Executive & Senior Level Pay Tables

Executive Schedule - ES Level 3 Pay

Pay Grade:

ES-3

Yearly Pay:

$204,000

Monthly Pay:

$17,000

Hourly Pay:

$98

Education Req's:

Ph.D.

The Executive Schedule (ES) sets the yearly salaries for top government officials, including the leaders and senior personnel in over 75 Federal government agencies.

ES Level III positions are typically Under Secretaries or administrators of a major agency. An Under Secretary is assigned to each major organization or division within each department.

Since 2019, the yearly pay for an ES Level 3 official has been raised 13.28% from $176,900 per year to $204,000 per year.

For more information, visit the 2024 Senior Executive Service payscale page.

Year	Salary	Year	Salary	Year	Salary	Year	Salary	Year	Salary
2024	$204,000	2023	$195,000	2022	$187,300	2021	$183,300	2020	$181,500
2019	$176,900	2018	$174,500	2017	$172,100	2016	$170,400	2015	$168,700

Who gets paid at ES Level 3?

Here's a list of 106 high-level federal positions that are classified under Level 3 of the Executive Schedule. For more details, click on any position title to view the applicable Wikipedia page (links open in new window).

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services	Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment	Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety	Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development	Under Secretary of Commerce
Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs	Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration
Under Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism	Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office	Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy	Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness	Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Deputy Chief Management Officer	Under Secretary of the Air Force
Under Secretary of the Army	Under Secretary of the Navy
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology	Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness
Under Secretary of Education	Under Secretaries of Energy
Deputy Trade Representatives, Office of the United States Trade Representative	Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative
Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy	Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget
Administrator, Office of Electronic Government	Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget
Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy	Deputy Director for Supply Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs, Office of National Drug Control Policy	Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Under Secretaries of Homeland Security	Director, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection	Deputy Administrators, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Deputy Directors of Central Intelligence	United States Solicitor General
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice	Associate Attorney General
Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice	Deputy Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Under Secretaries of State	Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration	Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
Administrator, United States Maritime Administration	Administrator, Federal Transit Administration
Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration	Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Under Secretaries of the Treasury	Comptroller of the Currency
Commissioner of Internal Revenue	Director, Office of Thrift Supervision
Deputy Administrator, Agency for International Development	Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs
Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs	Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs
Administrator, General Services Administration	Administrator, Small Business Administration
Director, Peace Corps	Deputy Director, National Science Foundation
President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States	Director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
President, Overseas Private Investment Corporation	Deputy Director, Office of Personnel Management
Director, Institute for Scientific and Technological Cooperation	Executive Director, Property Review Board
Deputy Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency	Archivist of the United States
Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board	Director, Trade and Development Agency
Director, Office of Government Ethics	Register of Copyrights
Director Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.	Chief Executive Officer, International Clean Energy Foundation.
Chairman, Merit Systems Protection Board	Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Chairman, Board of Directors, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation	Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Chairman, Federal Trade Commission	Chairman, Surface Transportation Board
Chairman, National Labor Relations Board	Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
Chairman, National Mediation Board	Chairman, Railroad Retirement Board
Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission	Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board
Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts	Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities
Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission	Chairman, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Chairman, Consumer Product Safety Commission
Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading Commission	Chairman, United States International Trade Commission
Chairman, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission	Chairman, Federal Housing Finance Board
Members, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board	Members, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Director of the Office of Emergency Planning	Executive Secretary, National Space Council

Learn More:

Free Tools:

Mailing List:

Join the our free mailing list to receive an update when 2025 rates are available.