What is a Government Salary Like?

Recent news has been focusing on government contractors, both in the United States and overseas. However, in addition to the billions of dollars in contract awards each year, the government also has millions of full-time employees working at all levels and in all sectors, earning a wide spectrum of government salaries. Take a look at Government Salary Measured by Job and you'll start to get an idea of the wide range of government employment opportunities that are available. There are as many government salaries as there are types of government employees. That said, viewing the median government salaries in various categories is a great way to get a general overview of what a government salary is like.

Government Salary Information

One of the major factors that comes into play with government employee salaries is employer type. The majority of government jobs are at the local level, and government salaries vary regionally, but viewing Government Salary by Employer Type shows that federal employee salaries tend to be higher than other government salaries. This data on federal employee salaries corresponds with the Government Salary by City report, which places Washington in the lead among U.S. cities for high government employee salaries. To narrow down your government salary research, look into Government Salaries by Industry. You'll see that health care leads the pack for government salaries, with education in last place.

Government Salaries - Teachers

For more on state government salary for teachers, read "State Teacher Salary Comparisons" by PayScale's own Dr. Salary. He's compiled some fascinating research on how state government salary for teachers varies and why.