pˈeɪ ɡɹˈeɪdz ɑːɹ jˈuːzd baɪ ðɪ ˈeɪt jˈuːnɪfˌɔːɹmd sˈɜːvɪsᵻz ʌvðə juːnˈaɪɾᵻd stˈeɪts ˈɑːɹmi, mɚɹˈiːn kˈɔːɹ, nˈeɪvi, ˈɛɹ fˈoːɹs, spˈeɪs fˈoːɹs, kˈoʊst ɡˈɑːɹd, pˈʌblɪk hˈɛlθ sˈɜːvɪs kəmˈɪʃənd kˈɔːɹ, ænd nˈoʊə kəmˈɪʃənd ˈɑːfɪsɚ kˈɔːɹ tə dɪtˈɜːmɪn wˈeɪdʒᵻz ænd bˈɛnɪfˌɪts bˈeɪst ɔnðə kˌɔːɹɪspˈɑːndɪŋ mˈɪlətˌɛɹi ɹˈæŋk əvə mˈɛmbɚɹ ʌvðə sˈɜːvɪsᵻz.
Pay grades are used by the eight uniformed services of the United States (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps) to determine wages and benefits based on the corresponding military rank of a member of the services.