How many Tri-Citians work for the federal government? It’s complicated
As the 2025 federal shutdown enters its fourth week, it begs several questions.
How many people in the Tri-Cities work for the federal government? Is the shutdown affecting our economy?
The answer is complicated.
The federal government dominates the Tri-Cities’ economy. The Department of Energy spends billions to clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation and to support federal research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Hanford alone employs more than 13,000. PNNL accounts for another 6,400.
So it may come as a surprise that an average of only 1,233 Tri-Citians were directly employed by the federal government in 2024, according to the Washington Employment Security Department. That’s the agency that oversees the state’s employment programs, including unemployment benefits.
Employment Security shows neither Benton nor Franklin counties is among the Top 10 counties in Washington state for direct federal jobs. And the Department of Energy isn’t technically a Top 10 employer.
Kitsap County has the largest federal workforce courtesy of the Navy’s massive presence there. The Department of Defense is the state’s largest federal employer with nearly 32,600 civilian employees.
There’s a simple explanation: Most Hanford workers are employed by private companies such as Bechtel National Inc., Central Plateau Cleanup Co., H2C, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions and others. The contractors carry out work under billions of dollars in federal contracts.
Workers are paid with federal dollars, but aren’t direct federal employees. That means they typically aren’t included when Washington officials refer to the shutdown’s impact on 80,000 federal employees in Washington state.
As of Oct. 15, nearly 1,200 workers in Washington had filed for unemployment benefits, according to Employment Security.
Federal workers who are furloughed or laid off are eligible for unemployment.
However, essential workers such as TSA agents continue to work without pay at the Tri-Cities Airport and are not eligible for unemployment benefits.
To date, the Tri-Cities TSA employees are keeping flights running, said Buck Taft, director of the Port of Pasco-owned airport.
“As of now staffing is still good and we are not seeing any issues. I am not saying that they are personally not having issues, but they are continuing to come to work,” he said.
The Hanford workers so far remain on the job, with contractors relying on carry-over funds to continue on.
Contractors at the Hanford site have raised the possibility of furloughing workers, but as of Oct. 22 had not done so.
In the Tri-Cities, the 1,233 federal employees last year worked for 30 federal agencies. The average federal wage in Benton and Franklin counties was nearly $104,000.
Agencies with a Tri-Cities presence include the Army Corps of Engineers, Social Security Administration, the Small Business Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
They also work for the Coast Guard, the FBI, the Small Business Administration, U.S. Marshal’s Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the General Service Administration.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an office in Burbank to manage regional wildlife refuges and the Hanford Reach National Monument.
Others include federal judges and court staff and employees with congressional district offices and Armed Forces recruiting offices. Here’s the full breakdown:
Benton County
There were 666 workers at 19 agencies earning an average of about $118,000, in 2024.
- 450 administration of economic program employees: average wage $125,700
- 50 Postal Service: average wage $66,300
- 46 physician offices: average wage $105,260
- 44 justice, public order and safety activities: average wage $121,500
- 24 electric power generation, transmission and distribution: average wage $150,000
- 20 administration of human resource programs: average wage $89,400
- 10 administration of environmental quality programs: average wage $96,500
- 10 executive, legislative and other general government support: average wage $106,000
- 7 national security and international affairs: average wage $97,000
- 4 architectural, engineering and related services: average wage $72,800
- 2 water, sewage and other systems: average wage $109,300
Franklin County
Franklin County had 567 employees in 11 agencies, with an average annual wage of about $89,300.
- 288 Postal Service employees, average wage $81,000.
- 134 architectural, engineering and related services: average wage $93,300
- 74 administration of economic programs: average wage $71,600
- 40 electric power generation, transmission and distribution: average wage $156,000
- 16 support activities for air transportation: average wage $116,600
- 8 administration of environmental quality programs: average wage $85,200
- 6 scientific research and development services: average wage $102,900
- 1 justice, public order and safety activities: average wage $156,000