Records analyzed
31 sub-agencies
Cross-joined with state geography and occupational mix
OPM FedScope March 2025 Federal civilian workforce
Department of Veterans Affairs
Headcount, average pay, length of service, sub-agencies, and hiring trends for Department of Veterans Affairs, drawn directly from the OPM FedScope federal workforce dataset (March 2025).
The verdict
Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the largest federal employers: 474,532 employees (20.7% of the federal civilian workforce) across 51 states (including DC). At an average salary of $110,817 it pays near the federal average of $109,869, and headcount declined 1.7% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 474,532
- Share of workforce
- 20.7%
- Avg salary
- $110,817
- States present
- 51
Federal workforce data for Department of Veterans Affairs. This agency represents 20.7% of the total federal civilian workforce. Source: OPM FedScope, March 2025.
What the Numbers Say About Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Veterans Affairs employs 474,532 federal civilian workers, which accounts for 20.7% 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 -1.7%, 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 Veterans Affairs is 9.8 years, spread across its 31 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 Veterans Affairs has employees in 51 states (including DC), with the largest concentration in CALIFORNIA (38,505 employees at $135,913 avg salary). Over the most recent 12 months of workforce-dynamics data, the agency recorded 28,747 accessions against 38,524 separations for a net change of -9,777 positions, useful context for job seekers evaluating whether Department of Veterans Affairs 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
474,532
Very large employer
-1.7% from prior period
Average Salary
$110,817
Near federal average
+3.3%
Avg Length of Service
9.8 yrs
Shorter-tenured workforce
Sub-agencies
31
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 Veterans Affairs pay vs. federal civilian average
Agency average $110,817 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 Veterans Affairs hires into rather than a modelled per-agency estimate.
National General Schedule grade distribution - 1,517,243 GS employees.
Salary Analysis
How Department of Veterans Affairs pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Workforce by pay band
How Department of Veterans Affairs's 474,532 employees split across salary ranges (sub-agency averages).
- Under $80k: 2,395 (1%)
- $80k–$100k: 35,603 (8%)
- $100k–$120k: 420,745 (89%)
- $120k–$150k: 15,075 (3%)
- $150k+: 714 (0%)
Agency Average
$110,817
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
+0.9%
Where Department of Veterans Affairs ranks on pay
Ranked by agency (not weighted by headcount), its average salary of $110,817 is higher than 16% of the 115 federal agencies (18 pay less on average). Smaller specialized agencies often post higher per-employee averages than large ones like Department of Veterans Affairs, 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 Veterans Affairs sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 115 federal agencies; Department of Veterans Affairs ranks higher than 16%.
Salary Range by Sub-agency
Under $80K
2,395
$80K–$100K
35,603
$100K–$120K
420,745
$120K–$150K
15,075
Over $150K
714
Sub-agencies & Organizational Units
Department of Veterans Affairs has 31 sub-agencies. The highest-paying unit averages $206,030.
| Sub-agency | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Health Administration | 420,521 | $111,530 | 9.5 yrs |
| Veterans Benefits Administration | 34,126 | $91,670 | 11 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology | 8,416 | $140,326 | 16 yrs |
| National Cemetery Administration | 2,395 | $79,728 | 9.4 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance | 1,477 | $95,855 | 12.8 yrs |
| Board of Veterans Appeals | 1,419 | $137,896 | 10.5 yrs |
| Executive Director, Office of Acquisition and Logistics | 1,261 | $123,510 | 13.6 yrs |
| Inspector General | 1,144 | $145,695 | 16.4 yrs |
| Office of the Secretary | 1,057 | $137,764 | 15.3 yrs |
| General Counsel | 894 | $139,612 | 13 yrs |
| Vet Customer Exper (vce) | 310 | $125,517 | 13.7 yrs |
| Chief Human Capital Officer | 268 | $136,921 | 16.2 yrs |
| Executive Director for Security and Law Enforcement | 224 | $101,664 | 13.1 yrs |
| Electronic Health Record Modernization | 212 | $158,785 | 13.9 yrs |
| Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management | 197 | $142,062 | 16.9 yrs |
| Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection | 135 | $154,923 | 15.7 yrs |
| Office of Enterprise Integration | 86 | $157,136 | 14.5 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration | 59 | $141,977 | 17.3 yrs |
| Office of Enterprise Operations | 39 | $165,835 | 19.3 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget | 36 | $161,292 | 18 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs | 34 | $157,394 | 16.4 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs | 33 | $152,857 | 13.4 yrs |
| Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs | 31 | $155,634 | 18.2 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Corporate Senior Executive Management | 28 | $146,920 | 19.4 yrs |
| Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration | 24 | $161,398 | 14 yrs |
| Executive Director for Identity, Credential, and Accessmanagement | 22 | $127,588 | 16.1 yrs |
| Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Operations, Security, and Preparedness | 22 | $150,598 | 17.4 yrs |
| Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor Management Relations | 20 | $162,890 | 21.8 yrs |
| Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology | 17 | $206,030 | 17.6 yrs |
| Dep Asst SEC for Emergency Mgt & Resilience | 13 | $173,865 | 14.1 yrs |
| Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs | 12 | $157,736 | 16.5 yrs |
Geographic Presence
Department of Veterans Affairs has employees in 51 states (including DC). CALIFORNIA has the most with 38,505 employees.
| State | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| CALIFORNIA | 38,505 | $135,913 | 9.8 yrs |
| TEXAS | 37,709 | $108,752 | 10.1 yrs |
| FLORIDA | 37,598 | $107,556 | 10 yrs |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 19,215 | $104,987 | 10 yrs |
| NEW YORK | 19,006 | $108,267 | 10.9 yrs |
| OHIO | 17,837 | $109,080 | 9.7 yrs |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 17,160 | $109,712 | 9.3 yrs |
| ILLINOIS | 16,199 | $111,646 | 9.7 yrs |
| GEORGIA | 15,028 | $105,236 | 9.6 yrs |
| TENNESSEE | 13,528 | $105,293 | 9.9 yrs |
| VIRGINIA | 12,471 | $113,767 | 9.5 yrs |
| MICHIGAN | 12,378 | $106,894 | 8.8 yrs |
| MISSOURI | 11,826 | $104,911 | 9.5 yrs |
| ARIZONA | 11,269 | $113,425 | 9.1 yrs |
| WISCONSIN | 10,504 | $105,274 | 9.3 yrs |
| WASHINGTON | 10,077 | $113,065 | 10 yrs |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 8,619 | $116,686 | 10.3 yrs |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 8,556 | $104,428 | 9.4 yrs |
| MINNESOTA | 8,538 | $109,458 | 9.8 yrs |
| ALABAMA | 8,158 | $98,964 | 9.6 yrs |
Showing top 20 of 51 states
Workforce Dynamics
Monthly hiring and separation trends. Net change over 12 months: -9,777.
| Month | Accessions | Separations | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2025 | +1,106 | -3,497 | -2,391 |
| Feb 2025 | +885 | -2,706 | -1,821 |
| Jan 2025 | +2,245 | -2,871 | -626 |
| Dec 2024 | +2,215 | -3,218 | -1,003 |
| Nov 2024 | +1,822 | -2,621 | -799 |
| Oct 2024 | +2,167 | -2,762 | -595 |
| Sep 2024 | +2,625 | -3,121 | -496 |
| Aug 2024 | +3,175 | -3,517 | -342 |
| Jul 2024 | +3,368 | -3,361 | +7 |
| Jun 2024 | +3,754 | -3,988 | -234 |
| May 2024 | +2,390 | -3,703 | -1,313 |
| Apr 2024 | +2,995 | -3,159 | -164 |
Hiring & Separation Reasons
Why employees join and leave Department of Veterans Affairs
Accession Reasons
New Hire - Excepted Service Appointment
22,402
New Hire - Competitive Service Appointment
5,962
Transfer In - Individual Transfer
383
Separation Reasons
Quit
17,798
Retirement - Voluntary
10,106
Termination (Expired Appt/Other)
4,109
Other Separation
3,957
Transfer Out - Individual Transfer
1,919
Employee Tenure Distribution
Average length of service is 9.8 years. Employees in sub-agencies grouped by average tenure.
Under 5 yrs
0
5–10 yrs
422,916
10–15 yrs
40,079
15–20 yrs
11,517
Over 20 yrs
20
Federal Employment Guides
Learn more about working for the federal government
Similar-Sized Agencies
Federal agencies with a similar workforce size to Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Homeland Security
231,771 employees $103,913 avg
Department of the Army
220,484 employees $101,403 avg
Department of the Navy
220,459 employees $108,539 avg
Department of the Air Force
171,750 employees $99,379 avg
Department of Defense
158,689 employees $100,589 avg
Department of Treasury
116,073 employees $95,743 avg
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people work at Department of Veterans Affairs? ▾
Department of Veterans Affairs employs 474,532 federal workers as of March 2025. This represents 20.7% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472.
What is the average salary at Department of Veterans Affairs? ▾
The average salary at Department of Veterans Affairs is $110,817 per year, which is 0.9% above the federal average of $109,869.
What is the average length of service at Department of Veterans Affairs? ▾
The average length of service at Department of Veterans Affairs is 9.8 years. The federal average is 11.8 years.
How many sub-agencies does Department of Veterans Affairs have? ▾
Department of Veterans Affairs has 31 sub-agencies or organizational units. The largest is Veterans Health Administration with 420,521 employees.
In how many states does Department of Veterans Affairs have employees? ▾
Department of Veterans Affairs has employees in 51 states (including DC). The largest concentration is in CALIFORNIA with 38,505 employees.
Is Department of Veterans Affairs hiring or downsizing? ▾
Over the most recent 12 months of data, Department of Veterans Affairs had 28,747 accessions and 38,524 separations, for a net change of -9,777 employees.
Where can I find salary data for occupations at Department of Veterans Affairs? ▾
PlainGovJobs reports the average salary for Department of Veterans Affairs 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.