Federal employment

USA Facts 

• Out of the 159.6 million nonfarm jobs in the US, 1.9% are in the federal government. The share of federal employment peaked in 1944 at 7.5% of jobs (about one in 13). Today, about one in 50 jobs is in the federal government, an all-time low. 
  
  
• Federal workers are in every state. Maryland has the highest share at 5.4%. Wisconsin has the lowest share at 1.0%. In Washington, DC, 24.6% of all workers are federal employees. (Use the dropdown on this page for your state’s numbers.) 
  
  
• Most federal workers are in the executive branch, which is home to all the Cabinet-level departments. As of September 2024, the executive branch employed 2.31 million people. 
  
  
• The Defense Department is the largest federal employer at 772,500, or 33.4% of all federal civilian workers.