Approximately 17,000 federal government employees made more than $200,000 last year, according to new data compiled by a site that tracks federal spending.
A partial database compiled by the website FedsDataCenter.com shows that 16,900 federal workers — or 1.6 percent of the federal workforce — eclipsed that lofty earning threshold, the website Government Executive reported.
That is up from the approximately 15,000 federal workers who attained this level of comfort in 2013 — a 13 percent increase.
Most of the high-earners in the database are doctors working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Many also work in specialized fields in other agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Government Executive noted.
The number of workers surpassing that income level is likely to be higher than 17,000 since information for Defense Department employees is not included. It also does not contain incomes for White House employees. The overall incomes for the high-earning workers are likely to be larger as well, as the database does not track bonus pay.
Two VA doctors, one in Palo Alto, Calif. and the other in Pittsburgh, Pa., made more than $400,000 last year. And over 1,700 made more than $300,000 during the same period, according to Government Executive.
In 2013, only the doctor in Pittsburgh made more than $400,000. And only 1,200 federal employees made more than $300,000.
The elite earners raked in approximately $5 billion in income, according to a rough calculation.