What is the base GS pay scale for 2025 and how does it apply to ICE agents?
Executive summary
The official 2025 General Schedule (GS) base pay table incorporates a 1.7% across‑the‑board GS increase effective January 2025; OPM publishes annual GS tables and a salary PDF showing annual rates by grade and step (including the 1.7% increase) [1]. Law enforcement officers (LEOs) covered under GS‑3 through GS‑10 receive a higher “LEO” locality/special rate treatment; OPM points readers to a separate LEO pay page for those adjustments [2].
1. What the 2025 GS base pay actually is — OPM’s numbers
OPM is the authoritative source for the GS pay tables and has published the 2025 GS salary tables that incorporate a 1.7% General Schedule increase effective January 2025; those tables list annual base pay by GS grade (1–15) and step (1–10) and the within‑grade amounts [1]. OPM also offers an online GS salary calculator and full locality tables; the calculator requires JavaScript, with the static pay tables available for reference [3].
2. How locality and special rates change an employee’s paycheck
The published GS “base pay” is the nationwide table; most GS employees also receive locality pay — a geographic percentage added to base pay tied to local labor market rates — and OPM maintains locality pay tables covering 47 areas plus Alaska and Hawaii [4]. OPM notes special rates can be approved where staffing problems exist; these include higher pay for certain occupations or locations [4].
3. Where LEO (law enforcement officer) pay differs
OPM explicitly says General Schedule law enforcement officers at grades GS‑3 through GS‑10 are entitled to a higher locality rate and directs readers to a separate LEO pay page for that treatment, meaning ICE agents who qualify as LEOs may receive pay calculated under those special provisions rather than only the standard GS locality percentages [2].
4. Applying this to ICE agents — what the sources say
ICE job pay is typically on the GS system — FederalPay reports the 2025 GS base pay table and notes the 1.7% raise (republishing OPM’s figures) so ICE positions paid under GS follow those rates for base pay [5]. OPM’s LEO guidance makes clear that employees in law‑enforcement GS grades can receive different locality/special base rates, which is directly relevant for ICE special agents or investigators who meet the LEO definitions [2].
5. What public compilations and salary sites add — ranges and averages
Independent sites republish OPM tables and produce aggregations: FederalPay republishes the 2025 GS base pay table and the stated 1.7% raise [5]. Aggregate salary sites like FederalPay’s ICE page and Glassdoor offer reported averages and percentiles for ICE specialties — for example, Glassdoor’s crowd‑sourced range for ICE Special Agents shows wide variation in total pay (reflecting locality, step, overtime and premiums) [6] [7]. These third‑party figures reflect real pay complexity beyond the raw GS base table.
6. Compensation beyond base pay: premiums ICE employees may receive
Public discussion and agency guides referenced on forums and salary sites list additional pay elements that can materially affect ICE pay: Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP), administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO), Sunday/holiday premiums and recruitment/retention incentives are common in ICE pay packages and can push total pay well above GS base pay — forum summaries and portal explanations document those elements though amounts and eligibility vary [8] [6].
7. Limitations, disagreements and what’s not in the record
OPM provides the official base tables and notes LEO special rates; the precise pay for an individual ICE agent depends on grade, step, locality area, LEO designation, and any premium pays — those individualized computations are not contained in the OPM general table itself [1] [2]. Available sources do not mention specific 2025 ICE hiring bonuses, precise ICE-grade distributions, or every premium‑pay formula for ICE in 2025; those specifics are not found in the current reporting [8].
8. Practical takeaway for someone evaluating ICE pay in 2025
Use OPM’s 2025 GS salary table (PDF) to find the base pay for the relevant GS grade and step and then check the OPM locality tables and the OPM LEO page if the position is a law‑enforcement role; third‑party aggregators (FederalPay, Glassdoor) illustrate how locality, step progression and premium pays commonly move ICE total compensation above the base rates [1] [2] [5] [7].
Sources: OPM 2025 GS PDF and general GS pages [1] [3] [4], OPM LEO guidance note [2], FederalPay reproduction of 2025 GS rates [5], FederalPay ICE summary [6], Glassdoor ICE agent pay reporting and forum summaries of ICE pay components [7] [8].