Base salary ranges for each grade are provided below, but increase based on location. For instance a GS-7 position pays $36,783 in Atlanta, while the same position pays $41,367 in San Francisco because of the difference in cost of living. GS Pay Scale Overview. The nearly 30 percent of the Federal workforce not covered under the General Scale are either paid hourly (10 percent), or operate under the separate systems of the U.S. Postal Service, the Foreign Service, the Veterans Health Administration, and Senior Executives.