Of the region’s large duty-station counties, only Alexandria gained
| County | Jan 2020 | Sep 2024 | Jan 2025 | Sep 2025 | May 2026 | Change | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia, DC | 129,699 | 123,552 | 121,033 | 114,290 | 96,565 | −24,468 | −20.2 |
| Montgomery, MD | 41,583 | 42,961 | 43,211 | 35,318 | 33,061 | −10,150 | −23.5 |
| Prince George’s, MD | 18,755 | 22,654 | 22,601 | 20,585 | 16,742 | −5,859 | −25.9 |
| Baltimore, MD | 18,784 | 19,677 | 19,623 | 17,592 | 16,364 | −3,259 | −16.6 |
| Fairfax, VA | 4,268 | 9,793 | 10,950 | 9,161 | 7,762 | −3,188 | −29.1 |
| Richmond, VA | 4,938 | 5,568 | 5,536 | 5,424 | 5,053 | −483 | −8.7 |
| Alexandria, VA | 9,941 | 5,024 | 4,906 | 5,525 | 7,671 | 2,765 | 56.4 |
| Arlington, VA | 6,464 | 4,299 | 4,313 | 3,509 | 2,752 | −1,561 | −36.2 |
| Hampton, VA | 4,165 | 4,362 | 4,245 | 4,343 | 3,809 | −436 | −10.3 |
| Anne Arundel, MD | 2,066 | 3,974 | 3,980 | 3,119 | 2,753 | −1,227 | −30.8 |
| Loudoun, VA | 2,030 | 3,300 | 3,378 | 2,804 | 2,375 | −1,003 | −29.7 |
| Berkeley, WV | 2,696 | 3,105 | 3,087 | 2,900 | 2,722 | −365 | −11.8 |
| Frederick, MD | 1,257 | 2,490 | 2,536 | 2,007 | 1,707 | −829 | −32.7 |
| Wood, WV | 2,307 | 2,084 | 2,071 | 2,071 | 1,697 | −374 | −18.1 |
| Salem, VA | 2,085 | 1,972 | 1,973 | 1,935 | 1,861 | −112 | −5.7 |
| Prince William, VA | 377 | 1,913 | 1,959 | 1,200 | 860 | −1,099 | −56.1 |
| Howard, MD | 278 | 1,607 | 1,864 | 1,254 | 1,039 | −825 | −44.3 |
| Jefferson, WV | 1,377 | 1,702 | 1,719 | 1,632 | 1,318 | −401 | −23.3 |
| Raleigh, WV | 1,396 | 1,627 | 1,600 | 1,546 | 1,411 | −189 | −11.8 |
| Wayne, WV | 1,388 | 1,604 | 1,595 | 1,540 | 1,485 | −110 | −6.9 |
| Charles, MD | 105 | 1,527 | 1,594 | 813 | 549 | −1,045 | −65.6 |
| Winchester, VA | 1,198 | 1,378 | 1,456 | 1,378 | 1,209 | −247 | −17 |
Source. OPM Federal Workforce Data, EHRI Status snapshots, duty-station county (published records only). January 2020 – May 2026.
Method and data
Method. The 22 duty-station counties and independent cities in the District, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia with the most employees in January 2025. OPM redacts location for employees in sensitive positions — about 46% of records, concentrated in Defense, Homeland Security and Justice — so these counts cover only the records with a published location and understate every county.
Download CSV. Data and chart licensed CC BY 4.0.
Higgins Strategy. “Of the region’s large duty-station counties, only Alexandria gained” Exhibit 10, Every Federal Job (Study VIII). October 12, 2026. https://higginsstrategy.com/charts/08-duty-station-counties/