The Executive Order authorized an average 2.7% pay raise for federal employees in 2022 which consists of a 2.2% base pay increase and an additional 0.5% for GS locality pay. The 2022 GS pay scale is based off of the 2022 General Schedule base pay table which lists annual salaries for each grade and step.

President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed an Executive Order (EO) on 2022 pay that authorizes a 2.2% across-the-board increase for the 2022 General Schedule (Base) plus an additional 0.5% in locality pay adjustments, reflecting an overall average pay increase of 2.7%.

By law, the schedule is to be adjusted on an annual basis.3 As of January 2022, GS base pay ranged from $20,172 at GS-1, step 1, to $146,757 at GS-15, step 10.4 In the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, locality pay area, base pay and locality pay ranged from $26,532 at GS-1, step 1, to $176,300 at GS-15, step 10, as of January 2022.5 The GS has been in existence since the Classification Act of 1949.

Starting salary for a GS-12 employee is $68,299.00 per year at Step 1, with a maximum possible base pay of $88,792.00 per year at Step 10. The hourly base pay of a Step 1 GS-12 employee is $32.73 per hour1.