Chaplain
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Chaplain occupation series (code 60), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (March 2025).
The verdict
In the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, Chaplain counts 1,323 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 1.2% from the prior period; pay averages $99,964, which pays below the federal-wide $109,869.
- Employees
- 1,323
- Share of workforce
- 0.1%
- Avg salary
- $99,964
- Avg tenure
- 8.7 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Chaplain
0.1% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Chaplain occupation (OPM code 60): 1,323 people, headcount down -1.2% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Chaplain pays $99,964 per year on average, 9.0% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 1.7% from the prior period (a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement). Employees in this role stay an average of 8.7 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Chaplain sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 0), which contains 26 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Chaplain 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 Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, Chaplain ranks #12 of 26 by headcount, accounting for 1.3% of the family's combined 105,611 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (65th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.
Employees
1,323
-1.2% from prior period
Average Salary
$99,964
+1.7%
Avg Length of Service
8.7 yrs
Occupation Family
Miscellaneous Occupations Group
Salary Context
How Chaplain pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Occupation Average
$99,964
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-9.0%
Where Chaplain ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $99,964 is higher than 62% of federal occupation series (394 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Chaplain sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Chaplain ranks higher than 62%.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 20,053 | $115,362 | 12.4 yrs |
| Correctional Officer | 15,996 | $72,749 | 9.1 yrs |
| Police | 13,676 | $80,813 | 9.6 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 13,667 | $95,989 | 7.5 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 9,509 | $67,840 | 11.7 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 6,680 | $110,678 | 13.8 yrs |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 5,807 | $117,989 | 13.5 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,887 | $55,256 | 7.9 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,994 | $60,589 | 10.2 yrs |
| Park Ranger | 3,762 | $85,055 | 14.1 yrs |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope occupation-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.