How many USDA workers are moving to Kansas City? Here’s what we know

As part of a sweeping restructuring plan aimed at reducing the number of employees on the federal government’s payroll and the taxpayer money spent on remaining employees’ salaries, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is relocating some workers currently based in Washington, D.C. to Kansas City and four other cities across the country.

The changes are part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to cut down and streamline the federal workforce.

By moving jobs to cities outside of Washington, the government will get to pay lower salaries to reflect lower costs of living. Those are mapped out in the government’s salary schedule. For example, an employee with a master’s degree starting out in the schedule’s first “step” would be paid about $69,000 a year in Washington and about $62,000 a year in Kansas City. 

How many jobs are coming to KC

Based on this week’s memo from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, it seems like the agency’s restructuring will move a couple thousand already existing jobs from Washington to Kansas City and four other locations, not add new jobs. 

It’s unclear how many of these jobs will be moved to KC. As many as 2,600 positions could be removed from Washington offices and could be split among the agency’s five newly identified “hub cities,” including KC. The memo suggests positions could also be consolidated. 

Rollins said the agency will be notifying employees about how the changes will affect them in the coming months. 

Also still unclear is how many of the workers who receive assignments in Kansas City will actually move here. When the agency attempted a similar move during President Donald Trump’s first term and moved two USDA research agencies to KC, it experienced years of reduced staffing and productivity, with hundreds of positions vacant more than a year after the move. 

Fewer USDA employees

In her announcement, Rollins said that more than 15,000 USDA employees opted into the government’s deferred resignation program, meaning they will leave the agency later this year. 

That’s about a 15% reduction in the agency’s overall workforce. According to the USDA’s site, it employs about 100,000 people. 

The USDA deals with livestock and agriculture, food safety, managing national forests, wildfires and addressing hunger. 

The Star inquired about the current number of USDA employees working here in Kansas City but did not hear back ahead of publication time. 

This story was originally published July 27, 2025 at 6:00 AM.