Government Shutdown: Top 50 Cities with Federal Workers and State by State Numbers

A government shutdown, if prolonged, will have far reaching impact beyond the federal government. But even in a short shutdown, federal workers will face impacts. You could call them fiscal policy's canary in a coal mine since they are among the first to be affected. While many will report to work – with the possibility of a delay in pay – many will be furloughed and may not receive pay for this forced time off. That would be up to Congress.

Here are the numbers of federal civilian employees in all 50 states plus D.C., followed by the 50 cities with the largest numbers of federal workers, according to a March 2013 report by the Office of Personnel Management. Some of the top “cities” are military bases. These numbers only include federal civilians, not uniformed personnel in the armed services (none of them will be furloughed). Many government civilians work in a support capacity in the Department of Defense.

Federal Executive Branch Employment by State 

STATE

COUNT

CALIFORNIA

150,762

VIRGINIA

144,753

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

143,537

TEXAS

131,580

MARYLAND

119,816

FLORIDA

82,915

GEORGIA

71,486

PENNSYLVANIA

63,137

NEW YORK

62,011

WASHINGTON

50,300

OHIO

48,422

ILLINOIS

45,801

NORTH CAROLINA

39,886

ALABAMA

38,986

ARIZONA

37,320

OKLAHOMA

36,382

COLORADO

36,282

MISSOURI

32,933

MICHIGAN

27,693

UTAH

25,508

TENNESSEE

25,140

MASSACHUSETTS

24,926

NEW JERSEY

24,806

HAWAII

23,446

KENTUCKY

23,198

NEW MEXICO

23,032

INDIANA

22,007

SOUTH CAROLINA

20,198

LOUISIANA

19,307

WEST VIRGINIA

18,093

MISSISSIPPI

17,088

OREGON

16,857

MINNESOTA

15,864

KANSAS

15,515

WISCONSIN

13,455

ARKANSAS

12,864

ALASKA

11,170

NEVADA

11,102

NEBRASKA

9,979

MAINE

9,873

MONTANA

8,637

CONNECTICUT

7,762

IOWA

7,715

IDAHO

7,388

SOUTH DAKOTA

7,261

RHODE ISLAND

6,245

NORTH DAKOTA

5,409

WYOMING

4,818

VERMONT

4,234

NEW HAMPSHIRE

4,069

DELAWARE

3,031

 

Federal Executive Branch Employment by City - Top 50

CITY

COUNT

WASHINGTON - DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

133,698

NEW YORK CITY - NEW YORK

26,696

ATLANTA - GEORGIA

23,718

ARLINGTON - VIRGINIA

21,676

PHILADELPHIA - PENNSYLVANIA

19,440

CHICAGO - ILLINOIS

16,069

HOUSTON - TEXAS 

15,530

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE - OKLAHOMA 

15,354

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE - GEORGIA

14,771

BETHESDA - MARYLAND 

14,712

LOS ANGELES - CALIFORNIA 

14,689

SAN DIEGO - CALIFORNIA 

14,294

ALEXANDRIA - VIRGINIA

14,042

REDSTONE ARSENAL - ALABAMA 

13,767

NAVAL BASE, NORFOLK - VIRGINIA

13,448

WOODLAWN - MARYLAND

13,120

WRIGHT PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE - OHIO

12,498

DALLAS - TEXAS

12,449

MIAMI - FLORIDA

11,781

ROCKVILLE - MARYLAND 

11,621

HILL AIR FORCE BASE - UTAH 

11,311

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND - MARYLAND

11,249

KANSAS CITY - MISSOURI 

11,224

SEATTLE - WASHINGTON 

10,427

FORT BELVOIR - VIRGINIA 

10,396

NAVAL SHIPYARD, PORTSMOUTH - VIRGINIA 

9,883

PHOENIX - ARIZONA

9,550

SAN FRANCISCO - CALIFORNIA 

9,404

BOSTON - MASSACHUSETTS 

9,295

ALBUQUERQUE - NEW MEXICO

8,998

FORT SAM HOUSTON - TEXAS 

8,722

FORT BRAGG - NORTH CAROLINA 

8,714

CLEVELAND - OHIO

8,580

DENVER - COLORADO

8,522

FORT WORTH - TEXAS 

8,503

PORTLAND - OREGON

8,074

PATUXENT RIVER - MARYLAND 

7,901

QUANTICO - VIRGINIA

7,758

OKLAHOMA CITY - OKLAHOMA

7,713

MEMPHIS - TENNESSEE

7,424

EL PASO - TEXAS 

7,240

BALTIMORE - MARYLAND 

7,235

SAINT LOUIS - MISSOURI 

6,850

SAN ANTONIO - TEXAS

6,844

INDIANAPOLIS - INDIANA 

6,802

TAMPA - FLORIDA

6,761

FORT MEADE - MARYLAND

6,760

LAKEWOOD - COLORADO

6,698

NEW ORLEANS - LOUISIANA

6,553

RICHMOND - VIRGINIA

6,479

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