Computer Science

What the Numbers Say About Computer Science

0.5% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Computer Science occupation (OPM code 1550): 11,390 people, headcount up 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.

The average salary for Computer Science is $126,972 per year, placing it 15.6% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.3% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 9.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Computer Science sits inside the Mathematics and Statistics Group family (code 15), which contains 10 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Computer Science 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.

Inside the Mathematics and Statistics Group family (10 occupations, 26,507 employees combined), Computer Science holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 43.0% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (20th percentile) of pay among Mathematics and Statistics Group occupations.