Records analyzed
33 sub-agencies
Cross-joined with state geography and occupational mix
OPM FedScope March 2025 Federal civilian workforce
Department of Defense
Headcount, average pay, length of service, sub-agencies, and hiring trends for Department of Defense, drawn directly from the OPM FedScope federal workforce dataset (March 2025).
The verdict
Department of Defense is one of the largest federal employers: 158,689 employees (6.9% of the federal civilian workforce) across 51 states (including DC). At an average salary of $100,589 it pays below the federal average of $109,869, and headcount declined 0.1% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 158,689
- Share of workforce
- 6.9%
- Avg salary
- $100,589
- States present
- 51
Federal workforce data for Department of Defense. This agency represents 6.9% of the total federal civilian workforce. Source: OPM FedScope, March 2025.
What the Numbers Say About Department of Defense
Department of Defense employs 158,689 federal civilian workers, which accounts for 6.9% 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 -0.1%, 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 Defense is 11.5 years, spread across its 33 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 Defense has employees in 51 states (including DC), with the largest concentration in VIRGINIA (30,006 employees at $125,523 avg salary). Over the most recent 12 months of workforce-dynamics data, the agency recorded 19,784 accessions against 15,391 separations for a net change of +4,393 positions, useful context for job seekers evaluating whether Department of Defense 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
158,689
Very large employer
-0.1% from prior period
Average Salary
$100,589
Below federal average
+1.8%
Avg Length of Service
11.5 yrs
Average tenure
Sub-agencies
33
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 Defense pay vs. federal civilian average
Agency average $100,589 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 Defense hires into rather than a modelled per-agency estimate.
National General Schedule grade distribution - 1,517,243 GS employees.
Salary Analysis
How Department of Defense pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Workforce by pay band
How Department of Defense's 158,689 employees split across salary ranges (sub-agency averages).
- Under $80k: 25,990 (16%)
- $80k–$100k: 82,236 (52%)
- $100k–$120k: 20,146 (13%)
- $120k–$150k: 21,403 (13%)
- $150k+: 8,914 (6%)
Agency Average
$100,589
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-8.4%
Where Department of Defense ranks on pay
Ranked by agency (not weighted by headcount), its average salary of $100,589 is higher than 10% of the 115 federal agencies (11 pay less on average). Smaller specialized agencies often post higher per-employee averages than large ones like Department of Defense, 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 Defense sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 115 federal agencies; Department of Defense ranks higher than 10%.
Salary Range by Sub-agency
Under $80K
25,990
$80K–$100K
82,236
$100K–$120K
20,146
$120K–$150K
21,403
Over $150K
8,914
Sub-agencies & Organizational Units
Department of Defense has 33 sub-agencies. The highest-paying unit averages $215,633.
| Sub-agency | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military Treatment Facilities Under Dha | 44,777 | $93,205 | 10.2 yrs |
| Defense Logistics Agency | 23,896 | $95,734 | 13.1 yrs |
| Department of Defense Education Activity | 14,752 | $75,250 | 8.6 yrs |
| Defense Commissary Agency | 11,238 | $56,062 | 10.3 yrs |
| Defense Finance and Accounting Service | 10,735 | $82,863 | 12.5 yrs |
| Defense Contract Management Agency | 9,665 | $114,320 | 15.2 yrs |
| Defense Information Systems Agency | 6,823 | $129,364 | 12.2 yrs |
| Defense Health Agency | 6,118 | $132,507 | 12.1 yrs |
| Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency | 5,644 | $118,162 | 11.5 yrs |
| Defense Contract Audit Agency | 3,768 | $110,640 | 12.5 yrs |
| Missile Defense Agency | 2,903 | $152,294 | 12.6 yrs |
| Defense Human Resources Activity | 2,828 | $93,136 | 9.9 yrs |
| Office of the Secretary of Defense | 2,689 | $165,575 | 12.4 yrs |
| Office of the Inspector General | 1,832 | $140,763 | 14.4 yrs |
| Washington Headquarters Services | 1,653 | $120,053 | 11.9 yrs |
| Defense Threat Reduction Agency | 1,344 | $149,598 | 12.7 yrs |
| National Reconnaissance Office | 1,163 | $161,244 | 9.4 yrs |
| Defense Security Cooperation Agency | 1,128 | $140,318 | 10.8 yrs |
| Pentagon Force Protection Agency | 1,069 | $119,209 | 13.6 yrs |
| Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | 831 | $149,700 | 12.7 yrs |
| Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences | 773 | $151,029 | 13.8 yrs |
| Defense Acquisition University | 657 | $168,480 | 15.4 yrs |
| Defense Media Activity | 472 | $123,722 | 12.9 yrs |
| National Defense University | 431 | $133,938 | 11.5 yrs |
| Defense Pow/mia Accounting Agency | 318 | $127,449 | 11.7 yrs |
| Defense Legal Services Agency | 272 | $170,896 | 12.1 yrs |
| Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency | 253 | $215,633 | 9.9 yrs |
| Defense Microelectronics Activity | 211 | $135,643 | 11 yrs |
| Defense Technical Information Center | 191 | $140,516 | 13.8 yrs |
| Defense Technology Security Administration | 125 | $178,202 | 18.2 yrs |
| Office of Economic Adjustment | 56 | $166,193 | 11.6 yrs |
| U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces | 51 | $143,847 | 13.1 yrs |
| Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center | 23 | $188,283 | 22 yrs |
Geographic Presence
Department of Defense has employees in 51 states (including DC). VIRGINIA has the most with 30,006 employees.
| State | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| VIRGINIA | 30,006 | $125,523 | 12.1 yrs |
| TEXAS | 12,891 | $95,450 | 11.4 yrs |
| MARYLAND | 11,284 | $126,489 | 12.2 yrs |
| OHIO | 9,712 | $90,045 | 13 yrs |
| CALIFORNIA | 8,604 | $105,848 | 12.2 yrs |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 8,236 | $104,435 | 14 yrs |
| GEORGIA | 6,426 | $81,384 | 10.8 yrs |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 6,231 | $82,788 | 9.8 yrs |
| ALABAMA | 4,405 | $118,014 | 11.5 yrs |
| WASHINGTON | 4,344 | $98,165 | 10.6 yrs |
| INDIANA | 4,131 | $91,011 | 13.2 yrs |
| FLORIDA | 3,950 | $88,717 | 12 yrs |
| HAWAII | 3,244 | $101,846 | 11 yrs |
| COLORADO | 2,945 | $105,357 | 10.4 yrs |
| NEW YORK | 2,702 | $80,088 | 10.9 yrs |
| OKLAHOMA | 2,598 | $79,206 | 10.7 yrs |
| KENTUCKY | 1,733 | $79,855 | 11.8 yrs |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 1,615 | $81,146 | 11.3 yrs |
| MICHIGAN | 1,484 | $102,051 | 14.2 yrs |
| ARIZONA | 1,440 | $92,443 | 12.4 yrs |
Showing top 20 of 51 states
Workforce Dynamics
Monthly hiring and separation trends. Net change over 12 months: +4,393.
| Month | Accessions | Separations | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | +98 | -1,082 | -984 |
| Feb 2025 | +1,489 | -816 | +673 |
| Jan 2025 | +1,408 | -1,141 | +267 |
| Dec 2024 | +1,368 | -1,594 | -226 |
| Nov 2024 | +1,450 | -1,051 | +399 |
| Oct 2024 | +1,801 | -1,054 | +747 |
| Sep 2024 | +1,705 | -1,221 | +484 |
| Aug 2024 | +2,043 | -1,234 | +809 |
| Jul 2024 | +2,074 | -1,553 | +521 |
| Jun 2024 | +1,865 | -2,214 | -349 |
| May 2024 | +2,898 | -1,324 | +1,574 |
| Apr 2024 | +1,585 | -1,107 | +478 |
Hiring & Separation Reasons
Why employees join and leave Department of Defense
Accession Reasons
New Hire - Competitive Service Appointment
11,717
New Hire - Excepted Service Appointment
6,001
Transfer In - Individual Transfer
2,043
New Hire - Senior Executive Service (SES) Appt
23
Separation Reasons
Quit
7,021
Retirement - Voluntary
4,007
Transfer Out - Individual Transfer
2,856
Termination (Expired Appt/Other)
923
Other Separation
537
Employee Tenure Distribution
Average length of service is 11.5 years. Employees in sub-agencies grouped by average tenure.
Under 5 yrs
0
5–10 yrs
18,996
10–15 yrs
129,223
15–20 yrs
10,447
Over 20 yrs
23
Federal Employment Guides
Learn more about working for the federal government
Similar-Sized Agencies
Federal agencies with a similar workforce size to Department of Defense
Department of the Air Force
171,750 employees $99,379 avg
Department of Treasury
116,073 employees $95,743 avg
Department of Justice
116,047 employees $117,386 avg
Department of the Navy
220,459 employees $108,539 avg
Department of the Army
220,484 employees $101,403 avg
Department of Health and Human Services
92,269 employees $134,256 avg
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people work at Department of Defense? ▾
Department of Defense employs 158,689 federal workers as of March 2025. This represents 6.9% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472.
What is the average salary at Department of Defense? ▾
The average salary at Department of Defense is $100,589 per year, which is 8.4% below the federal average of $109,869.
What is the average length of service at Department of Defense? ▾
The average length of service at Department of Defense is 11.5 years. The federal average is 11.8 years.
How many sub-agencies does Department of Defense have? ▾
Department of Defense has 33 sub-agencies or organizational units. The largest is Military Treatment Facilities Under Dha with 44,777 employees.
In how many states does Department of Defense have employees? ▾
Department of Defense has employees in 51 states (including DC). The largest concentration is in VIRGINIA with 30,006 employees.
Is Department of Defense hiring or downsizing? ▾
Over the most recent 12 months of data, Department of Defense had 19,784 accessions and 15,391 separations, for a net change of +4,393 employees.
Where can I find salary data for occupations at Department of Defense? ▾
PlainGovJobs reports the average salary for Department of Defense 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.