Auditing

What the Numbers Say About Auditing

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 11,094 people work in the Auditing occupation (OPM code 511) across federal agencies, 0.5% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -2.0% from the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.

Average tenure in Auditing runs 14.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $127,647 per year, 16.2% above the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 2.6% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce.

Code 5, the Accounting and Budget Group family, is where the federal government classifies Auditing alongside 17 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Auditing 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.

Auditing makes up 8.9% of the 124,386 employees across the Accounting and Budget Group family, ranking #6 of 18 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (78th percentile) of pay among Accounting and Budget Group occupations.