Custodial Working
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Custodial Working occupation series (code 3566): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 12,122 employees (0.6% of the federal civilian workforce), Custodial Working ranks as a mid-sized federal occupation within the General Services and Support Work Family family, and headcount declined 0.2% from the prior period. Its average salary of $47,108 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 12,122
- Share of workforce
- 0.6%
- Avg salary
- $47,108
- Avg tenure
- 8.9 yrs
FedScope read on Custodial Working (dense series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 12,122 people work in the Custodial Working occupation (OPM code 3566) across federal agencies, 0.6% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -0.2% from 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.
Custodial Working pays $47,108 per year on average, moving up 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). Employees in this role stay an average of 8.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 35, the General Services and Support Work Family family, is where the federal government classifies Custodial Working alongside 4 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Custodial Working postings should also review these sibling occupations in the General Services and Support Work Family family.
Inside the General Services and Support Work Family family (5 occupations, 14,196 employees combined), Custodial Working holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 85.4% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among General Services and Support Work Family occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Custodial Working pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$47,108
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-59.9%
Where Custodial Working ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $47,108 is higher than 4% of federal occupation series (22 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Custodial Working sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Custodial Working ranks higher than 4%.
Related Occupations in General Services and Support Work Family
4 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laboring | 1,663 | $48,277 | 6.3 yrs |
| Misc General Services and Support Work | 371 | $51,243 | 6 yrs |
| Laboratory Working | 23 | $50,290 | 10.5 yrs |
| Railroad Repairing | 17 | n/a | 4.8 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Custodial Working outside the General Services and Support Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (12,122 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($47,108 here).
Key takeaways
- Custodial Working pays below the federal average by 59.9% ($47,108 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 4th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 12,122 employees, 0.6% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.2% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Custodial Working ranks #40 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the General Services and Support Work Family family (5 occupations, 14,196 employees combined), Custodial Working holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 85.4% share of the family total.
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.