| Pay Grade | Navy Rank | Comparative Rank for Army, Air Force, and Marines |
| O-1 | Ensign | Second Lieutenant |
| O-2 | Lieutenant Junior Grade | First Lieutenant |
| O-3 | Lieutenant | Captain |
| O-4 | Lieutenant Commander | Major |
| O-5 | Commander | Lieutenant Colonel |
| O-6 | Captain | Colonel |
| O-7 | Rear Admiral (lower half) | Brigadier General |
| O-8 | Rear Admiral (upper half) | Major General |
| O-9 | Vice Admiral | Lieutenant General |
| O-10 | Admiral | General |
| O-11 | Fleet Admiral | General of the Army/Air Force |
Note: The rank of commodore—one star and equivalent in grade to a brigadier general in the army—was abolished by the U.S. Navy in 1899, in part because it caused confusion with the title of commodore, the latter bestowed on the commanding officer of a squadron of ships no matter what his rank. Consequently, during the pre–World War II period, naval officers jumped from captain to rear admiral (two stars). The rank of commodore was temporarily reestablished during World War II, with similar resulting confusion, especially as to convoy commodores. In 1981, the U.S. Navy broke the rank of rear admiral into rear admiral lower half (one star) and rear admiral upper half (two stars).