Chaplain
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Chaplain occupation series (code 0060), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, Chaplain counts 1,231 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce; pay averages $104,037, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 11.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #12 of 27
FedScope read on Chaplain (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved sideways versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Chaplain sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 00), which contains 27 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Chaplain postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family. The Miscellaneous Occupations Group family totals 92,278 employees, and Chaplain accounts for 1.3% of them. Its average salary ranks in the top half (57th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Chaplain pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$104,037
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-11.3%
Where Chaplain ranks on federal pay
Chaplain earns more on average than 57% of federal occupation series (306 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Chaplain sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Chaplain.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 15,507 | $125,293 | 15.4 yrs |
| Correctional Officer | 14,821 | n/a | 10.3 yrs |
| Police | 11,883 | n/a | 12.2 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 11,832 | $100,833 | 9.7 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 8,848 | $74,762 | 14.6 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 5,704 | $117,177 | 16.3 yrs |
| Park Ranger | 5,202 | $75,210 | 10.6 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,312 | $57,464 | 11.3 yrs |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 4,157 | $127,481 | 15.2 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,340 | $65,477 | 12.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Chaplain outside the Miscellaneous Occupations 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 (1,231 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($104,037 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Chaplain pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Chaplain postings on USAJOBS.
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.