GS Pay Scale 2025 – Complete Guide to Raises and Tables

The 2025 General Schedule pay scale brings a modest adjustment to federal employee compensation, with an overall average increase of 2.0% taking effect in January 2025. The raise combines a 1.7% across-the-board base pay boost with a 0.3% average locality adjustment, as outlined in the Biden administration’s proposal released August 30, 2024. For millions of federal workers covered under the General Schedule, the new rates mean updated pay tables across all 15 grades and 10 step levels.

Federal agencies and employees can access the complete 2025 GS pay tables through the Office of Personnel Management, which publishes official rates in spreadsheet, XML, and PDF formats. The adjustment reflects ongoing negotiations between the administration and Congress, with the figures representing the smallest raise during the Biden presidency compared to the 5.2% increase enacted for 2024, which was the largest raise since 1980.

What Is the GS Pay Scale for 2025?

The General Schedule structures federal civilian pay across 15 grades, each containing 10 step increments. The 2025 scale applies a uniform 1.7% base pay increase to all GS grades, from GS-1 through GS-15. Locality pay supplements base rates depending on where an employee works, creating a two-part compensation formula that recognizes regional cost-of-living differences. Those new to federal employment may find it helpful to understand how the federal compensation system works before reviewing specific pay figures.

Official pay tables are maintained by the Office of Personnel Management at opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/, with downloadable PDFs for each locality area. The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality, covering parts of DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, carries the highest adjustment at 33.94%, while the Rest of U.S. baseline sits at 17.06%.

Key details about the GS structure for 2025 include the following points:

• Step increases average approximately 3% per step, granted based on satisfactory performance and time-in-grade requirements
• Time-in-grade rules require 1 year for steps 1 through 3, 2 years for steps 4 through 6, and 3 years for steps 7 through 10
• Special rate tables apply to law enforcement officers in grades GS-3 to GS-10, providing elevated locality adjustments
• Grades GS-1 through GS-4 may use special table 001M when it yields higher pay than standard locality rates
• The top pay level, GS-15 Step 10, caps at Executive Level IV, reaching approximately $197,200 before locality adjustments
• New federal hires typically begin at Step 1 within their assigned grade
• Promotions and qualifying experience can allow entry at higher steps depending on agency policy

What Is the Federal Pay Raise for 2025?

The federal pay raise for 2025 amounts to an overall average of 2.0%, a figure notably lower than the 5.2% increase seen in 2024. The administration proposed this figure on August 30, 2024, as part of its annual budget planning process. Congress retains authority to alter the proposed raise before the January 1 effective date, meaning the final figures could still change.

How Much Is the GS Pay Increase in 2025?

The 2.0% overall increase breaks down into two components. The 1.7% across-the-board base pay raise applies uniformly to every General Schedule employee regardless of grade or duty station. The remaining 0.3% represents the average locality pay adjustment, which is distributed unevenly across the 57 defined locality pay areas.

The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality, for example, sees a combined effective increase of approximately 2.22% when both components are factored together with its elevated locality percentage. Areas such as San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles continue to maintain some of the largest pay gaps compared to the Rest of U.S. baseline, reflecting persistent regional disparities in federal worker compensation.

What Are the 2025 Locality Pay Areas?

Locality pay areas divide the country into 57 distinct geographic zones, each with its own adjustment percentage applied on top of base GS pay. The Federal Salary Council recommends expansions and changes to these areas based on employment and commuting data, with proposed adjustments affecting approximately 15,000 federal employees in newly included areas.

How Does Locality Pay Work in 2025?

Locality pay supplements base salary by multiplying the base rate by one plus the locality percentage. For example, an employee in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality earning a base salary multiplied by a 33.94% locality adjustment yields significantly higher total compensation than an employee in a lower-adjustment area performing identical work.

The Rest of U.S. locality, serving as the default adjustment for areas without a specific designation, sits at 17.06% for 2025. Premium localities like Washington-Baltimore-Arlington (33.94%) reflect the higher cost of living and competitive labor markets in those regions.

What Is the Highest GS Locality Pay in 2025?

The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality holds the highest pay adjustment at 33.94%, covering federal employees in the District of Columbia and surrounding metropolitan areas across multiple states. San Francisco, New York, and Seattle also carry elevated percentages, though slightly lower than the top designation. These premium areas aim to help federal agencies compete with private-sector employers in high-cost labor markets.

How Much Is GS-11 Pay in 2025?

GS-11 pay in 2025 varies by duty station and step level, with total compensation calculated by applying the applicable locality percentage to the base grade rate. Employees in high-locality areas such as Washington-Baltimore-Arlington see substantially higher figures than those in the Rest of U.S. category. Using the OPM salary calculator, workers input their grade, step, and locality to generate exact pay amounts for any given period.

GS Pay Steps Explained 2023

Step increases within each GS grade reward tenure and satisfactory performance. Each step within a grade represents roughly a 3% increase in pay from the previous step. Advancement through steps follows a structured timeline: employees must spend one year in each of steps 1 through 3, two years in each of steps 4 through 6, and three years in each of steps 7 through 9 before reaching step 10. Step 10 requires no additional time-in-grade waiting period but typically reflects the highest pay available within that grade before promotion.

Agencies award step increases based on acceptable performance ratings, meaning employees who receive unsatisfactory reviews may have advancement delayed or withheld. This system rewards consistency and career development while giving supervisors a mechanism to address performance concerns.

When Was the 2025 GS Pay Scale Announced?

The Biden administration announced the proposed 2025 federal pay raise on August 30, 2024. The announcement came through the executive office and outlined both the 1.7% base adjustment and the 0.3% average locality component. OPM subsequently published detailed tables and supporting documentation reflecting the proposed rates.

The effective date for the new rates is January 1, 2025, meaning agencies implement the adjustments with the first pay period of the new calendar year. Employees reviewing their pay statements early in 2025 should see the updated rates reflected in their earnings.

Key dates in the 2025 GS pay rollout include the following milestones:

1. August 30, 2024 — The Biden administration releases its proposed pay raise figures for 2025
2. Fall 2024 — OPM publishes draft locality pay tables and supporting documentation
3. Late 2024 — Final tables posted to OPM.gov in PDF, XML, and spreadsheet formats
4. January 1, 2025 — New rates take effect for all General Schedule employees
5. January 2025 onward — Employees see adjusted pay in their first 2025 pay statements

What Information Is Established and What Remains Uncertain?

Several aspects of the 2025 GS pay scale are confirmed and ready for use, while a few elements carry inherent uncertainty that employees should monitor.

Workers seeking the most current figures should consult the OPM 2025 General Schedule page directly, as rates may be updated if Congress takes action to modify the proposed adjustment.

How Is the GS Pay Scale Calculated?

The GS pay scale calculation combines two independent adjustments: the base pay raise and the locality pay supplement. Base pay applies uniformly across all 15 grades and is determined by multiplying the GS base rate by the locality factor for an employee’s duty station. This two-part formula ensures that federal workers in expensive metropolitan areas receive compensation that partially reflects local market conditions.

The Federal Salary Council reviews locality boundaries annually, recommending changes based on employment commuting data and salary surveys. These recommendations feed into the Executive Office’s determinations, which are then codified in formal orders and reflected in OPM’s published tables.

Sources and Official Statements

The 2025 General Schedule pay tables draw from official government sources, primarily the Office of Personnel Management and executive orders issued through the White House. Key documents include the OPM salary tables PDF covering the DC-Baltimore area and supporting materials on the OPM website explaining pay system rules and special rate applications.

The proposed 2025 pay increase reflects the administration’s commitment to maintaining competitive federal compensation while recognizing fiscal constraints and the current economic environment.

— Biden administration pay proposal summary, August 2024

Union organizations and federal employee groups have expressed varying views on the proposed raise, with some noting that the 2.0% adjustment falls short of matching private-sector growth in certain high-cost regions. Documentation of these perspectives appears in statements from organizations representing federal workers.

Summary

The 2025 GS pay scale introduces a 2.0% average increase effective January 2025, combining a 1.7% base pay raise with a 0.3% average locality adjustment across 57 geographic areas. Federal employees can access complete tables through OPM.gov, which provides downloadable PDFs, interactive calculators, and locality-specific breakdowns. The Washington-Baltimore-Arlington locality carries the highest adjustment at 33.94%, while the Rest of U.S. baseline sits at 17.06%. The raise represents the smallest adjustment during the Biden presidency, prompting ongoing discussion about federal employee compensation competitiveness. For detailed grade and step-specific calculations, the OPM GS Salary Calculator offers the most precise compensation estimates available.

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