About 4 million people work directly for the federal government: roughly 2.7 million civilian employees and around 1.3 million active duty military. Add the private contractors who spend their days on federal work and the real footprint runs several million higher, though nobody counts that group precisely. The civilian number has been falling. More than 300,000 federal workers left government service during 2025 through buyouts, layoffs, and voluntary departures, and the decline was still underway heading into 2026.
The Civilian Workforce
As of February 2026, total federal civilian employment stood at approximately 2.68 million.1Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. All Employees, Federal That figure covers the executive branch, the Postal Service, and staff of the legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch accounts for the overwhelming majority.
Employment is concentrated in a handful of very large departments. The Department of Defense is the single biggest civilian employer, accounting for about 34% of all federal employees and staffing roughly 800,000 civilians in early 2025 before the year’s reductions.2U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Workforce Size and Composition The Department of Veterans Affairs is second, with 455,874 full-time equivalent employees anticipated in fiscal year 2026.3Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs FY 2026 Budget Submission Budget in Brief Homeland Security, Justice, and Treasury round out the top five. Together those five departments employ well over half the civilian workforce, which leaves most other agencies comparatively small even when their missions carry outsized public attention.
Active Duty Military
Roughly 1.3 million people serve on active duty. The fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act authorized these end strengths across the branches under the Department of Defense:4Congress.gov. S.1071 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- Army: 454,000
- Navy: 344,600
- Marine Corps: 172,300
- Air Force: 321,500
- Space Force: 10,400
The Coast Guard adds to the uniformed total but operates under the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, transferring to the Navy only when Congress declares war or the President directs the move.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 14 – Coast Guard Actual staffing usually falls a little short of authorized levels because recruiting targets are difficult to hit, and the total shifts year to year with Congress’s authorization and recruiting outcomes.
The Postal Service
The Postal Service funds itself through postage rather than tax appropriations, which is why its workforce is generally counted separately. USPS employed approximately 533,000 career employees in 2025, down sharply from about 637,000 at the end of fiscal year 2023.6U.S. Postal Service. A Decade of Facts and Figures7United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Examining Trends in the Postal Service’s Workforce Composition Even after that decline, USPS remains one of the country’s largest employers and keeps a physical presence in nearly every American community.
Congress and the Courts
The legislative branch employs roughly 31,000 people. That includes personal office staff for members, committee staff, and employees of supporting agencies like the Government Accountability Office, the Library of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Government Publishing Office.8house.gov. Branches of Government
The judicial branch employs about 30,000 people across the federal court system, including clerks, probation officers, public defenders, and administrative staff.9United States Courts. Director’s Annual Report 2021 Together the two branches make up a small fraction of federal employment, and their workforces have held steadier than the executive branch during recent reductions.
Contractors and the Shadow Workforce
Official headcounts significantly understate the number of people doing federal work. A large contracted workforce handles everything from IT support and facilities management to weapons system development and healthcare administration. These workers are paid by private employers but spend their working hours on federal missions, and they are genuinely difficult to count. Federal agencies spent over $833 billion on contracts in fiscal year 2025, and historical estimates of the combined contracted and grant-funded workforce have run into the several millions.
Some transparency comes from the Federal Procurement Data System, where agencies must report contract actions over $2,500 along with modifications to those actions regardless of dollar value.10Federal Procurement Data System. Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation11Federal Procurement Data System. FAR Subpart 4.6 – Contract Reporting Turning those dollars into a headcount requires assumptions about compensation and labor intensity that vary widely by industry, so the total remains an estimate.
Contractors cannot do everything. The Federal Acquisition Regulation designates certain functions as inherently governmental and off-limits to outsourcing, including criminal investigations, command of military forces, foreign policy decisions, federal procurement award decisions, and control of public funds.12Acquisition.GOV. FAR 7.503 – Policy In practice, the government can hire a contractor to build a software system but not to decide which system to buy.
How 2025 Changed the Numbers
The civilian workforce shrank sharply during 2025. A government efficiency initiative drove the departure of more than 300,000 federal employees across agencies. Bureau of Labor Statistics data captured the change: total federal employment fell from roughly 2.75 million in October 2025 to about 2.68 million by February 2026, and the decline continued past that point.1Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. All Employees, Federal
The largest single mechanism was a deferred resignation program offered in early 2025, under which roughly 150,000 employees accepted paid administrative leave through September 30, 2025, followed by separation. OPM reported that over 92% of the departures during this period were voluntary. Defense alone saw upward of 60,000 civilian departures. The consequences for agency capacity are still working through the system, particularly in benefits processing, tax administration, and federal law enforcement, where staffing directly shapes service delivery.
Where Federal Workers Actually Live
Most federal employees work nowhere near Washington. Roughly 80% of the federal civilian workforce is stationed outside the D.C. metropolitan area, according to OPM data, spread across every state and territory.2U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Workforce Size and Composition Border Patrol agents along the southern border, VA nurses in medical centers in every region, IRS processing staff in places like Ogden and Kansas City, and researchers at national laboratories from coast to coast all count in that 80%. A smaller share works abroad, staffing embassies, consulates, and overseas military installations.
The geographic spread matters when trying to understand what a workforce number means on the ground. When agencies cut staff, the effects land in mid-sized cities and rural communities where the federal government is often one of the largest local employers, not only in the capital.