Each GS grade has 10 pay steps. Currently, a GS-9 starts at $41,979 for step 1 and reaches $54,570 per year at step 10 (not including locality pay adjustments). At the GS-9 grade, each pay step adds $1,399 to the annual salary. Pay steps are earned based on time in service and the employeeâs work performance. General Schedule employees are referred to as white-collar workers under the federal classification system. There are 36 locality pay areas.