District of Columbia · NAICS 92 · Annual, 2025

Public Administration in the District of Columbia

Employment, establishments and average pay for NAICS 92 in the District of Columbia, 2004–2025, from DTG's QCEW-based estimates.

In 2025, Public Administration (NAICS 92) employed about 183,000 people in the District of Columbia across roughly 255 establishments, with average annual pay of $145,490.

Employment in Public Administration in the District of Columbia declined 6.1% from 2020 to 2025. The industry is 4.9× as concentrated in the District of Columbia as in the nation as a whole (location quotient 4.87). QCEW withheld part of this figure for the District of Columbia; DTG's estimate is shown, with a reliability score of 0.98. Quarterly values, full industry detail and projections to 2036 for the District of Columbia are included with a free account. County-level detail is part of every paid plan, or one county free for seven days.

  • 183,000Employment, 2025
  • 255Establishments
  • $145,490Avg. annual pay
  • 24.6%Share of District of Columbia jobs
  • 4.87Location quotient

The 2025 figures above are a DTG estimate: Estimated · 0.98. † Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.

Employment, 2004 to 2025

Annual average · all ownerships

Employment in Public Administration in the District of Columbia, 2004–2025Line chart of annual employment from 2004 to 2025, from 176,800 to 183,000.050K100K150K200K20042010201520202025

Annual employment, 2004–2025: 2004 176,800; 2005 178,700; 2006 179,100; 2007 178,600; 2008 181,400; 2009 187,600; 2010 197,700; 2011 199,400; 2012 199,000; 2013 195,900; 2014 191,500; 2015 192,600; 2016 194,900; 2017 195,000; 2018 192,800; 2019 192,100; 2020 194,900; 2021 196,100; 2022 190,200; 2023 187,700; 2024 190,200; 2025 183,000.

Last ten years

Annual · 10 years

YearEmploymentEstab.Avg. annual payChangeSource
2025183,003255$145,491 3.8%est. · 0.98
2024190,188253$138,920 1.3%est. · 1.00
2023187,710252$135,427 1.3%est. · 1.00
2022190,242264$128,283 3.0%est. · 1.00
2021196,116281$124,367 0.6%est. · 1.00
2020194,929280$121,472 1.5%est. · 1.00
2019192,073277$118,871 0.4%est. · 1.00
2018192,781277$117,938 1.1%est. · 1.00
2017195,003279$112,110 0.0%est. · 1.00
2016194,936277$108,688 1.2%est. · 1.00

† Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.

The full history from 2004 and quarterly values are available with a free account.

By subsector, 2025

3-digit NAICS · 8 shown

CodeSubsectorEmploymentShare of public administrationLQSource
921Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support48,24526.4%3.07est. · 0.99
922Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities48,53926.5%5.22est. · 0.98
923Administration of Human Resource Programs12,6076.9%2.94est. · 0.93
924Administration of Environmental Quality Programs6,5013.5%3.69pub.
925Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development3,5952.0%6.94pub.
926Administration of Economic Programs36,89120.2%12.06est. · 0.99
927Space Research and Technology9170.5%10.80pub.
928National Security and International Affairs25,70714.1%8.89pub.

† Not disclosed in QCEW; DTG estimate.

Where these numbers come from

Reading these figures

The figures on this page come from one named vintage, stated below, and are annual values for all ownerships combined. Where QCEW withheld a value, the marked figure is an estimate that DTG produced under the constraints of the published record; suppression is a property of QCEW, not of DTG, and a withheld value is marked rather than silently omitted. Two things DTG itself holds back, and says so where it does: an estimate that cannot be given a reliability score is not shown, and average pay is not shown where fewer than three jobs are reported. The row is marked withheld, with the reason in a note beneath the table. The mark is on every row that carries a value: the headline, the yearly history, the subsectors and the other states. An estimated value that rounds below one is shown as less than one, not as zero. Quarterly figures, county figures and projected years are in the app.

How this figure was built

Employment is the average of the three monthly counts in each quarter, averaged across the year, and establishments are averaged across the year the same way. Average annual pay is the year’s total wages divided by that average employment. Each of these is DTG’s value: QCEW’s published figure where QCEW disclosed it, and DTG’s estimate, marked, where it did not. How withheld values are estimated, and what the reliability score beside a figure means, are described on the industry data and disclosure and provenance pages.

Estimated by Data Tactical Group from BLS QCEW, with CES/SAE and projection inputs described in the methodology. Method: Disclosure, Industry.

Notes

Data Tactical Group is an independent company and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any federal agency.

Public Administration in District of Columbia, quarterly, at full depth

This page shows annual figures for public administration in District of Columbia. A free account shows every detailed industry beneath it, quarterly, for every state, with projections to ten years. No card.

County figures, file export and the API are on paid plans.