Special Report

The Highest Paying Federal Government Jobs

drnadig / E+ via Getty Images

An estimated 2.1 million people work for the U.S. federal government. About a third of them are involved in the daily administrative grind of running the world’s largest economy in the third-most populous country. Other federal job categories include clerical, technical, professional, and blue-collar work.

Pay varies within these categories. To be among the highest paid federal employees requires advanced technical specialties in fields such as computer engineering, health care, pharmacology, financial analysis, and space science. And some of these jobs are rare. For example, only 360 employees at the Fish and Wildlife Service are among the federal government’s highest paid employees, with an average annual salary of $144,620.

To determine the highest paid jobs in the federal government 24/7 Wall St. reviewed salary data from FederalPay.org. Data on the number of employees and the department that employs the most of each position also came from FederalPay. (And these are the best paying jobs in America.)

The largest group of highest-paid federal employees are lawyers who work in the U.S. Justice Department. Nearly 38,000 of them earn an average annual salary of $146,902. Medical officers working at the Veterans Health Administration make up the second-largest group, at nearly 34,000, with an average annual salary of $251,055

These plum jobs are found in the federal administrations in charge of aviation safety, food and drug safety, and social security. Computer and electronics engineers at the departments of Energy and State are among the highest paid federal workers under the White House Cabinet. The Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Houston’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center also offer good salaries for qualified experts.

Though these salaries might not always compare favorably to similar positions in the private sector, federal employees enjoy some of the most generous workplace benefits, including 13 to 26 days of paid vacation annually, 13 days of paid sick leave that cover personal or family medical needs, 11 paid federal holidays per year, and publicly subsidized health insurance, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. (These are the highest paid doctors in America.)

Here is the highest paying job in the federal government

Yok_Piyapong / iStock via Getty Images

25. General engineer
> Avg. yearly salary: $132,872
> Number of employees: 10,943
> Leading department for occupation: Department of Energy

[in-text-ad]

demaerre / iStock via Getty Images

24. Electronics engineering
> Avg. yearly salary: $134,134
> Number of employees: 2,524
> Leading department for occupation: Federal Aviation Administration

gorodenkoff / iStock via Getty Images

23. Computer engineering
> Avg. yearly salary: $134,502
> Number of employees: 1,064
> Leading department for occupation: Goddard Space Flight Center

Nataliia Gorsha / iStock via Getty Images

22. Foreign affairs
> Avg. yearly salary: $134,649
> Number of employees: 2,563
> Leading department for occupation: Department of State

[in-text-ad-2]

scanrail / iStock via Getty Images

21. Aerospace engineering
> Avg. yearly salary: $134,909
> Number of employees: 5,278
> Leading department for occupation: Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

damircudic / E+ via Getty Images

20. Financial institution examining
> Avg. yearly salary: $136,418
> Number of employees: 5,848
> Leading department for occupation: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

[in-text-ad]

gorodenkoff / iStock via Getty Images

19. Computer science
> Avg. yearly salary: $136,476
> Number of employees: 1,398
> Leading department for occupation: Federal Aviation Administration

ablokhin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

18. Health system administration
> Avg. yearly salary: $137,579
> Number of employees: 627
> Leading department for occupation: Veterans Health Administration

GaudiLab / iStock via Getty Images

17. Actuarial science
> Avg. yearly salary: $138,561
> Number of employees: 283
> Leading department for occupation: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

[in-text-ad-2]

fizkes / iStock via Getty Images

16. Financial analysis
> Avg. yearly salary: $141,314
> Number of employees: 1,255
> Leading department for occupation: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

MJ_Prototype / iStock via Getty Images

15. Pharmacology
> Avg. yearly salary: $143,745
> Number of employees: 647
> Leading department for occupation: Food and Drug Administration

[in-text-ad]

FeDoTiShE / iStock via Getty Images

14. Fish and wildlife Administration
> Avg. yearly salary: $144,620
> Number of employees: 360
> Leading department for occupation: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

AndreyPopov / iStock via Getty Images

13. Financial management
> Avg. yearly salary: $145,322
> Number of employees: 679
> Leading department for occupation: Veterans Health Administration

daquellamanera / Public Domain / Flickr

12. General attorney
> Avg. yearly salary: $146,902
> Number of employees: 37,964
> Leading department for occupation: Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys

[in-text-ad-2]

Marco VDM / Getty Images

11. Physicist
> Avg. yearly salary: $147,212
> Number of employees: 711
> Leading department for occupation: National Institute of Standards of Technology

isil terzioglu / iStock via Getty Images

10. Astronomy and space science
> Avg. yearly salary: $150,579
> Number of employees: 387
> Leading department for occupation: Goddard Space Flight Center

[in-text-ad]

wanderluster / E+ via Getty Images

9. Podiatrist
> Avg. yearly salary: $152,591
> Number of employees: 808
> Leading department for occupation: Veterans Health Administration

Ivan-balvan / Getty Images

8. Program management
> Avg. yearly salary: $153,310
> Number of employees: 9,950
> Leading department for occupation: Internal Revenue Service

CatEyePerspective / Getty Images

7. Technical systems program manager
> Avg. yearly salary: $162,583
> Number of employees: 610
> Leading department for occupation: Federal Aviation Administration

[in-text-ad-2]

jammyphotouk / Getty Images

6. Patent administration
> Avg. yearly salary: $170,328
> Number of employees: 389
> Leading department for occupation: Patent and Trademark Office

Petar Chernaev / Getty Images

5. Patent attorney
> Avg. yearly salary: $174,665
> Number of employees: 387
> Leading department for occupation: Patent and Trademark Office

[in-text-ad]

thelinke / E+ via Getty Images

4. Administrative law judge
> Avg. yearly salary: $178,224
> Number of employees: 1,697
> Leading department for occupation: Social Security Administration

alfexe / iStock via Getty Images

3. Dental officer
> Avg. yearly salary: $192,586
> Number of employees: 1,759
> Leading department for occupation: Veterans Health Administration

Pgiam / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

2. Securities compliance examining
> Avg. yearly salary: $199,912
> Number of employees: 349
> Leading department for occupation: Security and Exchange Commission

[in-text-ad-2]

smontgom65 / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

1. Medical officer
> Avg. yearly salary: $251,055
> Number of employees: 33,865
> Leading department for occupation: Veterans Health Administration

Essential Tips for Investing (Sponsored)

A financial advisor can help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of investment properties. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Investing in real estate can diversify your portfolio. But expanding your horizons may add additional costs. If you’re an investor looking to minimize expenses, consider checking out online brokerages. They often offer low investment fees, helping you maximize your profit.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.