A new report that scrutinizes the payroll for 2 million federal employees found that in many departments and agencies the average annual wage is more than $100,000.

A nonprofit research group, OpenTheBooks.com, said that at 78 of the 122 agencies it studied, the average employee compensation exceeded six figures in fiscal year 2016. Overall, nearly 407,000 federal workers, roughly one in five, exceeds the $100,000 mark.

In addition, Open The Books discovered that during the 6-year period from FY2010-16, federal employees making $200,000 or more grew by 165 percent. Nearly 30,000 workers out-earned each of the 50 state governors, receiving more than $190,000.

Though few federal workers receive bonuses, three departments – Homeland Security, Transportation and Commerce – each awarded more than $50 million in bonus pay in FY2016.

Based on a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request, the report details the public data available for 1.97 million employees, who earn combined pay and bonuses of $136 billion. But Open The Books was blocked from payroll information for another 2 million people at the Department of Defense or on active military duty.

“Congress should hold hearings to bring transparency to all the information we’re still missing, including performance bonuses and pension payouts,” said Adam Andrzejewski, OpenTheBooks.com CEO and founder.

According to Andrzejewski, the Pentagon-related cash compensation, combined with $1 billion in undisclosed bonuses and $125 billion in hidden pension data, amounts to approximately $221 billion in undisclosed compensation per year.

Beyond the defense workforce, the two largest agencies, the U.S. Postal Service and the VA, employ more than half of the employees for which there is compensation information. The USPS employs 32 percent (621,000 workers) and the VA stands at 19 percent (372,000) workers.

Here are some of the more unusual aspects of what Open The Books found:

  • The federal government employs 260 “sports specialists” who organize and conduct group physical activities. The five highest-paid sports specialists, earning salaries between $102,000 and $140,000, work for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, which falls under the Department of Transportation, in Kings Point, N.Y.
  • Of the 570 employees who work in entomology – the study of insects – 45 percent receive six-figure salaries.
  • The 178 photographers on the federal payroll include some who apparently conduct secretive work. Of the five best-paid, with compensation between $124,000 and $17,000, four had their names withheld from the FOIA response received by Open The Books, as they worked for the FBI or Homeland Security.
  • More than 3,600 employees work in public relations and marketing, putting the best face on the federal government and receiving an average salary of $101,000 in the process. The top PR guy is the “chief marketing and sales officer” for the Postal Service, who is paid a bit more than $250,000 a year.

 

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