What is the average federal employee’s salary? (To locate the salary of an individual federal employee, click here.)
Disputes often arise in reader comments about the average federal salary and whether it is going up or down as a result of the federal pay freeze in effect for several years. Some readers also think that using the median salary figure will make a dramatic difference.
Here is an overall picture of average federal salaries since 2011. These figures are for full-time permanent federal employees and do not include the cost of the federal benefit package and based on the latest data published by the federal government:
| Fiscal Year | Average Salary | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | $77,505 | $71,102 |
| 2012 | $78,467 | $72,714 |
| 2013 | $79,374 | $73,736 |
| 2014 | $80,564 | $75,376 |
| 2015 | $81,578 | $76,131 |
The average age of the federal workforce has gone up steadily over the last five years, despite the large number of federal retirees. In 2011, the average age was 46.9. In 2015, the average age was 47.4. The trend may have come to a standstill though as there was no change in the average age between 2014 and 2015 and the median age decreased slightly between 2014 and 2015.
| Fiscal Year | Average Age | Median Age |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 46.9 | 48.1 |
| 2012 | 47.1 | 48.3 |
| 2013 | 47.3 | 48.5 |
| 2014 | 47.4 | 48.6 |
| 2015 | 47.4 | 48.5 |
Men constituted more than 57% of the federal workforce at the end of FY 2015. Here are the gender trends:
| FY | Female | Male | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 796,627 | 1,059,952 | 1,856,580 |
| 2012 | 790,085 | 1,060,226 | 1,850,311 |
| 2013 | 781,268 | 1,050,455 | 1,831,723 |
| 2014 | 777,455 | 1,048,305 | 1,825,762 |
| 2015 | 781,303 | 1,057,033 | 1,838,352 |
| Avg. Salary in FY 2015 | $78,189 | $84,083 | $81,578 |
No doubt, there are a number of reasons for the disparity. OPM did not speculate or state reasons for the differential in pay and FedSmith will not do so either. Readers are free to offer their own opinions in the comment section of this article.
