How Much Do Government Employees Earn?

Determining what government employees earn is rarely as simple as looking up one national average, as the term covers everything from local administrative assistants to high-level federal scientists. The compensation structure varies dramatically depending on the level of government—federal, state, or local—and the specific pay system in place for that agency. ^[2][5] For federal white-collar positions, the conversation immediately centers on the General Schedule (GS), which is the dominant pay system for the executive branch. ^[4][3]

# Federal Structure

The federal government’s approach to compensation is highly structured. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) plays a key role in setting the policies that govern federal pay across various departments. ^[1] While the GS system covers the majority of the civilian workforce, other pay systems exist for specialized roles, like those in the Tennessee Valley Authority or certain intelligence agencies, though the GS remains the benchmark for most readers analyzing federal salaries. ^[4]

The GS scale is codified by Grades and Steps. Grades range from GS-1, typically the entry-level for positions requiring minimal experience, up to GS-15, which represents the highest standard pay grade for non-executive federal positions. ^[4][7] Within each grade, there are ten steps, representing incremental pay increases based on tenure and performance. ^[4] An employee starts at Step 1 and moves to Step 2 after one year, and so on, up to Step 10. ^[4]

# GS Pay Details

The base salary listed for any GS grade and step is just the starting point for understanding actual take-home pay. For example, a GS-5 position might have a base rate of \35,000, while a GS-13 position might start closer to \85,000, depending on the data year used for reference. ^[3][7] However, these numbers change annually to reflect cost-of-living adjustments. ^[1]

A table format helps illustrate the fundamental structure, though specific dollar amounts shift yearly: ^[3]

When examining data on federal earnings, it is important to note the distribution. While the GS-15 level draws attention as the top of the standard scale, a significant portion of the federal workforce occupies the middle tiers, often GS-9 through GS-12. ^[6] For these mid-career professionals, the stability and the predictable nature of step increases offer a different kind of financial security compared to the potentially higher, but less certain, ceiling found in some private sector employment tracks. ^[6]

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# Location Pay Adjustment

Perhaps the single biggest variable affecting a federal employee's paycheck, outside of their grade and step, is their Locality Pay Area. ^[1] Base GS rates are set nationally, but OPM mandates significant adjustments based on the local cost of living, particularly in high-cost metropolitan areas. ^[1]

For instance, an employee stationed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area receives a substantial locality adjustment, sometimes adding 30% or more to their base salary, compared to an employee at the same grade and step working in a lower-cost region designated as "Rest of the United States". ^[7] This means that two federal employees holding the exact same job title, grade, and step can have wildly different annual earnings solely due to where they are geographically assigned. ^[1] This mechanism is designed to ensure federal pay remains competitive in expensive markets, but it inherently creates internal pay disparities across the country. ^[1]

# State Compensation Systems

Moving away from the federal umbrella, state government compensation introduces another layer of complexity. State systems are entirely separate from the GS structure. ^[5] For example, in California, the state agency CalHR manages its own salary schedules for state employees. ^[5] This means that pay rates for a state employee working for the California Department of Motor Vehicles will follow a completely different set of published rates than a federal employee working for the IRS in the same Sacramento office. ^[5]

These state systems often use their own classifications, which may not map neatly onto the GS-1 to GS-15 structure. While some states aim for parity with the federal system to attract talent, the actual pay grids, benefit packages, and specific pay scales are determined by individual state legislative and budgetary processes. ^[5]

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# Beyond Base Salary

Discussing how much government employees earn requires looking past the annual salary number itself, as benefits can add considerable value to the total compensation package. ^[8] Federal employees, for example, are often cited as benefiting from strong retirement programs. ^[8] One key element is the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which functions as a defined contribution plan, often with agency matching contributions, comparable to a private-sector 401(k). ^[8]

Furthermore, federal workers generally have access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, often considered competitive in terms of premium sharing between employee and employer. ^[8] For members of the National Guard, compensation includes both civilian pay and military pay/allowances, with specific benefits tied to drill participation and federal activation status. ^[9] When comparing a private sector offer to a government position, one must factor in the lower perceived risk associated with government employment, including higher job security and predictable annual raises through the step progression system. ^[6]

If we consider an average federal worker’s pay published by organizations like USAFacts, that figure represents the base annual wage. ^[2] However, when a hiring manager calculates the total cost of an employee to the government, that number is substantially higher once retirement contributions, health insurance subsidies, and administrative overhead are included. ^[8] This difference in total compensation is a critical element often missed when simply comparing headline salary figures.

# Comparing Earnings Data

Research comparing government and private sector earnings shows nuance. Data often indicates that, on average, federal workers may earn slightly more than their private sector counterparts when looking at median earnings across the board. ^[6] However, this comparison often changes significantly when controlling for factors like educational attainment and experience. Federal workers tend to be older and have higher levels of education than the average private-sector employee, which naturally inflates the overall federal median wage. ^[6]

When analyzing pay across different agencies, large departments like the Department of Defense (DoD) or the Veterans Health Administration employ vast numbers of people, skewing overall federal statistics. ^[2] Conversely, smaller agencies might have pay distributions heavily weighted toward senior technical experts or entry-level administrative staff, leading to different internal averages. ^[2]

Understanding the compensation landscape means acknowledging that government pay is a layered structure designed for stability, equity across like roles (via the GS system), and local competitiveness (via locality pay), rather than simply maximizing high-end earning potential found in certain high-risk, high-reward private industries. ^[4][1]