill never received a hearing or markup in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The FAIR Act has been reintroduced in various forms since 2014 and has never passed as standalone legislation — and Trump’s August 26 letter effectively settled the question for 2027 unless Congress acts through the appropriations process instead.

What Each Scenario Would Mean in Dollars

The table below shows the impact on base pay (Step 1) at common GS grades, using 2026 confirmed figures as the baseline. Locality pay is on top of these amounts and varies by area.

Base pay only, excludes locality pay. The Freeze column reflects the confirmed 2027 outcome; the FAIR Act column is a hypothetical shown for comparison since that bill never advanced.

Law enforcement officers (e.g., ICE, DEA) on the GS pay scale will get a 3.8% raise in 2027, confirmed in the same August 26 letter — matching the treatment they received in 2026.

Could Congress Still Override the Freeze?

The clearest signal that the freeze would hold: in April 2026, House Republican appropriators omitted any civilian federal pay raise from the FY2027 financial services spending bill. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), chairman of the financial services and general government subcommittee, made clear the GOP would not override the President on federal workforce compensation. A Democratic amendment offered by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to add a 3.1% raise failed by four votes.

Since then, the pushback has grown. On September 15, 110 House and Senate members, led by Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), wrote to congressional leaders asking for a raise of at least 3.8% in the FY2027 spending bills. Walkinshaw, Van Hollen and Rep. Steny Hoyer followed up with a September 23 press conference alongside federal employee unions.

The realistic window is the post-election funding fight. The stopgap spending bill signed in early September keeps the government funded only through December 11, 2026, so Congress has to pass something by then, and any raise would have to ride on that bill. With Republicans in control of both chambers and House appropriators already on record against a raise, I’d still treat the freeze as the most likely outcome.

There is a precedent for an override. For 2019, President Trump also proposed a freeze, but the spending deal that ended the 35-day shutdown in February 2019 gave a 1.9% raise (1.4% base plus 0.5% locality), paid retroactively to the first pay period of January. That happened with a Democratic House, though, which isn’t the case this year.

2027 FEHB Premiums: Why Take-Home Pay Can Still Drop

A freeze doesn’t mean your paycheck stays the same. OPM announced that the employee share of Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) premiums goes up 10.9% on average for 2027, down from 12.3% in 2026 but still a double-digit jump. For Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) enrollees, the average is 8.2%.

Here’s what that looks like in dollars: if you pay $250 per paycheck for your plan now, a 10.9% increase adds about $27 per paycheck, or about $709 a year. With base pay frozen, that comes straight out of take-home pay.

Your own plan could go up more or less than the average, because premiums vary a lot from plan to plan. Open Season runs November 9 through December 14, 2026, and it’s the one time each year most feds can switch plans. Check your 2027 premium on OPM’s FEHB premiums page before it closes. If you do nothing, you stay in your current plan at the new rate.

What Still Goes Up During the Freeze

A freeze stops the across-the-board raise, not every raise. These still move your pay in 2027:

• Step increases. Within-grade increases continue on schedule: every 52 weeks for steps 2 to 4, every 104 weeks for steps 5 to 7, and every 156 weeks for steps 8 to 10, as long as your performance is at an acceptable level. On the table above, a GS-9 moving from Step 1 to Step 2 still gains $1,758 a year in base pay.
• Promotions. Moving up a grade still comes with a raise, generally at least two steps’ worth at your old grade under OPM’s promotion rules.
• Law enforcement special rates. Covered law enforcement positions get the 3.8% raise.

The freeze does have a long tail for retirement. Your FERS or CSRS pension is based on your High-3, the average of your highest three consecutive years of basic pay (including locality). A frozen year keeps that average lower than it would otherwise be, which matters most if you plan to retire in the next three years. If you’re close to that line, I’d run the numbers both ways before picking a retirement date.

Already retired? Annuities get a cost-of-living adjustment instead of a pay raise. Based on the same 3.6% inflation figure behind the 2027 Social Security COLA, it’s 3.6% for CSRS and 2.6% for most FERS retirees age 62 and older, starting with the annuity payment in early January 2027.

Key Dates to Watch

• August 26, 2026: President Trump’s alternative pay plan letter set the freeze for civilian employees and the 3.8% law enforcement raise.
• September 15, 2026: 110 lawmakers asked congressional leaders for a raise of at least 3.8%.
• November 9 to December 14, 2026: FEHB Open Season, your chance to switch to a cheaper health plan for 2027.
• December 11, 2026: The current stopgap funding runs out, the last realistic vehicle for a raise.
• December 2026: The executive order setting 2027 pay rates, usually issued late in the month.
• January 2027: 2027 pay rates and the new FEHB premiums start with the first pay period beginning on or after January 1.

I’ll update this page if Congress moves to override the freeze, and again when the executive order is issued in December.

2026 GS Pay Raise: 1% Under Trump

Despite real fears of a full pay freeze, the Trump administration proposed a 1% across-the-board base pay increase for 2026 via its alternative pay plan submission to Congress. Locality pay was kept unchanged from 2025 levels. The raise took effect January 2026.

An exception applied to certain federal law enforcement personnel — including ICE agents — who received 3.8% in total instead of 1%, in line with the 2026 military pay raise.

For a federal employee earning $60,000/year, the 1% raise adds $600/year — about $46/month before taxes.

The 2026 base pay table is at the top of this page, where it doubles as the projected 2027 table under the freeze.

How to Read This Table: 3 Examples

Example 1: Finding your base pay (GS-7, Step 1, entry-level analyst) If you’re starting as a GS-7 federal employee, find row “7” and column “Step 1.” Your base pay is $43,106 a year, the 2026 rate, which carries into 2027 under the freeze. That’s before locality pay, which is added based on where you work. In Washington, D.C., the locality rate is 33.94%, adding $14,630 and bringing your total pay to $57,736. You’ll move to Step 2 ($44,543) after one year of acceptable performance.

Example 2: Calculating total pay with locality (GS-12, Step 5, mid-career IT specialist) A GS-12 at Step 5 has a base of $86,659. In San Francisco (locality rate 46.34%), that adds $40,158 in locality pay, for a total of $126,817. In the Rest of U.S. locality area (17.06%), the same GS-12 Step 5 employee earns $86,659 + $14,784 = $101,443. Same grade, same step, but a $25,374 difference based on location.

Example 3: What the 2026 1% raise meant in dollars (GS-11, Step 1) The 2025 GS-11 Step 1 base was $63,163. The 2026 1% raise moved it to $63,795, a difference of $632/year, or about $53/month before taxes. In D.C. (33.94% locality), the locality payment also grew slightly, since it’s a percentage of base, adding another $214/year. Total real-dollar gain from the 1% raise: about $846/year, less than a month’s rent in most D.C. neighborhoods.

Locality Pay: Duty Station, Not Home Address

One thing that trips people up, especially with telework now common: locality pay follows your official duty station as recorded on your SF-50 — not your home address. If you work out of a D.C. office but live in a lower-cost area an hour away, your locality pay is still the D.C. rate; the commute is on you.

It works differently if you’re approved for full remote work (not just occasional telework). In that case, OPM guidance makes your approved remote worksite — typically your residence of record — the official duty station for locality pay purposes. The dividing line OPM uses: if you’re scheduled to report to an agency office at least twice each biweekly pay period, your duty station is that office; if not, it’s your approved remote location. Living near a locality-area border can mean a meaningful pay difference depending on which side of that line your official duty station falls on.

2025 GS Pay Raise: 1.7%

With lower inflation coming into 2025, GS pay scales saw a more modest 1.7% across-the-board base pay increase, confirmed via the White House’s pay adjustments directive. An average 0.3% locality pay boost was added, bringing the total average increase to approximately 2.0% from January 1st, 2025.

The complete 2025 GS salary tables are available at the Office of Personnel Management.

2024 GS Pay Raise: 4.7% (Record Raise)

With persistent inflation and a large Social Security COLA, 2024 GS pay scales saw an across-the-board 4.7% base pay increase — a record raise justified on the basis of keeping pace with private-sector wage growth. An average 0.5% locality pay boost brought the total average increase to 5.2% from January 1st, 2024.

The 2024 pay jump was the largest since 1980 and reflected a broader effort to close the persistent pay gap between federal and private-sector employees.

2023 GS Pay Raise: 4.6% Average

With record-high inflation and an 8.7% Social Security COLA, President Biden confirmed a 4.6% average pay raise for GS employees via executive order, made up of a 4.1% base pay increase and an average 0.5% locality pay adjustment. Effective January 1st, 2023.

2022 GS Base Pay Raise: 2.7% Average

Federal employees on the GS pay scale received a 2.2% across-the-board base pay raise for 2022, with an additional 0.5% locality pay adjustment, totaling a 2.7% average increase effective January 1st, 2022.

2021 GS Pay Raise: 1%

Despite potential freeze fears, Congress approved a 1% raise for GS employees effective January 1st, 2021. Armed service members received a 3% raise in 2021. The 1% fell short in a rising inflation environment.

2020 GS Pay Raise: 3.1%

GS employees saw a 3.1% average raise for 2020, made up of a 2.6% general schedule increase and 0.5% locality pay adjustment. Effective January 1st, 2020 — matching the 2020 military pay raise.

Prior Year GS Pay Raise History

Full historical pay tables by grade and step are available at the OPM salaries and wages page.