Top 20 Highest Paying Government Jobs

Last Updated on 11/10/2023

Those intending to work for the federal government want to answer a straightforward question — what is the highest paying government job? There are countless employment chances available in this case, especially given the fact it is the most prominent employer in the country. Whether you are interested in finance, security, administration, or other fields, rest assured — you can join other millions of civilians, who have already proven their skills and talent.

According to the U.S. Federal Government Salary Lookup, as of 2022, the average salary surpassed $80,000 across three hundred sixty-five agencies and a total of over $112 billion in wages. As of 2023, the average pay rates in the sector have been raised by 4%. In practice, you can locate government jobs paying over 100k and pursue your career goals. In this guide, let’s take a closer look at the most financially beneficial positions in the U.S. market. Onwards!

Editor’s Choice: Highest Paying Federal Jobs in 2023

The range of salaries for government jobs varies and can be increased based on factors like the length of services, shifts in the private sector’s compensation, locality pay area differences, performance quality, etc. It also depends on your GS category and what academic and experience requirements you meet. Since the information about the highest federal salary is considered public, it won’t be challenging to keep track of its fluctuations and define how distinctive the average and highest pay rates are.

Overall, the rate of salaries, including benefits and wages, can be easily expected to be up to 40% higher than analogous positions in the private sector. Keep on reading to see what government job pays the most.

P.S. You are welcome to explore currently available highest paying jobs in government thanks to the services of the best job boards and federal salaries apps, including Glassdoor, Indeed, Jobs2Careers, and others.

#1 Medical Officer

This term is used to describe a physician or other qualified healthcare worker who oversees a medical facility, including hospitals and clinics. The distinguished position is commonly occupied by a certified PA or NP — physician assistant and nurse practitioner, accordingly. Such an employee can carry out a variety of tasks, including diagnostic testing, monitoring patients’ well-being and health, as well as supply chain management, administration duties, and vaccination- and immunization-related services.

#2 Securities Compliance Examiner

As a part of this civil service, people interested in this kind of easy high paying government jobs will do the following:

• evaluate client securities and trading holdings;
• research, examine, and analyze several compliance-related files and documents;
• formulate suggestions to address issues in designated areas of expertise;
• assess corporate marketing strategies of the target organization.

In a nutshell, you will audit the securities entities and define how legitimate they are and whether they comply with the latest regulations and laws in the field.

#3 Dental Receptionist

This offer among other highest paid federal government jobs is an excellent opportunity for job seekers to find the offer without the need for impressive prior experiences and expertise in the chosen professional sector. Your duties mainly relate to fulfilling administrative tasks — scheduling and coordinating appointments, assisting patients, welcoming visitors at your dentist’s office, and so on. In the majority of cases, companies are willing to hire high schoolers.

#4 Technical Systems Program Manager

These professionals in the federal service are accountable for overseeing all technical initiatives inside a corporation and actively engaging in the whole software development process, from ideation to launch and post-release assistance. For the highest salary in government job, they conduct market and competitor research to understand what end users want and boost business earnings by designing and incorporating new and attention-grabbing features in their products. 

#5 Chief Engineer

Although it doesn’t top the list of the best paid government jobs, it offers several money-making and career-building opportunities for interested parties. These experts take charge of how their company’s engineering team and department work, guiding their subordinates in divergent projects and assisting in completing diverse tasks. Cross-team collaboration also happens, which leads to chief engineers’ involvement in administration and supply chain management duties — negotiating contracts, carrying out a cost-efficient plan execution strategy, and determining operational expenditures.

#6 Social Service Assistant

Compared to other offers on the list, it can be included in easy government jobs with high salary conditions. Take a look at some of its duties and responsibilities:

• preparing a treatment plan for a patient;
• interacting with other professionals and clients to get the best result possible;
• ascertaining the kind of assistance their customers require;
• organizing services for the target client and helping them finish the required paperwork;
• ensuring the right assistance is guaranteed.

#7 Microbiologist

This highest paid government position will require you to fulfill the following tasks efficiently and in a timely manner:

• organizing and carrying out challenging research projects and studies;
• conducting laboratory tests to diagnose and cure diseases (depending on the target project’s objectives);
• supervising the work of other employees and assessing the performance quality of biological technicians and other colleagues;
• creating new medications;
• preserving and analyzing different cultures of microbes and bacteria for scientific purposes;
• monitoring and analyzing how microbes affect animals, plants, etc., and interact with the surrounding environment as a whole.

#8 Architect

If you opt for this position among other federal jobs that pay well, you should be ready to perform the tasks below:

• compiling contracts and agreements for building contractors and clients;
• controlling building projects at every phase;
• checking and verifying if the target object or team complies with the original architectural plan, as well as safety and security standards in the market;
• recruiting new employees by promoting and creating presentations;
• interacting with customers, checking their needs, and preparing the architectural plan that caters to their goals.

#9 Computer Scientist

If you are interested in learning more about coding and programming, as well as solving computer problems of any caliber, this is one of the best jobs in federal government to look for. Aside from theoretical expertise, it offers room for creativity and self-representation, letting you design unique computational models and software.

#10 Economist

With this good paying government job, your professional development will focus on everything about the cost of services and goods and up to how the global economy works. This role can be related to literally any industry in the market. Your tasks will include analyzing and gathering data from different sources, conducting surveys, working on budgets, creating forecast-spending plans, and much more.

#11 Attorney

Despite these high paying government jobs requiring a lot of preparation, education, and experience in courts, they can be deeply satisfactory and fulfilling. Suits, Law & Order, The Practice, and other TV shows provide only a general understanding of how these experts work but definitely help enthusiasts fall in love with the analyzed profession. Your career won’t focus purely on giving legal advice to your clients — the case depends on how you investigate and interpret the case and communicate with colleagues and judges, to mention a few.

#12 Astronomy and Space Scientist

If you want to know how the Universe works and get one of the top paid government jobs at the same time, you know what career goals to place. These professionals work on creating theories and proving them through observations and experiments. Thanks to satellite, radio, and telescope data, you can study unique celestial bodies that are billions of miles away from home.

#13 Physician

Federal government employee salaries are granted to workers treating the illnesses of their patients, maintaining or restoring their well-being, as well as taking care of injuries. Depending on the chosen specialty, you may also be required to perform minor surgeries and supervise your colleagues. From a practical perspective, this career path provides you with several benefits — paid vacations, signing bonuses, insurance, and so on.

#14 Foreign Affairs Personnel

Among other well paying government jobs, professionals occupying this position will serve as their country’s representative in the international arena, defend its interests, and solve different global challenges. Up-market communication skills, awareness, ability to work with different types of documents urgently, etc. will come in handy and prove your eligibility in the field.

#15 Community Planner

With so many tasks to solve on a daily basis, the general palette of responsibilities for this type of the highest paying federal government jobs comes down to the duties highlighted below:

• creating statutory plans;
• working on new policies and the ways to implement them in practice;
• participating in several case studies and their analysis and result interpretation;
• managing local issues of any scale, including environmental and economic ones;
• working on improving the local infrastructure and coordinating its life and performance.

#16 Government Relations Specialist

These federal workers keep an eye on the schedules and agendas of special committees — they are influential and knowledgeable mediators, ensuring their companies can work without hassle and issues. Compared to other positions in the federal salaries app with the highest paid government jobs, it is mainly related to providing high-end customer service and solving problems, inquiries, and complaints.

#17 Director of Labor Relations

Simply put, these highest paid dod employees will be responsible for overseeing and reviewing the processes in the target establishment and coordinating the labor contracts of its employees. You will need to interpret agreements and deal with other in-house office representatives and HR personnel. Your prompt and data-driven decision-making will matter and help you solve disputes of any kind without difficulty.

#18 Commissioner

It is another leadership-dependent position among relatively easy government jobs that pay well. In this case, your focus will lie on inspecting and supervising the performance of district offices. Your effective work depends on how you understand in-market policies and can implement them in practice.

#19 Healthcare Manager

From attending meetings to recruiting staff, healthcare managers with the highest paid government jobs have a lot on their plate. Their main duties are focused on supervising other employees, scheduling work shits, ensuring care coordination quality, and operating budgets. This position is for people who are both skilled in communication and talented in administration.

#20 Regulatory Affairs Manager

The list of this public service provider’s duties incorporates several responsibilities to succeed in such high paying government jobs :

• creating plans and strategies to guarantee that the business’s production operations abide by legal, safety, and security requirements;
• complying with several requests from regulatory experts and bodies;
• establishing high-end standards in the market and operational processes of businesses, in particular;
• interacts with local and relevant regulatory bodies and prepares reports and reviews for them.

USA Employment: Top Highest Paying Federal Agencies

Scales that represent the type of job, its duties, responsibilities, and tasks are the core factor determining federal compensation for this or that position for the highest paid government jobs — agencies don’t set the rules of the game. Nevertheless, people seeking positions with extremely rewarding salaries shouldn’t forget about the influence and benefits of the highest paying government agencies either — it is another way to get one of those cushy government jobs in your city.

The list of the highest paid federal agencies would be incomplete without the following:

1. Federal Reserve Board of Governors — also known as FRB, it was established in 1914 and has an over-century history of incredible ups and successful deals in the country. This organization is one of the most generous agencies in the US. As of 2022, its average deferral worker pay was over $260,000. The range of its minimum and maximum salaries in 2023 across the grades varies from $34,000 to $275,900.
2. Farm Credit Administration — founded in 1933, this agency offers the highest paying federal jobs in business, research and science, finance and accounting, and other industries. Its upper range of salaries depends on the job title, its specifications, and location — from $43,000 for internship positions to $127,000 for human capital strategists, $148,000 for senior examiners, $183,000 for directors, and so on.
3. Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation — with FCSIC, the average salary of $205,000 and above isn’t a dream. The agency’s minimum pay scale starts at $33,584 and goes up to $280,266.

Remember, federal services can be more rewarding but more demanding at the same time. Making comparisons of average pay between these and non-federal workforces will deliver inaccurate results — two distinctive spheres with peculiar duties and tasks. Commonly, the image of experts providing federal services is a skilled, experienced, and well-educated professional who stands out among other rivals in the job market. However, as you can see from the list, there are government jobs that pay well even if your expertise level isn’t at its peak yet.

Wrapping It Up

For people seeking competitive pay, varied career paths, easy entry conditions, work-life balance, and other benefits, becoming a federal worker is the way to go. There are several more of the highest paying govt jobs to choose from, so take your time to locate the right position that matches your interests and passions in the market. 

Since the range of duties is so large, there are great opportunities for both inexperienced students and seasoned talents to take the most out of the government jobs salary database. Don’t miss out on your chance to become one of the highest paid federal employees in the US.

Jim Madson

Jim is an executive resume writer who stays abreast of the newest trends in the employment industry. He develops high-performance federal resumes to build a successful career.