Consumer Safety

What the Numbers Say About Consumer Safety

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 3,635 people work in the Consumer Safety occupation (OPM code 696) across federal agencies, 0.2% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -1.1% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

The average salary for Consumer Safety is $135,711 per year, placing it 23.5% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.7% 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 14.6 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Consumer Safety sits inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 6), which contains 45 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Consumer Safety 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.

Consumer Safety makes up 1.0% of the 356,984 employees across the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, ranking #18 of 45 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (82nd percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.