Administrative Law Judge

What the Numbers Say About Administrative Law Judge

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 1,384 people work in the Administrative Law Judge occupation (OPM code 935) across federal agencies, 0.1% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -5.5% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Average tenure in Administrative Law Judge runs 20.1 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Pay averages $205,877 per year, 87.4% above the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 2.0% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.

Code 9, 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, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Inside the Legal and Kindred Group family (18 occupations, 133,580 employees combined), Administrative Law Judge holds the #10 spot by headcount, a 1.0% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (94th percentile) of pay among Legal and Kindred Group occupations.