Records analyzed
12 sub-agencies
Cross-joined with state geography and occupational mix
OPM FedScope March 2025 Federal civilian workforce
Department of Justice
Headcount, average pay, length of service, sub-agencies, and hiring trends for Department of Justice, drawn directly from the OPM FedScope federal workforce dataset (March 2025).
The verdict
Department of Justice is one of the largest federal employers: 116,047 employees (5.1% of the federal civilian workforce) across 51 states (including DC). At an average salary of $117,386 it pays near the federal average of $109,869, and headcount declined 0.9% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 116,047
- Share of workforce
- 5.1%
- Avg salary
- $117,386
- States present
- 51
Federal workforce data for Department of Justice. This agency represents 5.1% of the total federal civilian workforce. Source: OPM FedScope, March 2025.
What the Numbers Say About Department of Justice
Department of Justice employs 116,047 federal civilian workers, which accounts for 5.1% 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 -0.9%, 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 Justice is 12.8 years, spread across its 12 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 Justice has employees in 51 states (including DC), with the largest concentration in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (15,963 employees at $148,984 avg salary). Over the most recent 12 months of workforce-dynamics data, the agency recorded 8,071 accessions against 8,162 separations for a net change of -91 positions, useful context for job seekers evaluating whether Department of Justice 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
116,047
Very large employer
-0.9% from prior period
Average Salary
$117,386
Near federal average
+4.3%
Avg Length of Service
12.8 yrs
Average tenure
Sub-agencies
12
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 Justice pay vs. federal civilian average
Agency average $117,386 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 Justice hires into rather than a modelled per-agency estimate.
National General Schedule grade distribution - 1,517,243 GS employees.
Salary Analysis
How Department of Justice pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Workforce by pay band
How Department of Justice's 116,047 employees split across salary ranges (sub-agency averages).
- $80k–$100k: 36,050 (31%)
- $100k–$120k: 42,464 (37%)
- $120k–$150k: 29,671 (26%)
- $150k+: 7,862 (7%)
Agency Average
$117,386
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
+6.8%
Where Department of Justice ranks on pay
Ranked by agency (not weighted by headcount), its average salary of $117,386 is higher than 20% of the 115 federal agencies (23 pay less on average). Smaller specialized agencies often post higher per-employee averages than large ones like Department of Justice, 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 Justice sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 115 federal agencies; Department of Justice ranks higher than 20%.
Salary Range by Sub-agency
Under $80K
0
$80K–$100K
36,050
$100K–$120K
42,464
$120K–$150K
29,671
Over $150K
7,862
Sub-agencies & Organizational Units
Department of Justice has 12 sub-agencies. The highest-paying unit averages $160,254.
| Sub-agency | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | 36,896 | $118,276 | 13.4 yrs |
| Bureau of Prisons/federal Prison System | 36,050 | $96,106 | 11.2 yrs |
| Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys | 11,459 | $132,463 | 12.2 yrs |
| Drug Enforcement Administration | 8,871 | $125,117 | 14.9 yrs |
| Offices, Boards and Divisions | 7,053 | $160,254 | 13.2 yrs |
| U.S. Marshals Service | 5,568 | $119,906 | 14.1 yrs |
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives | 5,168 | $126,799 | 14.7 yrs |
| Executive Office for Immigration Review | 2,621 | $139,392 | 11.9 yrs |
| U.S. Trustee Program | 930 | $144,697 | 16.6 yrs |
| Office of Justice Programs | 809 | $153,301 | 14.3 yrs |
| Office of the Inspector General | 566 | $143,734 | 15.1 yrs |
| Community Relations Service | 56 | $132,668 | 10.6 yrs |
Geographic Presence
Department of Justice has employees in 51 states (including DC). DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA has the most with 15,963 employees.
| State | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 15,963 | $148,984 | 14.3 yrs |
| TEXAS | 9,259 | $106,473 | 13 yrs |
| CALIFORNIA | 9,126 | $116,460 | 12.3 yrs |
| VIRGINIA | 8,684 | $172,336 | 14.5 yrs |
| FLORIDA | 6,057 | $102,748 | 12.5 yrs |
| WEST VIRGINIA | 5,664 | $88,658 | 13.2 yrs |
| NEW YORK | 5,465 | $120,479 | 12.3 yrs |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 4,562 | $100,241 | 12.2 yrs |
| ILLINOIS | 3,553 | $106,646 | 11.3 yrs |
| ALABAMA | 2,608 | $109,804 | 11.9 yrs |
| ARIZONA | 2,537 | $101,157 | 11.8 yrs |
| KENTUCKY | 2,500 | $88,155 | 10.9 yrs |
| GEORGIA | 2,498 | $109,448 | 13.3 yrs |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 2,322 | $103,488 | 12.7 yrs |
| NEW JERSEY | 2,214 | $117,586 | 12.8 yrs |
| COLORADO | 2,088 | $105,445 | 11.6 yrs |
| LOUISIANA | 1,957 | $93,154 | 11.5 yrs |
| MISSOURI | 1,803 | $104,747 | 12.1 yrs |
| OHIO | 1,724 | $110,632 | 12.5 yrs |
| MICHIGAN | 1,625 | $117,932 | 13.2 yrs |
Showing top 20 of 51 states
Workforce Dynamics
Monthly hiring and separation trends. Net change over 12 months: -91.
| Month | Accessions | Separations | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | +326 | -671 | -345 |
| Feb 2025 | +203 | -656 | -453 |
| Jan 2025 | +982 | -886 | +96 |
| Dec 2024 | +739 | -1,096 | -357 |
| Nov 2024 | +456 | -574 | -118 |
| Oct 2024 | +680 | -523 | +157 |
| Sep 2024 | +912 | -640 | +272 |
| Aug 2024 | +901 | -717 | +184 |
| Jul 2024 | +702 | -572 | +130 |
| Jun 2024 | +998 | -673 | +325 |
| May 2024 | +534 | -655 | -121 |
| Apr 2024 | +638 | -499 | +139 |
Hiring & Separation Reasons
Why employees join and leave Department of Justice
Accession Reasons
New Hire - Competitive Service Appointment
4,411
New Hire - Excepted Service Appointment
3,604
Transfer In - Individual Transfer
40
New Hire - Senior Executive Service (SES) Appt
16
Separation Reasons
Retirement - Voluntary
3,481
Quit
2,975
Transfer Out - Individual Transfer
884
Other Separation
377
Retirement - Other
357
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
0
10–15 yrs
114,551
15–20 yrs
1,496
Over 20 yrs
0
Federal Employment Guides
Learn more about working for the federal government
Similar-Sized Agencies
Federal agencies with a similar workforce size to Department of Justice
Department of Treasury
116,073 employees $95,743 avg
Department of Health and Human Services
92,269 employees $134,256 avg
Department of Agriculture
90,840 employees $88,591 avg
Department of Defense
158,689 employees $100,589 avg
Department of Interior
63,752 employees $95,844 avg
Department of the Air Force
171,750 employees $99,379 avg
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people work at Department of Justice? ▾
Department of Justice employs 116,047 federal workers as of March 2025. This represents 5.1% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472.
What is the average salary at Department of Justice? ▾
The average salary at Department of Justice is $117,386 per year, which is 6.8% above the federal average of $109,869.
What is the average length of service at Department of Justice? ▾
The average length of service at Department of Justice is 12.8 years. The federal average is 11.8 years.
How many sub-agencies does Department of Justice have? ▾
Department of Justice has 12 sub-agencies or organizational units. The largest is Federal Bureau of Investigation with 36,896 employees.
In how many states does Department of Justice have employees? ▾
Department of Justice has employees in 51 states (including DC). The largest concentration is in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA with 15,963 employees.
Is Department of Justice hiring or downsizing? ▾
Over the most recent 12 months of data, Department of Justice had 8,071 accessions and 8,162 separations, for a net change of -91 employees.
Where can I find salary data for occupations at Department of Justice? ▾
PlainGovJobs reports the average salary for Department of Justice 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.