Archives Technician
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Archives Technician occupation series (code 1421): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 1,284 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce), Archives Technician ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Library and Archives Group family, and headcount grew 0.5% from the prior period. Its average salary of $68,544 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 1,284
- Share of workforce
- 0.1%
- Avg salary
- $68,544
- Avg tenure
- 14 yrs
FedScope read on Archives Technician (dense series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 1,284 people work in the Archives Technician occupation (OPM code 1421) across federal agencies, 0.1% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved up by 0.5% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Archives Technician pays $68,544 per year on average, moving down -0.2% from the prior period (a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change). Employees in this role stay an average of 14 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Library and Archives Group family (code 14) groups Archives Technician together with 5 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Archives Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Library and Archives Group family.
Within the Library and Archives Group family, Archives Technician is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 39.4% of the family's combined 3,259 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among Library and Archives Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Archives Technician pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$68,544
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-41.6%
Where Archives Technician ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $68,544 is higher than 24% of federal occupation series (130 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Archives Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Archives Technician ranks higher than 24%.
Related Occupations in Library and Archives Group
5 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Librarian | 660 | $129,880 | 15.7 yrs |
| Archivist | 571 | $121,113 | 15.8 yrs |
| Technical Information Services | 483 | $128,567 | 16.8 yrs |
| Library Technician | 260 | $70,783 | 16.4 yrs |
| Library and Archives Student Trainee | 1 | n/a | 1.8 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Archives Technician outside the Library and Archives 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 (1,284 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($68,544 here).
Key takeaways
- Archives Technician pays below the federal average by 41.6% ($68,544 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 24th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 1,284 employees, 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 0.5% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Archives Technician ranks #187 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Library and Archives Group family, Archives Technician is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 39.4% of the family's combined 3,259 employees.
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.