Federal pay raise executive orders, year by year
Find annual federal pay-setting orders in the archive, understand General Schedule and locality pay, and distinguish military from civilian schedules.
Research checked October 3, 2026
What an annual pay order does
A presidential pay order sets schedules for specified federal pay systems under statutes that authorize annual adjustments. Its attachments can include the General Schedule, locality payments, the Senior Executive Service, executives, judges or uniformed-service rates. A headline percentage is not an individual employee’s guaranteed raise: grade, location, special rates, caps and the order’s effective date matter.
OPM’s salary-table archive publishes the implementing tables. The signed text identifies which schedules and statutes apply. As an example, the 2008 order guide links OPM’s memorandum documenting a 2.5% base increase, locality costs of about 1% of payroll and a 3.5% overall average for that year.
The 2027 alternative pay plan
On August 26, 2026 the President sent Congress an alternative plan to hold covered civilian base and locality rates at 2026 levels for 2027. The letter separately directs OPM to develop 3.8% law-enforcement special rates, with coverage and caps to be worked out, and describes military rates under a different statute. As checked October 3, 2026, the annual 2027 executive order and OPM tables have not yet been published in this archive. Read the dated 2027 pay-plan explainer for the sources, distinctions and outstanding steps.
Pay-order records in this archive
The 34 rows below match the exact title family “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay” in this archive. They are a discovery list, not a claim that every year had just one pay instrument or that all entries have a verified percentage. Some guides are still at the signed-text stage; use their linked OPM sources before comparing amounts.
Counts in the tables below come from this site's 1,603-record archive, checked October 17, 2026. A research-stage label describes the site's review, not the current legal force of an order. Compare the Federal Register’s published-order index.
A 2004 replacement order
EO 13322 set the first January 2004 schedules; EO 13332 expressly superseded it after the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004. OPM reported a 1.5% base adjustment initially and a 2.7% base adjustment under the replacement. Its 4.1% figure was an overall average including locality pay, with retroactive application to the relevant January pay period. The replacement’s title says “Further Adjustment”, so it is linked here separately from the exact-title table. Check both guides’ official orders and OPM memoranda before comparing individual pay.
Locality pay and military pay
General Schedule base rates are national; locality payments adjust covered civilian pay by designated area. Their percentages and the total average cost of a raise are different measures. Uniformed-service pay uses separate statutory authority and schedules. An order may publish both without making their adjustments equal. OPM pay administration explains the civilian system; use Defense and the order’s own schedules for military rates.
How a federal civilian pay adjustment is set
Most federal civilian employees covered by the General Schedule have a basic rate tied to grade and step, with locality pay or a special rate where applicable. A presidential annual pay adjustment is not the only possible change to an employee's paycheck: a promotion, within-grade increase, locality update, special salary table, or statutory pay action can produce a different result. Military basic pay is set under a separate statutory schedule and should not be calculated from a civilian GS order.
Title 5 establishes a statutory process for annual adjustments and allows the President to submit an alternative plan under specified conditions. OPM then publishes salary tables and guidance. The exact amount depends on the employee's pay system, grade, step, location, occupation, and applicable cap. A headline percentage should not be applied uniformly to every federal worker.
Use the Office of Personnel Management's salary and wage pages for the operative tables for a particular year. The order tells you what rates were adjusted and when; OPM's schedules show the resulting rates. For past years, use the tables and order that were in force then rather than applying a current formula retroactively.
How to read an annual pay order
Check the order's effective date and which schedules it covers. Many annual orders amend tables incorporated by reference or make adjustments under specific sections of title 5. Some apply to civilian schedules; others contain separate provisions for uniformed service members. Read the clauses on locality pay, special rates, pay caps, and exceptions as well as the general percentage.
Then check OPM's implementation documents. OPM publishes the annual General Schedule and locality tables, may issue special rate schedules for occupations or locations, and explains how overlapping rates are applied. An order can set the general framework while OPM's table identifies the rate for an individual worksite and position. If a special rate is capped by law, the effective increase may be lower than the nominal adjustment at higher salary levels.
These orders apply to the government pay system they identify. They do not automatically increase private-sector wages, federal contractor salaries, or benefits computed under another statute. A contractor's pay is governed by the contract and other labor law; a specific federal employee should confirm the applicable table with an agency human-resources or payroll office.
Comparing the annual record
The archive's year-by-year links make it possible to compare signed civilian pay orders across presidential terms. For a fair comparison, separate the order's percentage from the employee's final paycheck, which can also reflect grade progression, step increases, locality, occupation, and work schedule. A zero change to one general schedule does not mean that no employee can receive a change through a distinct authority.
Check whether the annual action was a final executive order, an alternative pay plan sent to Congress, or an OPM table implementing an earlier order. These are related but not interchangeable records. If the signed executive order has not yet appeared, an announced plan should be described as a plan, not as a final salary table. See the archive's 2027 federal pay plan guide for that distinction in the current cycle.