Administrative Law Judge
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Administrative Law Judge occupation series (code 0935), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Administrative Law Judge is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 1,189 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Legal and Kindred Group family. At an average salary of $208,642 it pays well above the federal average of $117,339, and headcount grew 1.3% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 1,189
- Share of workforce
- 0.1%
- Avg salary
- $208,642
- Avg tenure
- 20.7 yrs
FedScope read on Administrative Law Judge (dense series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 1,189 people work in the Administrative Law Judge occupation (OPM code 0935) across federal agencies, 0.1% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved up by 1.3% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Average tenure in Administrative Law Judge runs 20.7 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Pay averages $208,642 per year, up 0.0% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Code 09, the Legal and Kindred Group family, is where the federal government classifies Administrative Law Judge alongside 17 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Administrative Law Judge postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Legal and Kindred Group family.
Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 110,958 employees combined), Administrative Law Judge holds the #10 spot by headcount, a 1.1% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (94th percentile) of pay among Legal and Kindred Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Administrative Law Judge pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$208,642
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+77.8%
Where Administrative Law Judge ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $208,642 is higher than 99% of federal occupation series (535 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Administrative Law Judge sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Administrative Law Judge ranks higher than 99%.
Related Occupations in Legal and Kindred Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Attorney | 35,986 | $177,921 | 13.6 yrs |
| Contact Representative | 29,201 | $64,454 | 9.3 yrs |
| Veterans Claims Examining | 18,099 | $92,511 | 13.3 yrs |
| General Legal and Kindred Administration | 8,711 | $82,876 | 12.3 yrs |
| Paralegal Specialist | 5,165 | $107,719 | 15.8 yrs |
| Legal Assistance | 3,326 | $69,159 | 12.5 yrs |
| Hearings and Appeals | 3,231 | n/a | 15.9 yrs |
| Passport and Visa Examining | 2,035 | $92,682 | 11.3 yrs |
| Legal Instruments Examining | 1,261 | $73,021 | 11.7 yrs |
| Claims Assistance and Examining | 925 | $67,330 | 18.9 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Administrative Law Judge outside the Legal and Kindred Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (1,189 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($208,642 here).
Key takeaways
- Administrative Law Judge pays well above the federal average by 77.8% ($208,642 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 99th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 1,189 employees, 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 1.3% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Administrative Law Judge ranks #197 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 110,958 employees combined), Administrative Law Judge holds the #10 spot by headcount, a 1.1% share of the family total.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.