How many civilian federal government jobs are located in Washington, DC?
Updated monthly
About 169,000, as of November 2025. Federal jobs include work in a wide range of occupations, including roles such as janitors, scientists, accountants, postal workers, elected officials, and many more. While enlisted troops are considered to be employed by the government, they are not considered civilians, and thus are not included in this figure. Federal jobs represent 22.9% of jobs based in the state. That’s about 2 in 9. The state accounts for 6.2% of the 2.74 million federal jobs nationwide.
169K
jobs in the federal government (November 2025)
22.9%
federal government share of all nonfarm jobs (November 2025)
In November 2025, 22.9% of workers in Washington, DC were employed by the federal government. The capital’s share of federal employment peaked in August 2010 at 29.9%. It hit a low in November 2025 at 22.9% of all employment.
As of November 2025, there were 169 thousand federal government jobs in Washington, DC.
Civilian federal government employees, January 2006 to November 2025
In November 2025, 22.9% of workers in Washington, DC were employed by the federal government. The capital’s share of federal employment peaked in August 2010 at 29.9%. It hit a low in November 2025 at 22.9% of all employment.
As of November 2025, 22.9% of jobs in Washington, DC were in the federal government.
Civilian federal government share of nonfarm employment, January 2006 to November 2025
Based on the latest data from the Office of Personnel Management as of March 2025, there were 141,300 people in Washington, DC working in the executive branch of the federal government. This is primarily limited to those working in the executive branch and excludes some employees, including postal workers and enlisted military. It includes full-time, part-time, and seasonal workers. The Department of Homeland Security accounted for 13.2% of the total, more than any other cabinet department or independent agency. In second, the Department of Justice accounted for 11.3% of the state’s federal employees. The Department of Defense was third accounting for 9.4%.
In March 2025, the Department of Homeland Security accounted for more federal workers than any other agency.
Civilian federal personnel, primarily in executive branch, as of March 2025
The March 2025 OPM data shows that Washington, DC outranks all states in federal employment, though the district’s share varies by federal agency. There were 17 cabinet departments or independent agencies employing more than 10,000 people nationwide. Of those, the State Department had the highest share of employees working in Washington, DC at 71.3%. The Department of Veterans Affairs had the lowest at 1.4%.
About 71.3% of State Department employees were based in Washington, DC in March 2025.
Percentage of civilian employees based in Washington, DC
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
