GS-13 Pay Scale: Steps, Locality Pay, and Benefits

The GS-13 pay scale for 2026 runs from $90,925 at Step 1 to $118,204 at Step 10 in base salary, with locality adjustments raising total pay as high as $172,980 in the most expensive metropolitan areas.¹ GS-13 sits near the top of the 15-grade General Schedule and is where most federal employees move into senior technical or first-line supervisory work.²

2026 Base Pay by Step

Each grade on the General Schedule is divided into 10 steps that represent incremental raises within the same grade.³ For 2026, the GS-13 base rates are:¹

Step 1: $90,925
Step 2: $93,956
Step 3: $96,987
Step 4: $100,018
Step 5: $103,049
Step 6: $106,080
Step 7: $109,111
Step 8: $112,142
Step 9: $115,173
Step 10: $118,204

Each step is worth about 3% of your salary.² Almost no one actually earns just the base rate, because federal law adds a locality adjustment on top.

What Locality Pay Adds

Your duty station triggers a locality adjustment meant to reflect local labor costs.⁴ Even employees in the lowest-cost areas receive the catch-all “Rest of United States” adjustment, so the base numbers above are never a final paycheck figure. Three examples for 2026 GS-13:

Rest of United States: $106,437 at Step 1 to $138,370 at Step 10⁵
Washington, D.C. area: $121,785 at Step 1 to $158,322 at Step 10⁶
San Francisco area: $133,060 at Step 1 to $172,980 at Step 10⁷

A legal cap does exist. No GS employee’s locality-adjusted pay can exceed the Level IV rate of the Executive Schedule, which is $197,200 in 2026.⁴⁸ No GS-13 salary in any locality comes close to that ceiling; it mainly bites at GS-14 and GS-15 in the priciest cities.

How You Move Through the Steps

Within-grade step increases are automatic as long as your performance rating is at least Fully Successful.⁹ The waiting periods lengthen as you climb:

Steps 1 to 4: 52 weeks between each step
Steps 4 to 7: 104 weeks between each step
Steps 7 to 10: 156 weeks between each step

Running the math, it takes 18 years of satisfactory service to go from Step 1 to Step 10.⁹ The pace is reasonable early on and slows after Step 4. Many GS-13 employees seek promotion to GS-14 rather than wait out those three-year gaps at the top of the grade.

Quality Step Increases

Agencies can also award a Quality Step Increase (QSI), which bumps you up one step outside the normal schedule. To be eligible you must have received the highest performance rating your agency offers, shown sustained high-quality work, currently be below Step 10, and not have received a QSI in the past year.¹⁰ QSIs are discretionary, but a single one permanently raises your base pay for every future calculation, including retirement.

Starting Higher Than Step 1

Agencies default to Step 1 for new hires, but they have authority to set pay as high as Step 10 for candidates with superior qualifications or when the agency has a special need for the applicant’s skills. That determination looks at the quality and relevance of your experience, your accomplishments relative to peers, and sometimes your current or recent private-sector salary. The higher step must be approved before your start date; retroactive adjustments are not allowed.¹¹

This authority applies to first-time federal employees and to people returning after a break in service of at least 90 days. Agencies vary widely in how aggressively they use it. Some rarely go above Step 3; others will match private-sector offers to compete for scarce talent. If you’re negotiating an offer, raise the question early.

Overtime Status

Most GS-13 positions are exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The salary far exceeds the minimum threshold for the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions, and the duties typically involve the kind of discretion and independent judgment those exemptions require. GS-13 employees are generally not eligible for overtime pay, though compensatory time off may be available depending on agency policy.

Benefits That Add to the Paycheck

The paycheck is only part of GS-13 compensation. Leave, retirement, and health coverage carry real dollar value.

Annual and Sick Leave

Annual leave accrues based on years of federal service:¹²¹³

Under 3 years: 4 hours per pay period (13 days per year)
3 to 15 years: 6 hours per pay period (20 days per year)
15 or more years: 8 hours per pay period (26 days per year)

Sick leave accrues at 4 hours per pay period regardless of length of service, with no cap on how much you can bank. Unused sick leave also counts toward your retirement annuity calculation. Federal employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave following a birth or qualifying adoption or foster placement.¹⁴

FERS Pension

GS-13 employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System, which combines a defined-benefit pension, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan. The pension is calculated at 1% of your high-three average salary multiplied by years of service, rising to 1.1% if you retire at age 62 or later with at least 20 years of service.¹⁵

A GS-13 Step 10 employee in the D.C. area retiring at 62 with 25 years of service would receive a basic annuity of roughly 27.5% of high-three average salary, around $43,500 per year at current rates, before Social Security and TSP withdrawals. Your required contribution toward the pension depends on when you were hired: 0.8% of basic pay if you entered federal service before 2013, 3.1% if hired in 2013, and 4.4% if hired in 2014 or later.

Thrift Savings Plan

The TSP works like a 401(k) with unusually low fees. In 2026 you can contribute up to $24,500 in combined traditional and Roth deferrals.¹⁶ Employees 50 or older can add $8,000 in catch-up contributions, and those between 60 and 63 qualify for an enhanced catch-up of $11,250.¹⁷

The agency match is the piece to watch. Your agency contributes 1% of basic pay automatically. It then matches dollar for dollar on the first 3% you contribute and 50 cents per dollar on the next 2%.¹⁸ Contributing at least 5% of your pay captures the full 5% agency contribution. Leaving that match on the table is one of the costliest mistakes new federal employees make.

Health Insurance

The Federal Employees Health Benefits program offers a wide selection of plans. The government pays roughly 72% of the weighted average premium across all plans, up to a maximum of 75% of any individual plan’s premium. You pay the rest through pre-tax payroll deductions. Coverage extends to spouses and to children under 26, with provisions for disabled dependents beyond that age. The program does not require medical underwriting, so pre-existing conditions don’t affect eligibility or rates.

1
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table 2026-GS
2
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. General Schedule
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 5332 – The General Schedule
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 5304 – Locality-Based Comparability Payments
5
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table 2026-RUS
6
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table 2026-DCB
7
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table 2026-SF
8
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Salary Table 2026-EX
9
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Fact Sheet: Within-Grade Increases
10
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. What Is a Quality Step Increase (QSI) and How Does It Affect a Within-Grade Increase?
11
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Superior Qualifications and Special Needs Pay-Setting Authority
12
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Annual Leave
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 6303 – Annual Leave Accrual
14
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Paid Parental Leave
15
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. FERS Computation
16
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). 2026 TSP Contribution Limits
17
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Contribution Types
18
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Benefits – New Employees – Thrift Savings Plan