Government jobs in DFW are overlooked because the base salary is below market. But when you add benefits, the total comp tells a different story.
City of Dallas:
- IT roles: $65-95K base
- Planning/engineering: $60-90K base
- Benefits: Dallas Employee Retirement Fund (pension), health insurance, 10 holidays + PTO
- Pension value: ~$500K+ over a career (defined benefit)
- Job security: Extremely high. Layoffs are rare.
Dallas County:
- Analyst roles: $55-80K base
- Benefits: County pension (TCDRS), health insurance
- Parkland Hospital employees: county benefits + Parkland-specific perks
Federal jobs in DFW:
- IRS campus (Austin, but remote for DFW residents)
- FAA Southwest Regional HQ (Fort Worth) — $70-120K for professional roles
- USPS — mail carriers start at $51K, supervisors $65-80K
- VA Medical Center (Dallas) — healthcare roles with federal benefits
- Federal benefits: FERS pension + TSP (federal 401K with 5% match) + FEHB health insurance
State of Texas:
- TxDOT DFW district: Engineers $70-100K, project managers $80-110K
- TEA (Texas Education Agency) — remote-friendly for DFW residents
- Benefits: ERS pension, state health insurance ($0 premium for employee-only)
The total comp calculation:
- Example: City of Dallas IT role at $80K base
- Pension value: ~$15K/year in employer contribution
- Health insurance: $8K/year employer contribution
- Job security premium: priceless
- Effective total comp: ~$103K+ with stability corporate jobs can't match
Sources:
- City of Dallas — salary schedules (public record)
- USAJobs.gov — federal job postings
- Texas Workforce Commission — state salary data
- OPM — federal pay scales (GS schedule, DFW locality adjustment)
- FERS/TCDRS — pension calculators