Civil Engineering
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Civil Engineering occupation series (code 0810): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Civil Engineering counts 10,260 employees, a mid-sized federal occupation at 0.5% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.4% from the prior period; pay averages $124,230, which pays near the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 10,260
- Share of workforce
- 0.5%
- Avg salary
- $124,230
- Avg tenure
- 14.7 yrs
FedScope read on Civil Engineering (dense series)
Federal agencies employ 10,260 people in the Civil Engineering occupation (OPM code 0810), accounting for 0.5% of the total federal civilian workforce of 1,953,300 for the June 2026 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.4% 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.
The average salary for Civil Engineering is $124,230 per year. Salaries moved up by 0.3% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. Average length of service in this role is 14.7 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Engineering and Architecture Group family (code 08) groups Civil Engineering together with 28 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Civil Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family.
Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Civil Engineering ranks #5 of 29 by headcount, accounting for 8.5% of the family's combined 120,278 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (30th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Civil Engineering pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$124,230
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+5.9%
Where Civil Engineering ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $124,230 is higher than 70% of federal occupation series (381 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Civil Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Civil Engineering ranks higher than 70%.
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 |
| 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 |
| Environmental Engineering | 2,429 | $139,024 | 17 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Civil Engineering outside the Engineering and Architecture 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 (10,260 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($124,230 here).
Key takeaways
- Civil Engineering pays near the federal average by 5.9% ($124,230 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 70th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 10,260 employees, 0.5% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.4% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Civil Engineering ranks #46 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Civil Engineering ranks #5 of 29 by headcount, accounting for 8.5% 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.