2027 Pay Raise for 2026 Federal Employee GS Charts — Salary Tables and Latest Updates

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 over: President Trump’s August 26, 2026 letter to Congress confirms a pay freeze for most civilian employees, with law enforcement carved out for a 3.8% raise. (For reference, the 2026 raise is confirmed at 1%.)

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.

As of the president’s August 26 letter, the Senate still had not released its own version of the spending bill, leaving no active vehicle in Congress to challenge the freeze. Congress can technically still add a raise through appropriations legislation before year-end, but nothing in motion suggests that will happen.

Key Dates to Watch

• August 26, 2026 (confirmed): President Trump transmitted the alternative pay plan letter to Congress, confirming the freeze for civilian employees and the 3.8% law enforcement raise — five days ahead of the statutory August 31 deadline.
• Fall 2026: Congress could still add a civilian raise through appropriations legislation; no such effort was underway as of the letter.
• December 2026: A presidential executive order is typically issued to formally lock in the following January’s pay rates — expected to follow the letter’s terms absent a change from Congress.

I’ll update this page if Congress moves to override the freeze, and again when the executive order is issued in December. Subscribe here to get notified when the 2027 rate is finalized.

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 an additional 3.8%, bringing their total raise 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.

2026 GS Base Pay Table (Annual, by Grade and Step)

Salary Table 2026-GS — Incorporating the 1% General Schedule Increase, effective January 2026. 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.

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 2026 base pay is $43,106/year. That’s before locality pay, which is added based on where you work. In Washington D.C., the locality rate is 33.26%, adding $14,335 — bringing your total adjusted pay to approximately $57,441. You’ll automatically move to Step 2 ($44,543) after one year of satisfactory performance.

Example 2: Calculating total pay with locality (GS-12, Step 5 — mid-career IT specialist) A GS-12 at Step 5 has a 2026 base of $86,659. In San Francisco (locality rate ~44.15%), that adds $38,260 in locality pay, for a total of approximately $124,919. In a lower-cost region like the Rest of U.S. locality area (16.82%), the same GS-12 Step 5 employee earns $86,659 + $14,575 = $101,234. Same grade, same step — but nearly $24,000 difference based on location.

Example 3: What the 1% raise actually meant in dollars (GS-11, Step 1) The 2025 GS-11 Step 1 base was $63,163. With the 2026 1% raise, it moved to $63,795 — a difference of $632/year, or about $53/month before taxes. If that employee is in D.C. (33.26% locality), the locality adjustment also ticked up slightly (since it’s a percentage of base), adding another $210/year. Total real-dollar gain from the 1% raise: roughly $842/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 2023 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 — the same level as the 2016–2018 period. 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.