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OPM FedScope June 2026 Federal civilian workforce

Federal Employment in California

California ranks #2 of 51 states and territories by federal civilian headcount in OPM FedScope June 2026. California is a large federal duty-station market: 78,484 civilians (4.0% of the disclosed workforce) at $124,322 average pay. Pay lands in the upper third of states (Above federal average). Average length of service (12.5 yrs) sits near the cohort middle. Source: OPM FedScope June 2026.

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Federal Employees

78,484

+0.2% from prior period

Average Salary

$124,322

Above federal average

-0.0%

Avg Length of Service

12.5 yrs

Average tenure

Agencies Present

69

Federal Agencies in California

69 agencies disclose staff here, a dense agency book for California; DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS alone accounts for 36,300 civilians.

1. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF…36,3002. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE8,6113. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR5,6114. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY5,1425. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTR…5,0486. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTAT…3,6567. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE…2,5558. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE1,8679. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND …1,78010. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE1,718
Largest federal employers in California (by civilian employees)

The 10 largest federal agencies in California by civilian headcount.

Source: OPM FedScope

# Agency Employees Avg Salary
1 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 36,300 $140,808
2 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 8,611 $80,232
3 DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 5,611 $93,409
4 DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY 5,142 $85,902
5 SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 5,048 $107,165
6 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 3,656 $156,602
7 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 2,555 $119,835
8 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 1,867 $114,789
9 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 1,780 $126,986
10 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 1,718 $110,825
11 NAT AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 1,413 $165,160
12 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 692 $147,132
13 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 566 $133,531
14 SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 513 $103,551
15 GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 493 $139,481
16 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 341 $157,780
17 DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPM 313 $151,473
18 PRESIDIO TRUST 312 $132,085
19 FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION 304 $199,631
20 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 269 $251,825
21 DEPARTMENT OF STATE 218 $115,138
22 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION 110 $137,001
23 NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 98 $147,411
24 NAT ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION 88 $105,262
25 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 77 $153,807
26 FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 60 $206,666
27 NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION 58 n/a
28 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 41 $185,308
29 CORP FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE 24 $104,572
30 RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD 22 $118,730
31 OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 19 $143,395
32 FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 14 n/a
33 MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD 13 $171,972
34 PEACE CORPS 11 $123,723
35 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 10 $162,933
36 FED MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE 9 $158,974
37 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 8 $168,454
38 NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD 8 $164,831
39 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 7 $122,611
40 FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY 7 $203,511
41 U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEV 6 $177,634
42 GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 6 $119,994
43 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 6 $194,125
44 INTER BOUND AND WATER COMM U.S. SECTION 6 $124,177
45 FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY 6 $182,519
46 OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL 5 $183,399
47 DFC 5 $149,408
48 EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES 4 $175,709
49 U.S.AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA 3 $157,638
50 ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 3 $178,947
51 MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION 3 $184,285
52 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH REVIEW CMSN 2 $168,337
53 COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 2 $121,994
54 PUBLIC INTEREST DECLASSIFICATION BOARD 2 $151,662
55 JUDICIAL BRANCH 2 $121,515
56 PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION 2 $142,700
57 NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY 2 $155,502
58 U.S. INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS 2 $136,885
59 GULF COAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION COUNCIL 1 $197,200
60 CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION 1 $180,850
61 U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION 1 $195,474
62 CHEMICAL SAFETY/HAZARD INVESTIGATION BD 1 $178,204
63 MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION 1 $191,900
64 SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM 1 $172,476
65 FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT STEER 1 $197,200
66 CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE REVIEW BOARD 1 $197,201
67 MEDICAID & CHIP PAYMENT & ACCESS COMM 1 $197,863
68 CMTE FOR PURCH FRM PPLE BLIND OR SEV DIS 1 $197,200
69 OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 1 $167,672

Where California sits nationally

With 78,484 civilians, California anchors the upper headcount band among 51 states and territories (inventory signal, not a quality ranking).

California vs all states by federal civilian headcount

Where this state's disclosed OPM FedScope employee count sits among every tracked state and territory

78,484 2nd of 51 higher than 49 of 51 states

States and territories, banded by federal civilian headcount

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source OPM FedScope Employment Cubes · June 2026

Similar States by Federal Employment

Other large duty-station books nearest California's 78,484-employee scale.

Maryland

75,194 employees $146,475 avg

Texas

73,050 employees $110,896 avg

District of Columbia

96,552 employees $154,024 avg

Florida

55,342 employees $111,473 avg

Virginia

44,228 employees $134,612 avg

Georgia

39,575 employees $113,374 avg

High-pay peers of California

Cross-state peers on OPM FedScope average pay and length of service, separate from the headcount neighbourhood above.

Similar average salary

Nearest state-wide average salaries ($124,322 here).

Connecticut
$123,699 avg · 5,003 employees
New Jersey
$126,642 avg · 10,635 employees
New Hampshire
$121,875 avg · 3,670 employees
Massachusetts
$120,785 avg · 16,188 employees
Colorado
$120,244 avg · 24,385 employees
Illinois
$119,378 avg · 27,107 employees

Similar average tenure

Nearest state-wide average length of service (12.5 years here).

Mississippi
12.5 yrs avg tenure · 9,171 employees
Alaska
12.4 yrs avg tenure · 5,778 employees
Connecticut
12.4 yrs avg tenure · 5,003 employees
Kansas
12.6 yrs avg tenure · 9,263 employees
Minnesota
12.4 yrs avg tenure · 13,729 employees
Missouri
12.6 yrs avg tenure · 25,174 employees

Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, June 2026. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-08-11.

Data sourced from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes and Federal Workforce Data (FWD). See our methodology for details, or report a data error on this page. Retrieved and formatted by PlainGovJobs from OPM FedScope state-level employment records as of June 2026.

OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.

Data currency: Employment stock from OPM Federal Workforce Data June 2026 (prior-period deltas vs May 2026); monthly hiring/separations from FWD Dynamics June 2024–June 2026 (filled civilian headcount and flows, not live USAJOBS vacancy listings). State pages sum only duty stations with a disclosed US state/DC code; 898,675 employees have redacted geography in the release and appear in the national total only. Database compiled 2026-08-11. See our methodology § populations for the three windows. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.