Correctional Officer
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Correctional Officer occupation series (code 0007): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, Correctional Officer counts 14,821 employees, a mid-sized federal occupation at 0.8% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 0.8% from the prior period; pay averages n/a, which pays below the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 14,821
- Share of workforce
- 0.8%
- Avg salary
- n/a
- Avg tenure
- 10.3 yrs
FedScope read on Correctional Officer (dense series)
0.8% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Correctional Officer occupation (OPM code 0007): 14,821 people, headcount up 0.8% 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 Correctional Officer is n/a per year. Salaries moved down by 0.0% 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 10.3 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Correctional Officer sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 00), which contains 27 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Correctional Officer postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family.
Correctional Officer makes up 16.1% of the 92,278 employees across the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, ranking #2 of 27 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Correctional Officer pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Correctional Officer ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of n/a is higher than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Correctional Officer sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Correctional Officer ranks higher than 0%.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 15,507 | $125,293 | 15.4 yrs |
| Police | 11,883 | n/a | 12.2 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 11,832 | $100,833 | 9.7 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 8,848 | $74,762 | 14.6 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 5,704 | $117,177 | 16.3 yrs |
| Park Ranger | 5,202 | $75,210 | 10.6 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,312 | $57,464 | 11.3 yrs |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 4,157 | $127,481 | 15.2 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,340 | $65,477 | 12.7 yrs |
| Correctional Institution Administration | 1,677 | $122,358 | 19.4 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Correctional Officer outside the Miscellaneous Occupations 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 (14,821 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Correctional Officer pays below the federal average by 100.0% (n/a vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 0th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 14,821 employees, 0.8% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 0.8% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Correctional Officer ranks #30 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Correctional Officer makes up 16.1% of the 92,278 employees across the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, ranking #2 of 27 occupations in that family by headcount.
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.