Records analyzed
28 sub-agencies
Cross-joined with state geography and occupational mix
OPM FedScope March 2025 Federal civilian workforce
Department of Agriculture
Headcount, average pay, length of service, sub-agencies, and hiring trends for Department of Agriculture, drawn directly from the OPM FedScope federal workforce dataset (March 2025).
The verdict
Department of Agriculture is a major federal employer: 90,840 employees (4.0% of the federal civilian workforce) across 51 states (including DC). At an average salary of $88,591 it pays below the federal average of $109,869, and headcount declined 7.8% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 90,840
- Share of workforce
- 4.0%
- Avg salary
- $88,591
- States present
- 51
Federal workforce data for Department of Agriculture. This agency represents 4.0% of the total federal civilian workforce. Source: OPM FedScope, March 2025.
What the Numbers Say About Department of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture employs 90,840 federal civilian workers, which accounts for 4.0% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 reported in the OPM FedScope March 2025 release. Compared to the prior period, headcount moved down by -7.8%, a signal that hiring authorities and attrition at this agency are shedding net positions during the current reporting window.
Average length of service at Department of Agriculture is 12.8 years, spread across its 28 sub-agencies, a retention signal: longer-tenured workforces tend to hold deeper institutional knowledge, while shorter tenure points to faster cycling through early-career hires. For applicants weighing federal employers, that tenure pattern is as telling as headline pay (how this agency's salary compares to the federal average is broken down in Salary Analysis below).
Geographic reach is another signal of scale: Department of Agriculture has employees in 51 states (including DC), with the largest concentration in CALIFORNIA (8,344 employees at $80,419 avg salary). Over the most recent 12 months of workforce-dynamics data, the agency recorded 13,688 accessions against 12,626 separations for a net change of +1,062 positions, useful context for job seekers evaluating whether Department of Agriculture is expanding, contracting, or simply replacing departures. All figures draw directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes and update semi-annually (March and September).
Workforce Overview
Employees
90,840
Large employer
-7.8% from prior period
Average Salary
$88,591
Below federal average
+5.3%
Avg Length of Service
12.8 yrs
Average tenure
Sub-agencies
28
Data vintage
March 2025
OPM FedScope semi-annual snapshot
Source authority
OPM FedScope
U.S. Office of Personnel Management, official federal HR data
Department of Agriculture pay vs. federal civilian average
Agency average $88,591 relative to federal average $109,869
Federal General Schedule pay-grade distribution
The federal civilian workforce concentrates in the GS-11 to GS-13 grades. These are the actual federal-wide General Schedule employee counts from OPM FedScope, per-agency grade breakdowns are not published in the public extract, so this shows the national distribution Department of Agriculture hires into rather than a modelled per-agency estimate.
National General Schedule grade distribution - 1,517,243 GS employees.
Salary Analysis
How Department of Agriculture pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Workforce by pay band
How Department of Agriculture's 90,840 employees split across salary ranges (sub-agency averages).
- Under $80k: 36,994 (41%)
- $80k–$100k: 43,508 (48%)
- $100k–$120k: 2,558 (3%)
- $120k–$150k: 7,393 (8%)
- $150k+: 387 (0%)
Agency Average
$88,591
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-19.4%
Where Department of Agriculture ranks on pay
Ranked by agency (not weighted by headcount), its average salary of $88,591 is higher than 3% of the 115 federal agencies (3 pay less on average). Smaller specialized agencies often post higher per-employee averages than large ones like Department of Agriculture, so this agency-count rank can differ from a comparison to the government-wide, employee-weighted average shown above. The highlighted bar marks where Department of Agriculture sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 115 federal agencies; Department of Agriculture ranks higher than 3%.
Salary Range by Sub-agency
Under $80K
36,994
$80K–$100K
43,508
$100K–$120K
2,558
$120K–$150K
7,393
Over $150K
387
Sub-agencies & Organizational Units
Department of Agriculture has 28 sub-agencies. The highest-paying unit averages $171,127.
| Sub-agency | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Service | 32,624 | $78,797 | 12 yrs |
| Natural Resources Conservation Service | 11,840 | $83,671 | 11.9 yrs |
| Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service | 8,512 | $87,899 | 12.3 yrs |
| Food Safety and Inspection Service | 8,240 | $83,805 | 13.9 yrs |
| Agricultural Research Service | 6,874 | $93,107 | 12.4 yrs |
| Rural Development | 4,780 | $99,427 | 15.1 yrs |
| Agricultural Marketing Service | 4,370 | $74,550 | 10.6 yrs |
| Farm Service Agency | 3,262 | $91,906 | 13.4 yrs |
| Food and Nutrition Service | 1,796 | $130,748 | 13.5 yrs |
| Fpac Business Center | 1,588 | $122,944 | 18.6 yrs |
| Office of the Chief Information Officer | 1,576 | $119,814 | 16.7 yrs |
| Office of the Chief Financial Officer | 982 | $100,986 | 16.8 yrs |
| National Agricultural Statistics Service | 770 | $122,484 | 18.3 yrs |
| Foreign Agricultural Service | 693 | $141,600 | 15.6 yrs |
| Departmental Administration | 489 | $128,085 | 18.3 yrs |
| National Institute of Food and Agriculture | 457 | $127,395 | 8.2 yrs |
| Office of the Inspector General | 420 | $139,411 | 18.5 yrs |
| Risk Management Agency | 417 | $122,597 | 16.1 yrs |
| Economic Research Service | 292 | $141,501 | 11.7 yrs |
| Office of the General Counsel | 266 | $152,540 | 15.5 yrs |
| Civil Rights | 148 | $128,179 | 17.4 yrs |
| Office of the Secretary of Agriculture | 108 | $135,258 | 10.8 yrs |
| National Appeals Division | 66 | $146,160 | 17.8 yrs |
| Office of the Chief Economist | 63 | $171,127 | 17 yrs |
| Office of Budget and Program Analysis | 58 | $158,404 | 19.3 yrs |
| Homeland Security Staff | 54 | $137,319 | 12.8 yrs |
| Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement | 51 | $137,072 | 16.4 yrs |
| Office of Communications | 44 | $139,153 | 22.3 yrs |
Geographic Presence
Department of Agriculture has employees in 51 states (including DC). CALIFORNIA has the most with 8,344 employees.
| State | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| CALIFORNIA | 8,344 | $80,419 | 11.5 yrs |
| TEXAS | 4,342 | $80,317 | 13.1 yrs |
| OREGON | 3,858 | $79,661 | 11.7 yrs |
| COLORADO | 3,433 | $96,824 | 12.8 yrs |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 3,277 | $145,327 | 17.9 yrs |
| MARYLAND | 3,175 | $128,581 | 17.6 yrs |
| MISSOURI | 3,024 | $95,086 | 14.8 yrs |
| MONTANA | 2,938 | $78,915 | 12.3 yrs |
| IDAHO | 2,830 | $73,628 | 11.2 yrs |
| GEORGIA | 2,816 | $85,775 | 12.8 yrs |
| NEW MEXICO | 2,608 | $79,977 | 11.6 yrs |
| WASHINGTON | 2,362 | $83,699 | 11.8 yrs |
| VIRGINIA | 2,308 | $117,490 | 14.6 yrs |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 2,175 | $90,427 | 13.5 yrs |
| LOUISIANA | 2,143 | $84,738 | 14.7 yrs |
| ARIZONA | 2,137 | $75,613 | 11 yrs |
| IOWA | 2,011 | $82,240 | 12.7 yrs |
| FLORIDA | 1,945 | $86,668 | 13.1 yrs |
| MINNESOTA | 1,836 | $86,658 | 12.5 yrs |
| WISCONSIN | 1,767 | $83,880 | 12.1 yrs |
Showing top 20 of 51 states
Workforce Dynamics
Monthly hiring and separation trends. Net change over 12 months: +1,062.
| Month | Accessions | Separations | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | +529 | -874 | -345 |
| Feb 2025 | +121 | -579 | -458 |
| Jan 2025 | +643 | -784 | -141 |
| Dec 2024 | +511 | -1,143 | -632 |
| Nov 2024 | +506 | -1,539 | -1,033 |
| Oct 2024 | +729 | -2,051 | -1,322 |
| Sep 2024 | +558 | -1,357 | -799 |
| Aug 2024 | +630 | -1,465 | -835 |
| Jul 2024 | +619 | -602 | +17 |
| Jun 2024 | +2,762 | -755 | +2,007 |
| May 2024 | +3,628 | -785 | +2,843 |
| Apr 2024 | +2,452 | -692 | +1,760 |
Hiring & Separation Reasons
Why employees join and leave Department of Agriculture
Accession Reasons
New Hire - Competitive Service Appointment
10,512
New Hire - Excepted Service Appointment
3,151
Transfer In - Individual Transfer
25
Separation Reasons
Termination (Expired Appt/Other)
5,032
Quit
4,587
Retirement - Voluntary
2,056
Transfer Out - Individual Transfer
655
Other Separation
285
Employee Tenure Distribution
Average length of service is 12.8 years. Employees in sub-agencies grouped by average tenure.
Under 5 yrs
0
5–10 yrs
457
10–15 yrs
77,972
15–20 yrs
12,367
Over 20 yrs
44
Federal Employment Guides
Learn more about working for the federal government
Similar-Sized Agencies
Federal agencies with a similar workforce size to Department of Agriculture
Department of Health and Human Services
92,269 employees $134,256 avg
Department of Justice
116,047 employees $117,386 avg
Department of Treasury
116,073 employees $95,743 avg
Department of Interior
63,752 employees $95,844 avg
Department of Transportation
57,204 employees $141,857 avg
Social Security Administration
56,263 employees $101,587 avg
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people work at Department of Agriculture? ▾
Department of Agriculture employs 90,840 federal workers as of March 2025. This represents 4.0% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472.
What is the average salary at Department of Agriculture? ▾
The average salary at Department of Agriculture is $88,591 per year, which is 19.4% below the federal average of $109,869.
What is the average length of service at Department of Agriculture? ▾
The average length of service at Department of Agriculture is 12.8 years. The federal average is 11.8 years.
How many sub-agencies does Department of Agriculture have? ▾
Department of Agriculture has 28 sub-agencies or organizational units. The largest is Forest Service with 32,624 employees.
In how many states does Department of Agriculture have employees? ▾
Department of Agriculture has employees in 51 states (including DC). The largest concentration is in CALIFORNIA with 8,344 employees.
Is Department of Agriculture hiring or downsizing? ▾
Over the most recent 12 months of data, Department of Agriculture had 13,688 accessions and 12,626 separations, for a net change of +1,062 employees.
Where can I find salary data for occupations at Department of Agriculture? ▾
PlainGovJobs reports the average salary for Department of Agriculture from the OPM FedScope dataset. For pay broken down by individual occupation, browse this site's occupation directory, each occupation page lists its federal average salary and workforce size from the same OPM source.
Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainGovJobs
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from OPM FedScope. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Data currency: Federal workforce figures from OPM FedScope as of the March 2025 snapshot, with current openings from USAJOBS; compiled and last refreshed May 2026. See our methodology for source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.
PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope agency-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.