President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Dec. 23 to make the average 4.6% federal pay raise official for civilian employees. But the exact raise you get...
This story was updated on Friday, Dec. 30, 2022 at 11:50 a.m.
President Joe Biden signed anexecutive orderon Dec. 23, making the federal pay raise official for many civilian employees in 2023.
As anticipated, General Schedule employees will get an across-the-board pay raise of 4.1% in 2023, plus a 0.5% locality pay adjustment, totaling to an average 4.6% pay increase. The raise will take effect during the first pay period in January.
Biden had announced hisplans for the 4.6% pay boostback in August. It’s a sizeable increase over theaverage 2.7% pay raisethat most civilian employees saw in 2022. The executive order on Dec. 23 was the last step of the process to make the pay raise official ahead of the new year.
The 4.6% pay raise is an average, meaning not everyone will see that exact amount added to their paychecks next year. Depending on where they work in the country, some feds might see slightly higher bumps, while others might see slightly lower numbers.
The table below compiles the federal pay raises that General Schedule employees will actually get based on where they live. OPM published thefull set of pay tablesfor the General Scheduleon their website.
(Chart compiled by Federal News Network using data from the Office of Personnel Management)
For instance, General Schedule employees working in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. metropolitan area will get a total raise of 4.86%, while employees in the Atlanta/Athens, Georgia, pay locality area will receive a pay increase of 4.43% in 2023.
Federal employees in the Seattle/Tacoma, Washington, pay locality area will get the highest raise in 2023, with an increase of 5.15%, according to data from OPM.
Employees in the Corpus Christi/Kingsville-Alice, Texas, pay locality will see the lowest pay raise of 4.35% next year. General Schedule employees in the “rest of U.S.” pay locality, the catch-all group for any employees outside the other 53 distinct pay localities, will get a raise of 4.37%.
Federal News Network has also compiled a report to help fedsbetter understand locality payand calculate their own raises.
The president’s pay agent tentativelyapproved four new pay localities, but civilian employees working in Fresno, California; Reno, Nevada; Rochester, New York; and Spokane, Washington won’t see any effects of that change until January 2024 at the earliest.
Locality pay originated with the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) of 1990. It was intended to make federal wages more competitive with the private sector, but no presidential administration after 1994 has fully implemented it, instead typically issuing alternative pay plans.
The President’s Pay Agent once again this year called for “major legislative reforms” to the federal pay system, saying that basing pay rates on geographical location leaves some specific occupations either underpaid or overpaid.
Although Congress has in past years occasionally legislated its own separate federal pay raise proposal, this year’s omnibus spending package made no mention of it, indicating asilent endorsem*ntof the President’s pay plan.
The omnibus bill maintained a pay freeze for senior political appointees, in a move that has become standard in recent years. The freeze specifically covers the vice president, political appointees on the Executive Schedule, non-career ambassadors of the Foreign Service, non-career employees in the Senior Executive Service, as well as other senior political appointees at or above level IV of the Executive Schedule.
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FAQs
A lack of competitive pay hurts the recruitment, retention, and quality of the civil service. The Biden Administration has worked to reverse these trends, providing federal employees a 4.6 percent pay raise in 2023 and a 5.2 percent raise in 2024.
What is the locality increase for 2024 federal employees? ›
2024 GS rate: $33,878 (after 4.7% across-the-board increase). 2024 locality rate: $40,132 ($33,878 x 1.1846). 2024 special rate: $41,781 ($33,878 + $7,903 special rate supplement).
What is the proposed pay raise for federal employees? ›
“The budget includes a pay adjustment of 2.0%, building on significant increases in 2022, 2023 and 2024 while account for the fiscal constraints federal agencies face in fiscal 2025,” OMB wrote.
What locality has the highest federal pay? ›
The locality with the highest federal pay is the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, California, also known as San Francisco Locality Area, with a locality pay adjustment of 44.15% for 2023. The locality areas usually comprise a cluster of counties for neighboring towns and cities.
Is GS 12 a high position? ›
The GG pay rates are generally identical to published GS pay rates. The GS-1 through GS-7 range generally marks entry-level positions, while mid-level positions are in the GS-8 to GS-12 range and top-level positions (senior managers, high-level technical specialists, or physicians) are in the GS-13 to GS-15 range.
Is the 2023 federal pay raise finalized in Executive Order? ›
The Executive Order raises the minimum wage paid by those contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts to $15.00 per hour, beginning January 30, 2022; and beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (Secretary).
How much does a GS 9 make in 2024? ›
How much does a Gs 9 make? As of Apr 16, 2024, the average annual pay for a Gs 9 in the United States is $285,937 a year.
Are federal employees getting a cost of living raise in 2024? ›
Executive Order Number 14113, dated December 21, 2023, authorizes an average 5.2 percent increase (combination of the base of 4.7 percent and a locality of 0.5 percent, for a total of 5.2 percent), depending upon locality, effective January 14, 2024, for employees under the General Schedule (GS) and Foreign Service ...
What is the new locality pay in 2024? ›
The raises for the new localities are: Fresno, Calif., 5.28; Reno, Nev., 5.25; Rochester, N.Y., 5.46; and Spokane, Wash., 5.31. Raises are effective with the first full pay period of the new year, which for most employees will begin January 14.
Is Biden giving federal employees a raise? ›
Biden signs order finalizing 5.2% pay raise for feds in 2024 - Government Executive. Get the latest pay and benefits news delivered to your inbox.
Locality relates to the region where the employee works. This factor adjusts the base rate of pay for the cost of living in a geographic area. While each position is assigned to a specific grade, and each employee is assigned to a step within that grade, the pay rate will vary by location.
Do federal employees get a pay raise every year? ›
Annual Pay Raise:
Each year, the President may recommend an annual pay raise to Congress for Federal employees. The Congress may accept the President's recommendation or make its own proposal. After the Congress approves the pay raise, the President must then sign it into law.
What state has the most federal employees? ›
What is high 3 locality pay? ›
Your high-3 is based on the average of your highest three consecutive years of pay from which retirement deductions are taken. As a rule that includes basic pay and locality pay. You can confirm that this is true for you by looking at your pay slip to see if retirement deductions are taken from both.
Which branch of government has the most federal employees? ›
Most federal agencies, and therefore employees, are under the federal executive branch.
What is the pay raise increase for 2023? ›
In the WTW survey, U.S. employers report an actual average salary increase of 4.4% in 2023 during a year when BLS reported annual inflation of 3.1%.
What is the new pay scale for federal employees 2023? ›
2023 GS Pay Scale Base Pay Table
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 4 |
|---|
| 1 | 20999 | 23097 |
| 2 | 23612 | 25617 |
| 3 | 25764 | 28341 |
| 4 | 28921 | 31813 |
11 more rowsSome or all studies may require download and/or purchase. U.S. respondents report, on average, a planned base salary increase of 3.8 percent in 2023. Among some industries, however, base salary increases reported by respondents may surpass 4.5 or even 5 percent for their employees.
What is the federal pay raise for 2023 for wage grade employees? ›
So the federal pay raise is typically based off of the most recent change in the employment cost index for private sector wages and salaries. So if you're looking at that ended in 2023, it's 4.5%. That's typically reduced down by half a percent down to four for that across the board pay increase.
