OPM FedScope June 2026 Federal civilian workforce

Federal Employment in South Dakota

Name: Federal Employment Data for South Dakota
Creator: PlainGovJobs
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

South Dakota ranks #40 of 51 states and territories by federal civilian headcount in OPM FedScope June 2026. South Dakota is a thinner federal footprint: 6,731 civilians (0.3% of the disclosed workforce) at $92,120 average pay. Pay lands in the lower third of states (Below federal average). Average length of service (12.2 yrs) is among the shorter state books. Source: OPM FedScope June 2026.

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Compiled by Plaingovjobs, Federal Workforce Editorial Process · August 11, 2026

Federal Employees

6,731

+0.3% from prior period

Average Salary

$92,120

Below federal average

-0.2%

Avg Length of Service

12.2 yrs

Average tenure

Agencies Present

Federal Agencies in South Dakota

23 agencies disclose staff in South Dakota; the largest is DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS with 2,831, a narrower agency footprint than high-volume states.

Largest federal employers in South Dakota (by civilian employees)

The 10 largest federal agencies in South Dakota by civilian headcount.

Source: OPM FedScope

#	Agency	Employees	Avg Salary	Avg LOS
1	DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS	2,831	$96,160	10.4 yrs
2	DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES	1,255	$92,748	13 yrs
3	DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR	1,087	$77,792	14.1 yrs
4	DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE	905	$80,886	13.2 yrs
5	DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY	173	$129,632	14.8 yrs
6	DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE	92	$95,930	14.5 yrs
7	DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION	91	$113,912	14.2 yrs
8	DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE	80	$93,671	12.1 yrs
9	SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION	70	$94,864	15.6 yrs
10	DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY	41	$116,851	15.3 yrs
11	FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION	37	$145,199	13.7 yrs
12	DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY	34	$100,487	11.3 yrs
13	DEPARTMENT OF LABOR	19	$112,384	15.6 yrs
14	SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION	5	$109,242	8.2 yrs
15	ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY	2	$113,533	8.8 yrs
16	GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION	2	$98,459	13.8 yrs
17	DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPM	1	$150,935	33.9 yrs
18	CORP FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE	1	$74,684	4.6 yrs
19	COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS	1	$155,502	0.3 yrs
20	EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION	1	$57,188	10.7 yrs
21	NAT AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION	1	$197,200	0.2 yrs
22	OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET	1	$150,935	26.8 yrs
23	DEPARTMENT OF STATE	1	$192,331	1.4 yrs

Where South Dakota sits nationally

At 6,731 civilians, South Dakota sits in the thinner headcount band among 51 states and territories (inventory signal, not a quality ranking).

South Dakota vs all states by federal civilian headcount

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

6,731 40th of 51 higher than 11 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 thinner duty-station books nearest South Dakota's 6,731-employee scale.

Iowa

7,038 employees $104,469 avg

Alaska

5,778 employees $108,775 avg

Nebraska

5,419 employees $101,478 avg

Wyoming

5,254 employees $88,728 avg

Idaho

8,282 employees $92,160 avg

Connecticut

5,003 employees $123,699 avg

Lower-pay peers of South Dakota

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 ($92,120 here).

Idaho

$92,160 avg · 8,282 employees

Montana

$90,083 avg · 8,643 employees

North Dakota

$94,971 avg · 3,618 employees

Wyoming

$88,728 avg · 5,254 employees

Mississippi

$95,725 avg · 9,171 employees

Utah

$87,896 avg · 15,153 employees

Similar average tenure

Nearest state-wide average length of service (12.2 years here).

Kentucky

12.2 yrs avg tenure · 12,078 employees

Delaware

12.1 yrs avg tenure · 2,221 employees

Indiana

12.1 yrs avg tenure · 11,286 employees

Iowa

12.1 yrs avg tenure · 7,038 employees

Montana

12.1 yrs avg tenure · 8,643 employees

Vermont

12.1 yrs avg tenure · 2,454 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.