Border Patrol Enforcement Series

What the Numbers Say About Border Patrol Enforcement Series

Federal agencies employ 19,250 people in the Border Patrol Enforcement Series occupation (OPM code 1896), accounting for 0.8% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved up by 0.5% versus 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 Border Patrol Enforcement Series runs 13.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $107,411 per year, 2.2% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 1.5% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.

Border Patrol Enforcement Series sits inside the Investigation Group family (code 18), which contains 20 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Border Patrol Enforcement Series 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.

Border Patrol Enforcement Series makes up 9.1% of the 211,925 employees across the Investigation Group family, ranking #5 of 20 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (25th percentile) of pay among Investigation Group occupations.