Dental Hygiene
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Dental Hygiene occupation series (code 0682): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Dental Hygiene is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 896 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. At an average salary of $88,799 it pays below the federal average of $117,339, and headcount grew 0.2% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 896
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $88,799
- Avg tenure
- 9.8 yrs
FedScope read on Dental Hygiene (dense series)
0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Dental Hygiene occupation (OPM code 0682): 896 people, headcount up 0.2% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Dental Hygiene pays $88,799 per year on average, moving down -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 9.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Dental Hygiene sits inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 06), which contains 45 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Dental Hygiene postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family.
Within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Dental Hygiene ranks #30 of 45 by headcount, accounting for 0.3% of the family's combined 339,162 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (36th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Dental Hygiene pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$88,799
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-24.3%
Where Dental Hygiene ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $88,799 is higher than 44% of federal occupation series (240 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Dental Hygiene sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Dental Hygiene ranks higher than 44%.
Related Occupations in Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse | 106,218 | $132,267 | 10.2 yrs |
| Medical Support Assistance | 39,856 | $58,279 | 8.2 yrs |
| Medical Officer | 34,687 | $301,569 | 11.6 yrs |
| General Health Science | 17,434 | $133,765 | 11.9 yrs |
| Practical Nurse | 16,755 | $75,898 | 10.4 yrs |
| Pharmacist | 14,529 | $167,390 | 11.1 yrs |
| Nursing Assistant | 14,498 | $55,851 | 7.8 yrs |
| Health Aid and Technician | 12,490 | $61,276 | 10.8 yrs |
| Health System Specialist | 7,966 | $110,534 | 15.9 yrs |
| Pharmacy Technician | 7,658 | $70,794 | 9.5 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Dental Hygiene outside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health 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 (896 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($88,799 here).
Key takeaways
- Dental Hygiene pays below the federal average by 24.3% ($88,799 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 44th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 896 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 0.2% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Dental Hygiene ranks #222 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Dental Hygiene ranks #30 of 45 by headcount, accounting for 0.3% of the family's combined 339,162 employees.
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.