GL and GG Pay Scales 2026: LEO and Intel Pay Explained

Last Updated: July 8, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min

Two federal pay plans confuse more new hires than any other: GL, the law enforcement scale that pays up to 23.3% above GS at the same grade, and GG, the intelligence-community code that looks identical to GS until the supplements hit. Neither gets a clear explanation anywhere, including from OPM. This is the 2026 GL pay scale and GG pay scale guide with the actual tables, the 3.8% LEO raise, and the math that shows where the money really is.

The GL Scale: Why Federal LEOs Have Their Own Pay Table

GL is the pay plan code for law enforcement officer special base rates at grades GL-3 through GL-10, created by Section 403 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act. Congress built it because entry-level GS rates could not recruit officers, so the early grades carry the biggest boost.

In 2026 the gap widened. GL rates rose 3.8% (the 1.0% across-the-board raise plus an extra 2.8% for LEO positions), while standard GS employees got 1.0%. OPM implemented the raise through special rate tables effective January 11, 2026, then expanded the covered position list on January 30. Covered jobs include FBI, DEA, and ATF special agents (1811 series), Bureau of Prisons correctional officers (0007), deputy U.S. marshals, CBP officers (1895), Border Patrol agents (1896), ICE agents, and Secret Service personnel, plus LEO positions at agencies like Forest Service and Interior added in the expansion.

The 2026 GL vs GS Comparison (Step 1)

Here is the number nobody publishes: the GL premium by grade, which peaks in the middle and compresses at the top.

Grade GS Step 1 GL Step 1 Premium Percent
3 $27,708 $33,252 +$5,544 +20.0%
4 $31,103 $37,325 +$6,222 +20.0%
5 $34,799 $42,919 +$8,120 +23.3%
6 $38,791 $45,256 +$6,465 +16.7%
7 $43,106 $48,854 +$5,748 +13.3%
8 $47,738 $50,920 +$3,182 +6.7%
9 $52,727 $54,485 +$1,758 +3.3%
10 $58,064 $59,999 +$1,935 +3.3%

Source: OPM Salary Tables 2026-GS and 2026-GL. FedTools analysis of the premium curve.

Two practical reads from that table. First, the scale is front-loaded on purpose: a new GL-5 officer earns more than a GS-7 civilian. Second, the compression at grades 9-10 means the GL advantage nearly vanishes right before it disappears entirely at grade 11, when the officer's SF-50 pay plan flips to GS and the standard table takes over (GL-10 Step 1 at $59,999 promotes to GS-11 Step 1 at roughly $63,633).

Locality and LEAP: Where LEO Pay Actually Stacks Up

By law, locality percentages are applied to the GL base rate, not the GS rate, so the premium compounds in expensive cities. Then criminal investigators (1811s) and certain other positions add LEAP, Law Enforcement Availability Pay, worth 25% of adjusted basic pay in exchange for unscheduled availability.

The full stack for a first-year GL-7 Step 1 criminal investigator in Washington, D.C. (33.26% locality):

Component Amount
GL-7 base $48,854
Locality (33.26% on GL base) +$16,244
Adjusted basic pay $65,098
LEAP (25%) +$16,275
Total ~$81,373

A GS-7 Step 1 in the same city earns about $57,444 with no LEAP. That is a $24,000 first-year gap between two "grade 7" federal employees, which is why comparing federal offers by grade number alone misleads people.

Compare your own grade, step, and city on the free GS Pay Calculator, and see the GS Pay Guide 2026 for how locality percentages work.

The GG Scale: Same Numbers, Different Rules

GG is the excepted-service pay plan code used mostly for civilian intelligence professionals under DCIPS, the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (10 U.S.C. 1601): NSA, DIA, NGA, NRO, and DCSA. The CIA uses its own authority, and FDIC uses a separate CG scale, so not every three-letter agency is GG.

The base pay answer is simple: GG grades and steps mirror the GS table exactly. There is no separate GG salary table. A GG-12 Step 5 and a GS-12 Step 5 have identical base pay.

The differences that matter are structural:

  • Supplements. DCIPS agencies pay a Local Market Supplement roughly parallel to locality pay, and for designated STEM and cyber work roles, a Targeted Local Market Supplement that runs from +32.49% at GG-15 up to +90% at GG-7 in 2026. A GG-12 in a qualifying NSA cyber role out-earns any GS-12 in the country. Eligibility rides on the position classification, not the agency, so two GG-12s in the same building can be tens of thousands apart.
  • Step increases. GG employees generally do not get automatic time-based within-grade increases; DCIPS ties step movement to performance.
  • Excepted service. GG positions sit outside the competitive service, which changes hiring, and matters for job mobility back into GS roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the GL pay scale?

The special base rate schedule for federal law enforcement officers at grades 3 through 10, authorized by FEPCA Section 403. It pays above GS at the same grade, with the premium peaking at 23.3% at grade 5, and it ends at grade 10.

Did GL employees get a bigger raise than GS in 2026?

Yes: 3.8% versus 1.0%. OPM implemented the LEO raise via special rate tables effective January 11, 2026 and expanded the covered positions on January 30. Locality percentages stayed frozen for everyone.

How does locality pay work on GL?

The locality percentage applies to the GL base rate. A GL-7 in San Jose (46.34% locality) computes locality on $48,854, not on the lower GS-7 base, which widens the dollar gap in every high-cost city.

What is the GG pay scale and who is on it?

The excepted-service code for DCIPS intelligence agencies (NSA, DIA, NGA, NRO, DCSA). Base pay matches GS exactly; the differences are performance-based step increases and DCIPS supplements, including STEM/cyber targeted supplements up to 90%.

When does an officer leave the GL scale?

At promotion to grade 11, where the GL schedule ends and the standard GS table takes over. The pay plan code on the SF-50 changes from GL to GS.

Sources: OPM Salary Table 2026-GL, OPM 2026 LEO locality tables, FedSmith on the 3.8% LEO raise, DCIPS compensation, OPM LEAP fact sheet