Washington-Area Feds' Salaries Actually Grew 3.6 Percent in 2014

Federal employees officially received a 1 percent pay raise in 2014, but a newly released analysis shows that the actual increase was much more – at least in the Washington area. The difference is likely attributable to step increases and promotions, which would have been in addition to the 1 percent across-the-board boost.

Statistics compiled by George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis and reported by the Washingtonian indicate that federal employees in the capital area earned an average of 3.6 percent more in 2014 than in 2013. That figure covers workers in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs.

Private sector wages in the region only grew 0.1 percent from 2013 to 2014, and state and local workers earned just 0.3 percent more, according to the study. Overall, the Washington area’s wages increased 0.5 percent, which marked the first growth in three years.

Putting this in dollar figures, the typical fed working in the capital region took home $103,238 in 2014, while the average private sector worker earned $66,287 in wages that year. 

This chart shows the region's average wages and wage growth in more detail: