Federal workers in Utah among the lowest paid in the U.S.
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Utah is in the bottom six states for lowest average annual wages for federal workers.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's attempts to cut the government workforce is likely to hit particularly hard in places with the most federal workers, and where they take home the biggest paychecks.
By the numbers: Almost 40,000 federal workers are located in Utah, and they earn an average of about $83,000, per Labor Department data.
- That's around $9,000 less than the national average.
- Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia have the highest average wages.
Zoom out: Federal workers in D.C. make about $136,000 on average with employees in Maryland making about $126,000, and those in Virginia earning an average of $111,000.
- All three areas also rank in the top five for most federal workers overall.
How it works: This data comes by way of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, and reflects annual averages for 2023.
Caveat: These raw state-by-state figures don't account for varying costs of living between locations.
- $126k in Maryland doesn't go as far as it would in, say, West Virginia.
What's next: Multiple lawsuits filed by federal workers in connection with President Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to cull the government workforce are still working their way through the courts.