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California General Schedule Payscales
Federal employees in California are paid an adjusted base salary based on which of the six General Schedule localities that cover California in which they work. Localities that cover parts of California include Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Fresno and Rest of U.S..
This table lists all of the major cities and military installations within California where Federal employees work. Each city lists the GS Locality in which it is located, and the current Locality Adjustment applicable to that locality. Click on any city or locality to see the adjusted pay tables for that region.
Coast Guard
Civilian
Army
Navy
Air Force
Joint Military
Marines
† Employee count includes only Non-DoD Employees in the GS Pay Scale. However, these rates apply to all General Schedule (GS) employees, including those in the Department of Defense (DoD).
California Federal Employment Statistics
This section provides statistics on Federal government employees in California, including most common occupations, agencies with the most local employees, and the average paygrade and salary rates of general schedule employees in the area. All data in this section is derived from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)'s most recent available listings of federal employees in California.
Common Occupations in California
| Occupation | Number Employed | Avg. Salary | Avg. Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact Representative | 2,711 | $60,649.00 | $11.00 |
| Medical Support Assistance | 1,927 | $51,304.00 | $22.00 |
| Tax Examining | 1,328 | $47,749.00 | $6.00 |
| Nursing Assistant | 928 | $48,842.00 | $38.00 |
| Social Work | 920 | $99,948.00 | $0.00 |
| Social Insurance Administration | 816 | $106,987.00 | $0.00 |
| Veterans Claims Examining | 814 | $84,990.00 | $2.00 |
| Practical Nurse | 738 | $64,033.00 | $43.00 |
| General Health Science | 533 | $107,048.00 | $36.00 |
| General Legal And Kindred Administration | 427 | $68,857.00 | $2.00 |
| Health Aid And Technician | 391 | $52,169.00 | $40.00 |
| Pharmacist | 367 | $150,658.00 | $58.00 |
| Aerospace Engineering | 354 | $147,584.00 | $14.00 |
| General Engineering | 218 | $157,102.00 | $2.00 |
| Financial Clerical And Assistance | 192 | $49,995.00 | $27.00 |
| Miscellaneous Administration And Program | 133 | $107,964.00 | $0.00 |
| Agricultural Commodity Grading | 132 | $49,839.00 | $26.00 |
| Psychology | 126 | $125,298.00 | $147.00 |
| General Physical Science | 119 | $127,202.00 | $0.00 |
| General Natural Resources Management And Biological Sciences | 115 | $99,005.00 | $140.00 |
| Miscellaneous Clerk And Assistant | 112 | $54,365.00 | $53.00 |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 109 | $139,852.00 | $0.00 |
| Environmental Engineering | 107 | $139,015.00 | $0.00 |
| Forestry Technician | 106 | $53,961.00 | $50.00 |
| Financial Administration And Program | 100 | $85,756.00 | $14.00 |
This table lists the top 25 occupations held by the approximately 13,823 federal employees working in California, California, as well as average yearly compensation for California based federal employees of that occupation.
Federal Agencies in California
| Agency | California Employees | Avg. Salary | Avg. Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Health Administration | 6,042 | $75,750.00 | $34.00 |
| Internal Revenue Service | 3,544 | $59,115.00 | $16.00 |
| Social Security Administration | 2,030 | $80,205.00 | $5.00 |
| Veterans Benefits Administration | 814 | $84,990.00 | $2.00 |
| Ames Research Center | 430 | $157,006.00 | $10.00 |
| Environmental Protection Agency | 335 | $135,356.00 | $0.00 |
| Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center | 142 | $138,259.00 | $9.00 |
| Citizenship And Immigration Services | 133 | $107,964.00 | $0.00 |
| Agricultural Marketing Service | 132 | $49,839.00 | $26.00 |
| U.s. Fish And Wildlife Service | 115 | $99,005.00 | $140.00 |
| Forest Service | 106 | $53,961.00 | $50.00 |
There are eleven Federal agencies with a significant workforce in California. General Schedule employees at all of the agencies listed below will be paid according to the locality-adjusted GS payscale listed on this page.
There are approximately 13,823 federal employees on the General Schedule payscale located within California. The average federal employee in California earns $82,021 per year, and the average yearly bonus is $26.
Based on data provided by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the most common job title for federal employees based in California is Contact Representative. The Federal agency with the largest number of employees in California is the Veterans Health Administration, which has total of 6,042 employees in the area.
The bar graph to the left shows the distribution of employees in California by paygrade, from GS-1 to GS-15. To learn more about how paygrades are determined and how they affect a federal employee's salary, see how to calculate GS Pay.