The states that could feel DOGE cuts the most
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President Trump and Elon Musk's campaign to shrink the federal government will be felt far outside the nation's capital — in deep red states as well as blue.
Why it matters: Some GOP lawmakers are already hearing from constituents and raising the alarm about the haphazard way federal employees are getting canned.
Zoom in: Federal civilian jobs make up 21% of all nonfarm employment in Washington, D.C. — far more than any state, according to government data analyzed by Pew Research Center.
- The cuts will undoubtedly affect D.C., but more than 80% of federal workers live outside of the metro area, according to Partnership for Public Service.
- Of the 10 states with the greatest percentage of federal employment, six voted for President Trump and five voted for then-Vice President Harris. (Maine and Utah are tied for 10th.)
- Alaska has the fourth-highest share of federal workers. Republican Lisa Murkowski, one of the state's senators, has been outspoken about her concerns with DOGE.
Zoom out: When looking at the total number of federal workers, Washington, D.C., has the most overall, at 162,000. When looking by state, California has the most, with more than 147,000 as of last March, per Pew's data.
- California is followed by Virginia, Maryland, Texas and Florida.
- Some federal workers are also in U.S. territories or overseas. Roughly 270,000 workers are not counted as they have their locations masked for security purposes, mostly in the intelligence space.
