Contracting
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Contracting occupation series (code 1102).
The verdict
In the Business and Industry Group family, Contracting counts 30,323 employees, a major federal occupation at 1.6% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined from the prior period; pay averages $132,449, which pays above the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -19.2%
- Pay change
- +0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 14.4 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 25
FedScope read on Contracting (dense series)
Headcount moved down 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. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Business and Industry Group family (code 11) groups Contracting together with 24 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Contracting postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Business and Industry Group family. Contracting makes up 36.1% of the Business and Industry Group family's 83,993 combined employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (74th percentile) of pay among Business and Industry Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Contracting pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$132,449
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+12.9%
Where Contracting ranks on rich federal pay
Contracting earns more on average than 77% of federal occupation series (416 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Contracting sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Contracting.
Related Occupations in Business and Industry Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Business and Industry | 25,675 | $123,489 | 14.9 yrs |
| Production Control | 5,015 | $99,508 | 14.6 yrs |
| Loan Specialist | 3,952 | $95,452 | 12.7 yrs |
| Realty | 3,282 | $112,506 | 15.3 yrs |
| Grants Management | 3,042 | $129,704 | 14.5 yrs |
| Purchasing | 2,225 | $59,039 | 13.1 yrs |
| Internal Revenue Officer | 2,183 | n/a | 14.7 yrs |
| Housing Management | 1,724 | $91,096 | 12.5 yrs |
| Commissary Management | 1,174 | n/a | 19.2 yrs |
| Building Management | 986 | $122,043 | 16.3 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Contracting outside the Business and Industry 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 (30,323 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($132,449 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Contracting pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Business and Industry Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Contracting postings on USAJOBS.
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.