Dental Hygiene

What the Numbers Say About Dental Hygiene

0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Dental Hygiene occupation (OPM code 682): 918 people, headcount up 0.1% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Dental Hygiene pays $82,768 per year on average, 24.7% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 2.7% from the prior period (a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce). Employees in this role stay an average of 7.8 years, a comparatively short average tenure, which can reflect faster turnover, a competitive private-sector alternative, or a newer program still building up its workforce.

Dental Hygiene sits inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 6), which contains 45 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Dental Hygiene postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

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 356,984 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (36th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.