Chemical Engineering
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Chemical Engineering occupation series (code 0893).
The verdict
Chemical Engineering is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 784 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Engineering and Architecture Group family. At an average salary of $149,951 it pays well above the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 3.1% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 784
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $149,951
- Avg tenure
- 13.8 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Chemical Engineering
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Chemical Engineering occupation (OPM code 0893): 784 people, headcount down -3.1% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Average tenure in Chemical Engineering 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 $149,951 per year, up 0.5% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.
Chemical Engineering sits inside the Engineering and Architecture Group family (code 08), which contains 29 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Chemical Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family.
Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Chemical Engineering ranks #19 of 29 by headcount, accounting for 0.7% of the family's combined 120,278 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (67th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Chemical Engineering pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$149,951
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+27.8%
Where Chemical Engineering ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $149,951 is higher than 88% of federal occupation series (477 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Chemical Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Chemical Engineering ranks higher than 88%.
Related Occupations in Engineering and Architecture Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Engineering | 27,619 | $158,941 | 16.9 yrs |
| Engineering Technical | 14,443 | $93,062 | 15.2 yrs |
| Mechanical Engineering | 12,920 | $136,601 | 11.9 yrs |
| Electronics Engineering | 12,889 | $155,270 | 16.8 yrs |
| Civil Engineering | 10,260 | $124,230 | 14.7 yrs |
| Aerospace Engineering | 8,359 | $155,848 | 14.8 yrs |
| Electronics Technical | 7,298 | $103,713 | 15.6 yrs |
| Electrical Engineering | 5,231 | $142,419 | 13.5 yrs |
| Computer Engineering | 3,753 | $160,672 | 14.2 yrs |
| Nuclear Engineering | 2,813 | n/a | 13.5 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Chemical Engineering outside the Engineering and Architecture Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (784 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($149,951 here).
Key takeaways
- Chemical Engineering pays well above the federal average by 27.8% ($149,951 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 88th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 784 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 3.1% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Chemical Engineering ranks #237 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Chemical Engineering ranks #19 of 29 by headcount, accounting for 0.7% of the family's combined 120,278 employees.
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.