GW Pay Scale 2026: Federal Wildland Firefighter Salary Table

Federal wildland firefighters have their own salary table. Before 2025 they were paid on the regular General Schedule with a temporary supplement bolted on; now they sit on special base rates published by OPM as the GW tables. This page is the 2026 GW pay scale in full, what each grade earns by the hour, and what gets added on top of it during a fire season.

2026 GW pay scale, Rest of U.S.

Annual rates, effective January 2026, including the 1 percent general increase and the 17.06 percent Rest of U.S. locality payment. Most federal wildland fire jobs outside the high-cost localities pay from this table.

Grade	Step 1	Step 2	Step 3	Step 4	Step 5	Step 6	Step 7	Step 8	Step 9	Step 10
GW-1	$37,540	$38,798	$40,047	$41,291	$42,535	$43,265	$44,500	$45,744	$45,795	$46,955
GW-2	$41,317	$42,301	$43,670	$44,828	$45,329	$46,661	$47,993	$49,327	$50,659	$51,992
GW-3	$44,112	$45,583	$47,053	$48,525	$49,995	$51,467	$52,938	$54,408	$55,880	$57,351
GW-4	$48,424	$50,038	$51,653	$53,268	$54,882	$56,497	$58,111	$59,725	$61,341	$62,955
GW-5	$52,957	$54,722	$56,487	$58,253	$60,018	$61,783	$63,548	$65,314	$67,079	$68,844
GW-6	$57,670	$59,592	$61,514	$63,436	$65,358	$67,280	$69,202	$71,124	$73,047	$74,970
GW-7	$62,570	$64,656	$66,742	$68,828	$70,914	$73,000	$75,086	$77,172	$79,257	$81,343
GW-8	$67,617	$69,871	$72,124	$74,378	$76,631	$78,886	$81,139	$83,392	$85,646	$87,899
GW-9	$72,832	$75,260	$77,689	$80,117	$82,546	$84,974	$87,403	$89,831	$92,258	$94,687
GW-10	$78,166	$80,770	$83,375	$85,979	$88,585	$91,190	$93,794	$96,399	$99,005	$101,609
GW-11	$83,639	$86,429	$89,217	$92,006	$94,794	$97,584	$100,372	$103,160	$105,949	$108,738
GW-12	$97,564	$100,816	$104,068	$107,321	$110,573	$113,826	$117,078	$120,331	$123,583	$126,835
GW-13	$112,824	$116,584	$120,345	$124,106	$127,867	$131,628	$135,389	$139,150	$142,910	$146,671
GW-14	$129,549	$133,869	$138,187	$142,507	$146,825	$151,144	$155,463	$159,782	$164,101	$168,420
GW-15	$150,165	$155,170	$160,176	$165,181	$170,188	$175,193	$180,199	$185,204	$190,210	$195,216

Source: OPM 2026 RUS (GW) salary table, accessed Sep 20, 2026.

What each grade earns an hour

Federal hourly rates are the annual rate divided by 2,087 hours. Overtime is one and a half times the hourly rate for firefighters at or below GS-10 step 1, and the hazard differential is 25 percent of the hourly rate, paid for every hour in pay status on a day you work the fireline.

Grade (step 1)	Annual	Hourly	Overtime hour	Hazard pay per hour
GW-3	$44,112	$21.14	$31.70	$5.28
GW-4	$48,424	$23.20	$34.80	$5.80
GW-5	$52,957	$25.37	$38.06	$6.34
GW-6	$57,670	$27.63	$41.45	$6.91
GW-7	$62,570	$29.98	$44.97	$7.50
GW-8	$67,617	$32.40	$48.60	$8.10
GW-9	$72,832	$34.90	$52.35	$8.72

Our arithmetic from the OPM annual rates; OPM publishes the same hourly and overtime figures in its hourly RUS (GW) table.

Which grade is which job?

Grades follow the job, not your years served. The Forest Service’s permanent Fire Hire announcement for the 2027 fire year, 27-FIRE-P1R14610, advertises wildland firefighter positions at GW-3 and GW-4 with a pay range of $44,112 to $68,844, which is GW-3 step 1 through GW-4 step 10 on the Rest of U.S. table. Entry crew jobs sit at GW-3 and GW-4; squad and engine leadership sits higher. Confirm the grade on the announcement itself, because the same title can be advertised at two grades.

Federal fire jobs are posted in the 0456 Wildland Fire Management series with “GW” in the grade. See wildland firefighter jobs for crew types and how hiring works, and the requirements guide for the pack test and red card.

Does locality change the GW table?

Yes. The GW base rates are the same everywhere; the locality percentage on top is not. Rest of U.S. adds 17.06 percent, Los Angeles 36.47 percent and Alaska 32.36 percent. At GW-3 step 1 that is $21.14 an hour in the Rest of U.S., $24.64 in Los Angeles and $23.90 in Alaska. Check which locality your duty station falls in before you compare two announcements.

What gets added to base pay

• Overtime: time and a half for hours ordered beyond 8 in a day or 40 in a week. At GW-3 that is $31.71 an hour.
• Hazard pay: a 25 percent differential for fireline work, paid for all hours in pay status that day, and from September 14, 2026 it also covers prescribed fire.
• Incident Response Premium Pay: 4.5 times your hourly rate for each qualifying day on an incident, capped at $9,000 a calendar year. Initial attack fires contained within 36 hours do not qualify.
• What is not added: the premium is not basic pay, so it does not count toward retirement or leave payouts. The special base rate does count.

The worked example of a 16-hour fireline shift, state agency scales and contract crew rates are in our full wildland firefighter pay guide.

GW versus GS

The 2025 law raised the General Schedule base rate by 42 percent at GS-1, 36 percent at GS-3, 33 percent at GS-4, 30 percent at GS-5, 27 percent at GS-6 and 24 percent at GS-7, tapering to 1.5 percent at GS-15, and published the result as the GW tables. The practical effect at the entry grades is large: a non-fire GS-3 on the 2026 Rest of U.S. table earns $15.54 an hour, against $21.14 for GW-3.

What about AD (casual) firefighters?

Emergency hires are not on the GW table. They are paid a flat hourly rate set by the Administratively Determined Pay Plan for Emergency Workers: $22.84 an hour for a Firefighter Type 2, $25.12 for a squad boss, $30.08 for a crew or engine boss, with the classification levels running from $18.64 to $69.96. There is no overtime premium on AD rates. See the 2026 AD pay rates. The full plan, with every class, the 8-hour guarantee and what is withheld, is on the 2026 AD pay plan page.