Skip to content
American Factbook
Menu

Federal salaries

The Office of Personnel Management published a record for 2,025,993 federal civilian employees in May 2026, and a salary for 996,855 of them. The median of those is $110,395. It withholds the rest — the Department of Defense entirely — so every figure on this hub is printed beside the number of employees it was computed over.

The federal civilian workforce, May 2026

2,025,993
Employees
As OPM published them for May 2026. The intelligence community and some Defense positions are not in the file at all.
996,855
With a published salary
49.2% of the workforce. Every pay figure here divides by this.
$110.4 thousand
Median salary
$110,395
Annual rate, over the 996,855 paid per annum. It excludes overtime, awards and bonuses.
960,207
Salary withheld
47.4% of the workforce, under OPM's own release policy.

The middle half of published salaries runs $75,897 to $150,203; a tenth are under $56,572 and a tenth over $191,850.

What stands out

Seven findings. From OPM's Federal Workforce Data for May 2026, each one a row from a query.

  • OPM withholds the salary of 960,207 of 2,025,993 federal civilian employees — 47.4% — so every pay figure here is over the 996,855 it publishes and this hub averages. Published pay →

    OPM withholds pay for the Department of Defense, ten security and sensitive agencies and twenty-six sensitive occupational series under its own release policy. The withheld employees are counted here and their pay is not averaged.

  • Department of Defense has 684,904 employees and not one published salary. Department of Defense →

    It is the largest single reason the figures above describe about half the workforce rather than all of it.

  • The workforce OPM publishes fell 287,569 — 12.4% — between October 2024 and May 2026, from 2,313,562 to 2,025,993. The size of the workforce →

    Not a change in who is redacted: the share with a published salary moved from 51.2% to 49.2% over the same months.

  • 957,345 employees — 47.3% — have no published duty station, so a map of federal employment is a map of the rest. Where they work →

    State, county, city, country, metropolitan area and locality pay area are withheld together, for the same employees whose pay is withheld.

  • Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest employer in the file with 445,660 employees, 91.3% of them with a published salary. Department of Veterans Affairs →

  • The most common federal job is nurse: 106,131 employees, median $123,563 over the 96,241 with a published salary. Nurse →

  • 53,888 people work as compliance inspection and support, and OPM publishes none of their salaries. Compliance Inspection and Support →

    A page for the job exists and reports the headcount, because the absence is part of the record rather than a gap in it.

Department of Veterans Affairs employs the most, and four agencies publish no pay at all

The twelve largest agencies in May 2026. “Paid” is how many of an agency’s employees have a published salary, and the median is over those — an agency with none has a headcount and no median, which is the record rather than a gap in it.

The twelve largest agencies by headcount, May 2026.
AgencyEmployeesPay publishedMedian salary
Department of Veterans Affairs445,66091.3%$102.8 thousand
Department of Homeland Security225,57820.1%$127.6 thousand
Department of the Navy200,5050.0%Not published
Department of the Army188,3360.0%Not published
Department of the Air Force151,4450.0%Not published
Department of Defense144,6180.0%Not published
Department of Justice106,31029.9%$120.2 thousand
Department of Treasury84,30280.9%$73,726
Department of Agriculture77,47895.6%$81,177
Department of Health and Human Services73,18693.1%$138.0 thousand
Department of Interior58,88479.9%$92,107
Department of Transportation52,72196.8%$140.3 thousand

The most common federal job is nurse

OPM’s occupational series, the twelve largest in May 2026. Each one has its own page with the spread of what it pays.

The twelve largest occupational series by headcount, May 2026.
OccupationEmployeesPay publishedMedian salary
Nurse106,13190.7%$123.6 thousand
Miscellaneous Administration and Program89,53648.6%$116.4 thousand
Information Technology Management84,35547.5%$148.7 thousand
Management and Program Analysis77,46156.5%$134.0 thousand
Compliance Inspection and Support53,8880.0%Not published
Criminal Investigation44,9330.0%Not published
General Inspection, Investigation, Enforcement, and Compliance Series44,8700.0%Not published
Medical Support Assistance39,89992.1%$57,517
Contracting37,52031.0%$129.7 thousand
General Attorney36,64467.6%$184.7 thousand
Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant35,71467.2%$51,463
Human Resources Management35,45655.4%$120.1 thousand

47.4% of the workforce has no published salary

OPM’s Public Data Release Policy withholds pay and duty station for the Department of Defense, ten security and sensitive agencies and twenty-six sensitive occupational series. These are the departments it affects most, and the employees are counted in every total on this page.

Departments by employees whose salary OPM withheld, May 2026.
DepartmentEmployeesSalary withheldShare
Department of Defense684,904684,904100.0%
Department of Homeland Security225,578171,30575.9%
Department of Justice106,31069,97565.8%
Department of the Treasury84,30214,69217.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs445,6605,8511.3%
Department of the Interior58,8842,4874.2%
Department of Energy13,3632,33517.5%
Department of Transportation52,7211,3812.6%
Department of Agriculture77,4781,0441.4%
Department of Labor11,0299949.0%

The workforce, month by month

The federal civilian workforce OPM publishes fell 287,569 between October 2024 and May 2026

Federal civilian employees in OPM’s file each month, and how many of them have a published salary, from March 2015.

OPM flags June 2026 and July 2026 as incomplete: some components had not submitted. They are drawn and marked provisional, and the title is about the months before them.

The published share moved from 51.2% in October 2024 to 49.2% in May 2026, so the fall is not a change in who is withheld.

A change in the count can be a reduction, a transfer out of the civilian workforce, or a component that did not report, and this file does not distinguish them.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management — OPM Federal Workforce Data — Federal Employment Raw Data (EHRI Status), retrieved September 26, 2026

The figures behind this chart
The federal civilian workforce OPM publishes fell 287,569 between October 2024 and May 2026. Federal civilian employees in OPM’s file each month, and how many of them have a published salary, from March 2015.
MonthEmployeesWith a published salarySalary withheld
March 20152,042,528994,271976,444
June 20152,070,2641,016,490979,167
September 20152,071,7161,013,644984,108
December 20152,065,8661,002,981989,609
March 20162,067,6431,007,937987,150
June 20162,095,1181,029,589991,082
September 20162,097,0381,025,441997,179
December 20162,093,8681,019,8771,001,773
March 20172,087,7151,021,152993,022
June 20172,100,2051,035,635989,193
September 20172,087,7471,021,819991,337
December 20172,081,1601,006,513997,235
March 20182,079,0161,006,436993,772
June 20182,099,1491,022,548996,954
September 20182,100,8021,015,0321,006,902
December 20182,097,8811,008,0381,013,435
March 20192,096,6631,003,8411,013,524
June 20192,123,1461,025,1651,016,484
September 20192,132,8121,026,3861,027,074
December 20192,131,4651,022,6091,031,392
March 20202,137,2131,028,2841,030,222
June 20202,159,5011,051,0851,028,192
September 20202,181,1061,064,2631,035,703
December 20202,171,5131,055,5151,038,785
March 20212,171,7901,060,2621,034,698
June 20212,188,9231,079,3051,030,913
September 20212,191,0111,079,7561,034,350
December 20212,170,1571,068,3531,027,209
March 20222,155,6241,064,0851,017,054
June 20222,169,6291,079,4921,014,463
September 20222,180,2961,089,3191,015,349
December 20222,176,9831,087,9421,014,491
March 20232,191,3611,101,5281,014,254
June 20232,232,0921,134,9821,019,575
September 20232,261,0161,153,1571,030,020
December 20232,261,2821,151,1191,033,314
March 20242,278,7301,162,7141,037,677
June 20242,300,6881,179,8141,041,778
August 20242,310,7611,181,8101,050,275
September 20242,313,2161,181,4961,053,282
October 20242,313,5621,183,4561,055,821
November 20242,311,3221,178,8101,058,633
December 20242,312,3011,176,6531,061,808
January 20252,304,5851,173,0531,057,864
February 20252,272,0181,160,2211,038,912
March 20252,289,1921,162,7541,054,348
April 20252,271,9691,146,5681,049,466
May 20252,255,0561,139,2111,040,131
June 20252,241,7801,130,7701,036,146
July 20252,224,4441,118,2831,031,984
August 20252,218,5611,111,6841,033,247
September 20252,190,2191,102,9291,014,139
October 20252,097,5341,038,108988,023
November 20252,084,6181,027,697986,529
December 20252,074,6491,020,527984,405
January 20262,035,344994,132970,836
February 20262,027,301987,678966,412
March 20262,023,318967,841963,034
April 20262,021,167970,245960,142
May 20262,025,993996,855960,207
June 2026 (provisional)2,029,748997,774963,067
July 2026 (provisional)2,020,230999,311952,126
Embed this chart

Paste this where you want the chart. The picture carries its title, source and credit, under the site’s license.

Where the 1,068,648 with a published duty station work

957,345 employees — 47.3% — have every location field withheld, so this is not a map of the federal workforce and no figure here is a share of it.

District of Columbia is the duty station of the most federal employees OPM places, 96,565; OPM withheld the duty station of 957,345 in May 2026

Federal civilian employees by the state of the duty station OPM published, May 2026. Hatching marks a state where OPM withheld the pay of a larger share of those employees than it did nationally.

5,80011,00015,00027,000
not reportedpay withheld for more than the national 47.4%

OPM withheld the duty station of 957,345 of 2,025,993 employees (47.3%): every Department of Defense employee, and the employees of the security agencies its policy names who are stationed outside the Washington area. They are in the national total and in no state, so a state here is a floor on its federal workforce.

A further 15,036 are filed under “No Data Reported” and “Invalid”, codes in OPM's duty-station field that name no state.

0 of 51 are hatched. An average published salary is over the employees in the "Covering" column, not everyone counted.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management — OPM Federal Workforce Data — Federal Employment Raw Data (EHRI Status), retrieved September 26, 2026

The figures behind this chart
District of Columbia is the duty station of the most federal employees OPM places, 96,565; OPM withheld the duty station of 957,345 in May 2026. Federal civilian employees by the state of the duty station OPM published, May 2026. Hatching marks a state where OPM withheld the pay of a larger share of those employees than it did nationally.
StateEmployeesSalary withheldAverage published salaryCovering
District of Columbia96,5650.6%$155,61492,206 of 96,565
California78,3220.2%$127,48173,168 of 78,322
Maryland75,2200.1%$148,15071,003 of 75,220
Texas73,0200.2%$113,30068,154 of 73,020
Florida55,1550.1%$114,78551,192 of 55,155
Virginia44,1020.9%$137,39341,826 of 44,102
Georgia39,648< 0.1%$115,34737,600 of 39,648
Pennsylvania36,1660.3%$108,56633,620 of 36,166
New York35,8230.2%$119,78732,990 of 35,823
Illinois27,1840.1%$122,43125,469 of 27,184
North Carolina26,684< 0.1%$114,85024,926 of 26,684
Ohio26,0290.1%$116,32624,599 of 26,029
Missouri25,2310.2%$99,81923,969 of 25,231
Colorado24,3600.3%$122,25023,114 of 24,360
Arizona23,4930.1%$108,50820,783 of 23,493
Washington23,2080.1%$117,42621,229 of 23,208
Tennessee22,3650.2%$103,30021,018 of 22,365
Michigan18,3150.2%$111,85817,047 of 18,315
Massachusetts16,1760.1%$124,39215,046 of 16,176
Oregon15,6970.1%$105,25014,564 of 15,697
Utah15,1860.1%$88,34314,692 of 15,186
Alabama15,1170.1%$106,97814,208 of 15,117
Oklahoma14,614< 0.1%$109,05713,708 of 14,614
New Mexico14,0363.9%$99,96412,058 of 14,036
Minnesota13,7230.3%$115,27412,799 of 13,723
Wisconsin13,391< 0.1%$109,28612,571 of 13,391
West Virginia13,134< 0.1%$109,87312,140 of 13,134
South Carolina12,6310.7%$107,47011,661 of 12,631
Kentucky12,0810.1%$100,66911,323 of 12,081
Louisiana11,8440.1%$106,01010,877 of 11,844
Indiana11,2820.1%$105,66510,462 of 11,282
New Jersey10,6020.2%$130,3629,603 of 10,602
Nevada10,1680.6%$109,8489,363 of 10,168
Arkansas9,5530.3%$105,4368,801 of 9,553
Kansas9,2750.1%$106,8538,662 of 9,275
Mississippi9,1260.1%$99,2008,128 of 9,126
Montana8,577< 0.1%$91,4247,885 of 8,577
Idaho8,1860.1%$93,2507,757 of 8,186
Iowa7,0180.1%$106,9116,575 of 7,018
South Dakota6,7130.0%$96,1775,812 of 6,713
Alaska5,7510.0%$110,5735,396 of 5,751
Nebraska5,4300.1%$102,6705,143 of 5,430
Wyoming5,224< 0.1%$91,1264,547 of 5,224
Connecticut4,9910.2%$128,2694,613 of 4,991
Hawaii4,7650.2%$111,4714,481 of 4,765
New Hampshire3,682< 0.1%$123,2813,530 of 3,682
North Dakota3,6170.1%$98,9333,073 of 3,617
Maine3,4950.3%$110,9953,194 of 3,495
Rhode Island2,9660.1%$123,0912,774 of 2,966
Vermont2,4480.1%$120,0082,341 of 2,448
Delaware2,2230.0%$119,7732,092 of 2,223
The twelve states with the most federal employees whose duty station OPM published, May 2026.
StateEmployeesPay publishedMedian salary
District of Columbia96,56595.5%$158.3 thousand
California78,32293.4%$112.4 thousand
Maryland75,22094.4%$149.1 thousand
Texas73,02093.3%$103.9 thousand
Florida55,15592.8%$103.7 thousand
Virginia44,10294.8%$134.0 thousand
Georgia39,64894.8%$110.0 thousand
Pennsylvania36,16693.0%$97,280
New York35,82392.1%$107.7 thousand
Illinois27,18493.7%$110.1 thousand
North Carolina26,68493.4%$103.7 thousand
Ohio26,02994.5%$108.1 thousand

Rankings

Analysis

Each brief is prose written around values a query returned. Every figure in one is re-checked against its query before it can merge, so a number in the text cannot drift from the data behind it.

  • OPM withholds the salary of nearly half the federal workforce, and not at random

    The Office of Personnel Management's file of the federal civilian workforce holds 2,025,993 employees in the month this hub leads with. It publishes an annual salary for 996,855 of them, 49.2%. For another 68,931 it gives no annual salary and does not mark the pay withheld: they are paid hourly, per diem or on another basis, or have no pay recorded. For the remaining 960,207, 47.4% of the file, where the salary would be it prints the word redacted.

    American Factbook Research · September 26, 2026

Everything in this hub

Every page in this topic, by kind: 852 in all.

Sources

Data retrieved