How much does a GS-8 make in 2026?

A GS-8 earns $47,738 to $62,057 in base pay (steps 1–10). With locality pay the range is $55,882 (step 1, Rest of U.S.) to $90,814 (step 10, San Francisco Bay Area).

What is the GS-8 hourly rate?

GS-8 step 1 base is $22.87/hour; step 10 is $29.74/hour (annual ÷ 2,087). Locality pay raises these proportionally.

What is the GS-8 step increase?

Each within-grade increase (WGI) at GS-8 adds $1,591 to base pay. Steps 1–4 come every year, 5–7 every two years, 8–10 every three years.

GS-8 Pay Scale 2026

Base pay $47,738 – $62,057; with locality pay $55,882 – $90,814. Senior technician and specialised support roles.

Source: OPM Salary Table 2026-GS and 2026 locality tables.

Step 1 base

$47,738

$22.87/hr

Step 10 base

$62,057

$29.74/hr

Within-grade increase

$1,591

per step

Highest locality (step 10)

$90,814

San Francisco Bay Area · 46.34%

GS-8 base steps

Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4	Step 5	Step 6	Step 7	Step 8	Step 9	Step 10
47,738	49,329	50,920	52,511	54,102	55,693	57,284	58,875	60,466	62,057
$22.87/hr	$23.64/hr	$24.40/hr	$25.16/hr	$25.92/hr	$26.69/hr	$27.45/hr	$28.21/hr	$28.97/hr	$29.74/hr

GS-8 salary by locality pay area (2026)

All 58 areas, highest locality percentage first. Values are annual, locality-adjusted.

Locality	%	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7	S8	S9	S10
San Francisco Bay Area	46.34	69,860	72,188	74,516	76,845	79,173	81,501	83,829	86,158	88,486	90,814
New York	37.95	65,855	68,049	70,244	72,439	74,634	76,828	79,023	81,218	83,413	85,608
Los Angeles	36.47	65,148	67,319	69,491	71,662	73,833	76,004	78,175	80,347	82,518	84,689
Houston	35.00	64,446	66,594	68,742	70,890	73,038	75,186	77,333	79,481	81,629	83,777
Washington DC	33.94	63,940	66,071	68,202	70,333	72,464	74,595	76,726	78,857	80,988	83,119
San Diego	33.72	63,835	65,963	68,090	70,218	72,345	74,473	76,600	78,728	80,855	82,983
Boston	32.58	63,291	65,400	67,510	69,619	71,728	73,838	75,947	78,056	80,166	82,275
Alaska	32.36	63,186	65,292	67,398	69,504	71,609	73,715	75,821	77,927	80,033	82,139
Hartford	32.08	63,052	65,154	67,255	69,357	71,458	73,559	75,661	77,762	79,863	81,965
Seattle	31.57	62,809	64,902	66,995	69,089	71,182	73,275	75,369	77,462	79,555	81,648
Chicago	30.86	62,470	64,552	66,634	68,716	70,798	72,880	74,962	77,044	79,126	81,208
Denver	30.52	62,308	64,384	66,461	68,537	70,614	72,691	74,767	76,844	78,920	80,997
Sacramento	29.76	61,945	64,009	66,074	68,138	70,203	72,267	74,332	76,396	78,461	80,525
Detroit	29.12	61,639	63,694	65,748	67,802	69,857	71,911	73,965	76,019	78,074	80,128
Philadelphia	28.99	61,577	63,629	65,682	67,734	69,786	71,838	73,891	75,943	77,995	80,047
Minneapolis	27.62	60,923	62,954	64,984	67,015	69,045	71,075	73,106	75,136	77,167	79,197
Dallas-Fort Worth	27.26	60,751	62,776	64,801	66,825	68,850	70,875	72,900	74,924	76,949	78,974
Portland	26.13	60,212	62,219	64,225	66,232	68,239	70,246	72,252	74,259	76,266	78,272
Miami	24.67	59,515	61,498	63,482	65,465	67,449	69,432	71,416	73,399	75,383	77,366
Atlanta	23.79	59,095	61,064	63,034	65,003	66,973	68,942	70,912	72,881	74,851	76,820
Phoenix	22.45	58,455	60,403	62,352	64,300	66,248	68,196	70,144	72,092	74,041	75,989
Milwaukee	22.42	58,441	60,389	62,336	64,284	66,232	68,179	70,127	72,075	74,022	75,970
Buffalo	22.41	58,436	60,384	62,331	64,279	66,226	68,174	70,121	72,069	74,016	75,964
Richmond	22.28	58,374	60,320	62,265	64,210	66,156	68,101	70,047	71,992	73,938	75,883
Raleigh	22.24	58,355	60,300	62,245	64,189	66,134	68,079	70,024	71,969	73,914	75,858
Cleveland	22.23	58,350	60,295	62,240	64,184	66,129	68,074	70,018	71,963	73,908	75,852
Hawaii	22.21	58,341	60,285	62,229	64,174	66,118	68,062	70,007	71,951	73,895	75,840
Columbus	22.15	58,312	60,255	62,199	64,142	66,086	68,029	69,972	71,916	73,859	75,803
Cincinnati	21.93	58,207	60,147	62,087	64,027	65,967	67,906	69,846	71,786	73,726	75,666
Huntsville	21.91	58,197	60,137	62,077	64,016	65,956	67,895	69,835	71,775	73,714	75,654
Laredo	21.59	58,045	59,979	61,914	63,848	65,783	67,717	69,652	71,586	73,521	75,455
Dayton	21.42	57,963	59,895	61,827	63,759	65,691	67,622	69,554	71,486	73,418	75,350
Pittsburgh	21.03	57,777	59,703	61,628	63,554	65,480	67,405	69,331	71,256	73,182	75,108
Albany	20.77	57,653	59,575	61,496	63,418	65,339	67,260	69,182	71,103	73,025	74,946
Austin	20.35	57,453	59,367	61,282	63,197	65,112	67,027	68,941	70,856	72,771	74,686
Colorado Springs	20.15	57,357	59,269	61,180	63,092	65,004	66,915	68,827	70,738	72,650	74,561
St. Louis	20.03	57,300	59,210	61,119	63,029	64,939	66,848	68,758	70,668	72,577	74,487
Charlotte	19.67	57,128	59,032	60,936	62,840	64,744	66,648	68,552	70,456	72,360	74,264
Las Vegas	19.57	57,080	58,983	60,885	62,787	64,690	66,592	68,494	70,397	72,299	74,202
Burlington	19.45	57,023	58,923	60,824	62,724	64,625	66,525	68,426	70,326	72,227	74,127
Harrisburg	19.43	57,013	58,914	60,814	62,714	64,614	66,514	68,414	70,314	72,215	74,115
Tucson	19.28	56,942	58,840	60,737	62,635	64,533	66,431	68,328	70,226	72,124	74,022
Kansas City	18.97	56,794	58,687	60,580	62,472	64,365	66,258	68,151	70,044	71,936	73,829
Davenport	18.93	56,775	58,667	60,559	62,451	64,344	66,236	68,128	70,020	71,912	73,804
Virginia Beach	18.80	56,713	58,603	60,493	62,383	64,273	66,163	68,053	69,944	71,834	73,724
San Antonio	18.78	56,703	58,593	60,483	62,373	64,262	66,152	68,042	69,932	71,822	73,711
Albuquerque	18.33	56,488	58,371	60,254	62,136	64,019	65,902	67,784	69,667	71,549	73,432
Birmingham	18.24	56,445	58,327	60,208	62,089	63,970	65,851	67,733	69,614	71,495	73,376
Omaha	18.23	56,441	58,322	60,203	62,084	63,965	65,846	67,727	69,608	71,489	73,370
Indianapolis	18.15	56,402	58,282	60,162	62,042	63,922	65,801	67,681	69,561	71,441	73,320
Des Moines	18.01	56,336	58,213	60,091	61,968	63,846	65,723	67,601	69,478	71,356	73,233
Palm Bay	17.93	56,297	58,174	60,050	61,926	63,802	65,679	67,555	69,431	71,308	73,184
Rochester	17.88	56,274	58,149	60,024	61,900	63,775	65,651	67,526	69,402	71,277	73,153
Spokane	17.67	56,173	58,045	59,918	61,790	63,662	65,534	67,406	69,278	71,150	73,022
Fresno	17.65	56,164	58,036	59,907	61,779	63,651	65,523	67,395	69,266	71,138	73,010
Corpus Christi	17.63	56,154	58,026	59,897	61,769	63,640	65,512	67,383	69,255	71,126	72,998
Reno	17.52	56,102	57,971	59,841	61,711	63,581	65,450	67,320	69,190	71,060	72,929
Rest of U.S.	17.06	55,882	57,745	59,607	61,469	63,332	65,194	67,057	68,919	70,781	72,644

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How GS-8 compares to private-sector pay

Federal pay is set by table; the market sets private pay. Compare against BLS occupational medians in your metro — accountant, Washington DC, data analyst, Washington DC, or any occupation.