HISTORICAL GS PAY SCALE

2022 GS Pay Scale

The 2022 General Schedule pay scale provides the official base salary rates for GS-1 through GS-15 and Steps 1 through 10. OPM's 2022 base schedule incorporated a 2.2% General Schedule increase and became effective in January 2022. The table below contains the official nationwide base rates before applicable locality pay.

2022 GS Pay Scale

The 2022 General Schedule (GS) pay scale is the nationwide base salary schedule for federal employees covered by the General Schedule. The official U.S. Office of Personnel Management schedule contains 15 grades, GS-1 through GS-15, with 10 steps within each grade.

OPM's official Salary Table 2022-GS incorporates a 2.2% General Schedule increase and became effective in January 2022. The salaries below are annual GS base rates and do not include locality pay.

Grade Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10
GS-1 $20,172 $20,849 $21,519 $22,187 $22,857 $23,249 $23,913 $24,581 $24,608 $25,234
GS-2 $22,682 $23,222 $23,973 $24,608 $24,886 $25,618 $26,350 $27,082 $27,814 $28,546
GS-3 $24,749 $25,574 $26,399 $27,224 $28,049 $28,874 $29,699 $30,524 $31,349 $32,174
GS-4 $27,782 $28,708 $29,634 $30,560 $31,486 $32,412 $33,338 $34,264 $35,190 $36,116
GS-5 $31,083 $32,119 $33,155 $34,191 $35,227 $36,263 $37,299 $38,335 $39,371 $40,407
GS-6 $34,649 $35,804 $36,959 $38,114 $39,269 $40,424 $41,579 $42,734 $43,889 $45,044
GS-7 $38,503 $39,786 $41,069 $42,352 $43,635 $44,918 $46,201 $47,484 $48,767 $50,050
GS-8 $42,641 $44,062 $45,483 $46,904 $48,325 $49,746 $51,167 $52,588 $54,009 $55,430
GS-9 $47,097 $48,667 $50,237 $51,807 $53,377 $54,947 $56,517 $58,087 $59,657 $61,227
GS-10 $51,864 $53,593 $55,322 $57,051 $58,780 $60,509 $62,238 $63,967 $65,696 $67,425
GS-11 $56,983 $58,882 $60,781 $62,680 $64,579 $66,478 $68,377 $70,276 $72,175 $74,074
GS-12 $68,299 $70,576 $72,853 $75,130 $77,407 $79,684 $81,961 $84,238 $86,515 $88,792
GS-13 $81,216 $83,923 $86,630 $89,337 $92,044 $94,751 $97,458 $100,165 $102,872 $105,579
GS-14 $95,973 $99,172 $102,371 $105,570 $108,769 $111,968 $115,167 $118,366 $121,565 $124,764
GS-15 $112,890 $116,653 $120,416 $124,179 $127,942 $131,705 $135,468 $139,231 $142,994 $146,757

Official source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management — Salary Table 2022-GS .

2022 GS Pay Increase

OPM's official Salary Table 2022-GS incorporates a 2.2% General Schedule increase. The salary schedule became effective in January 2022.

The 2.2% figure applies to the nationwide General Schedule base pay schedule. Locality pay is applied separately through the appropriate locality salary table, so an employee's locality-adjusted salary should not be determined from the base increase alone.

How to Read the 2022 GS Pay Table

To find a base salary, first locate the employee's GS grade in the left-hand column. Then move across the row to the appropriate step from Step 1 through Step 10. For current rates, see the 2026 GS Pay Scale; for current step information, see GS Step Increases. The amount where the grade and step intersect is the employee's annual 2022 GS base rate.

For example, OPM's official 2022 table lists GS-5 Step 1 at $31,083, GS-9 Step 1 at $47,097, GS-11 Step 1 at $56,983, and GS-12 Step 1 at $68,299.

GS Grades in 2022

The General Schedule contains 15 grades, beginning with GS-1 and ending with GS-15. Each grade has its own range of salaries.

In the official 2022 national base schedule, GS-1 Step 1 was $20,172. At the upper end of the standard table, GS-15 Step 10 was $146,757.

Browse Current GS Pay by Grade

GS Steps in 2022

Each grade contains 10 steps. Steps represent pay progression within the same grade. Employees who meet the applicable requirements may advance through steps through within-grade increases.

The time required for a regular within-grade increase is not the same for every step. Under the General Schedule system, the waiting periods are generally 52 weeks for advancement to Steps 2, 3 and 4; 104 weeks for advancement to Steps 5, 6 and 7; and 156 weeks for advancement to Steps 8, 9 and 10, subject to the applicable eligibility requirements.

Browse Current GS Pay by Step

For current rules governing progression between steps, see the Within-Grade Increase Guide and GS Step Increases.

2022 Within-Grade Increase Amounts

OPM's 2022 base salary table also lists the regular dollar amount between steps for most grades. These amounts increase as the grade increases.

Grade 2022 WGI Amount
GS-1Varies
GS-2Varies
GS-3$825
GS-4$926
GS-5$1,036
GS-6$1,155
GS-7$1,283
GS-8$1,421
GS-9$1,570
GS-10$1,729
GS-11$1,899
GS-12$2,277
GS-13$2,707
GS-14$3,199
GS-15$3,763

OPM marks the WGI amount as varying for GS-1 and GS-2 rather than listing one uniform dollar amount across those rows.

2022 Base Pay vs. Locality Pay

For current guidance on the difference between these pay components, see GS Base Pay vs. Locality Pay. For current locality tables, browse the 2026 GS Locality Pay directory.

The salaries in Salary Table 2022-GS are national base rates. They do not include a locality payment.

OPM publishes separate General Schedule salary tables for individual locality pay areas. A locality table combines the applicable GS base rate with the locality adjustment for that pay area.

As a result, two employees who had the same GS grade and step in 2022 could have had different locality-adjusted salaries if their official worksites were covered by different locality pay areas.

Browse Current 2026 GS Locality Pay Areas

These links open the site's current 2026 locality salary pages for comparison. They are not 2022 locality salary tables.

How to Find Your Actual 2022 GS Salary

To determine the salary that applied to a particular federal position in 2022, use the following information:

  1. Identify the employee's GS grade.
  2. Identify the employee's step.
  3. Determine the locality pay area for the employee's official worksite.
  4. Use the corresponding 2022 OPM salary table.
  5. Check whether a special rate or another pay provision applied to the position.

If you only need the underlying nationwide rate before locality pay, use Salary Table 2022-GS shown on this page.

2022 GS Base Pay Examples

Grade Step 1 Step 5 Step 10
GS-5 $31,083 $35,227 $40,407
GS-7 $38,503 $43,635 $50,050
GS-9 $47,097 $53,377 $61,227
GS-11 $56,983 $64,579 $74,074
GS-12 $68,299 $77,407 $88,792
GS-13 $81,216 $92,044 $105,579
GS-14 $95,973 $108,769 $124,764
GS-15 $112,890 $127,942 $146,757

Special Rates and Other 2022 Pay Schedules

The standard 2022-GS table does not necessarily show the final payable rate for every federal employee. Certain positions can be covered by a special salary rate or another federal pay schedule. See the Federal Special Rate Tables guide for current guidance. Federal law-enforcement employees can also review the Law Enforcement GS Pay Scale guide.

When researching historical federal compensation, the applicable position, occupation, agency, geographic location and pay authority should be checked instead of assuming that the standard GS base table was the employee's final salary.

Compare Historical GS Pay Scales

Use these pages to compare national General Schedule base salary tables across years.

Related GS Pay Resources

2022 GS Pay Scale Frequently Asked Questions

What was the 2022 GS base pay increase?

OPM's official Salary Table 2022-GS incorporated a 2.2% General Schedule increase.

When did the 2022 GS pay scale become effective?

The official OPM table states that the 2022-GS schedule was effective January 2022.

How many grades were in the 2022 GS pay scale?

The General Schedule contained 15 grades, GS-1 through GS-15.

How many steps were in each GS grade?

Each General Schedule grade contained 10 steps, Step 1 through Step 10.

What was GS-5 Step 1 pay in 2022?

The official OPM national base rate for GS-5 Step 1 was $31,083.

What was GS-7 Step 1 pay in 2022?

The official OPM national base rate for GS-7 Step 1 was $38,503.

What was GS-9 Step 1 pay in 2022?

The official OPM national base rate for GS-9 Step 1 was $47,097.

What was GS-11 Step 1 pay in 2022?

The official OPM national base rate for GS-11 Step 1 was $56,983.

What was GS-12 Step 1 pay in 2022?

The official OPM national base rate for GS-12 Step 1 was $68,299.

What was GS-15 Step 10 pay in 2022?

The official OPM national base rate for GS-15 Step 10 was $146,757.

Does the 2022 GS base table include locality pay?

No. Salary Table 2022-GS contains the nationwide GS base rates. Locality-adjusted salaries are provided through separate OPM locality salary tables.

Official 2022 OPM Source

The salary figures on this page are based on the official U.S. Office of Personnel Management Salary Table 2022-GS.