The Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston before the launch of NASA space shuttle Atlantis on July 08, 2011 -- the final launch of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981.
NASA/Getty Images

NASA was ranked the best place to work in the U.S. government out of 16 other large agencies.

The nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group released its annual rankings that measure employee engagement and satisfaction across the federal government's various agencies and departments.

The rankings scored 17 large, 27 midsize and 30 small agencies overall based on employee answers to questions about job satisfaction, recommending their organization to others, and workplace issues.

"The rankings and accompanying data provide a means of holding federal leaders accountable for the health of their organizations," the nonprofit said, adding that the data provides leaders with a roadmap to better manage our government’s most important asset—its employees. "Best-in-class private sector organizations understand that increased employee engagement and satisfaction lead to better performance and outcomes, and federal leaders need to follow suit by placing greater emphasis on improving the workforce and the workplace culture."

In large agencies, NASA came in at No. 1 with an overall engagement and satisfaction score of 84.3 in 2022, followed by the Department of Health and Human Services at No. 2 with 74.3 and the Intelligence Agency at No. 3 with 71.9.

The bottom of the list contained the Department of Justice at No. 15 with 55.3, the Department of Homeland Security at No. 16 with 54.9, and the Social Security Administration at No. 17 with 53. 9.

NASA also came out on top for effective leadership, pay, teamwork, innovation, and diversity.

It's also the 11th year NASA has ranked first place in the best place to work in the federal government rankings.