Archives Technician

What the Numbers Say About Archives Technician

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 1,456 people work in the Archives Technician occupation (OPM code 1421) across federal agencies, 0.1% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -3.1% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Archives Technician pays $65,259 per year on average, 40.6% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 4.6% from the prior period (a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce). Employees in this role stay an average of 11.7 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 4 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Archives Technician 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.

Within the Library and Archives Group family, Archives Technician is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 36.7% of the family's combined 3,964 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (20th percentile) of pay among Library and Archives Group occupations.