Customs and Border Protection
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Customs and Border Protection occupation series (code 1895), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 27,421 employees (1.4% of the federal civilian workforce), Customs and Border Protection ranks as a major federal occupation within the Investigation Group family, and headcount edged up from the prior period. Its average salary of n/a pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- +0.6%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 14.7 yrs
- Rank in family
- #4 of 20
FedScope read on Customs and Border Protection (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved up 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. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Investigation Group family (code 18) groups Customs and Border Protection together with 19 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Customs and Border Protection postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Investigation Group family. Across the Investigation Group family, 209,389 employees work in 20 occupations; Customs and Border Protection is 13.1% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among Investigation Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Customs and Border Protection pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Customs and Border Protection ranks on lean federal pay
Customs and Border Protection earns more on average than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Customs and Border Protection sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Customs and Border Protection.
Related Occupations in Investigation Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Inspection and Support | 53,444 | n/a | 9.8 yrs |
| Criminal Investigation | 44,633 | n/a | 14.5 yrs |
| General Inspection, Investigation, Enforcement, and Compliance Series | 44,491 | n/a | 14.8 yrs |
| Border Patrol Enforcement Series | 21,781 | n/a | 13.3 yrs |
| Consumer Safety Inspection | 5,242 | $74,073 | 15.3 yrs |
| Aviation Safety | 4,206 | $143,216 | 15 yrs |
| Investigative Analysis | 2,129 | n/a | 15.9 yrs |
| Import Compliance Series | 1,104 | $126,314 | 16.5 yrs |
| Wage and Hour Investigation Series | 885 | $120,994 | 17.1 yrs |
| Mine Safety and Health Inspection Series | 875 | $112,306 | 13.2 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Customs and Border Protection outside the Investigation 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 (27,421 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Place Customs and Border Protection 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 Investigation Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Customs and Border Protection 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.