Dispatching
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (March 2025), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Dispatching occupation series (code 2151).
The verdict
In the Transportation Group family, Dispatching counts 1,505 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 4.1% from the prior period; pay averages $59,420, which pays below the federal-wide $109,869.
- Employees
- 1,505
- Share of workforce
- 0.1%
- Avg salary
- $59,420
- Avg tenure
- 9 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Dispatching
As of the March 2025 reporting window, 1,505 people work in the Dispatching occupation (OPM code 2151) across federal agencies, 0.1% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -4.1% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Dispatching pays $59,420 per year on average, 45.9% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 3.8% 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 9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 21, the Transportation Group family, is where the federal government classifies Dispatching alongside 18 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Dispatching 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.
Inside the Transportation Group family (19 occupations, 44,430 employees combined), Dispatching holds the #7 spot by headcount, a 3.4% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (11th percentile) of pay among Transportation Group occupations.
Employees
1,505
-4.1% from prior period
Average Salary
$59,420
+3.8%
Avg Length of Service
9 yrs
Occupation Family
Transportation Group
Salary Context
How Dispatching pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Occupation Average
$59,420
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-45.9%
Where Dispatching ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $59,420 is higher than 16% of federal occupation series (99 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Dispatching sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Dispatching ranks higher than 16%.
Related Occupations in Transportation Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Traffic Control | 20,721 | $150,830 | 12.6 yrs |
| Transportation Specialist | 8,729 | $118,970 | 15 yrs |
| Transportation Clerk and Assistant | 3,294 | $57,038 | 8.9 yrs |
| Aircraft Operation | 2,781 | $142,679 | 9.2 yrs |
| Transportation Operations | 2,202 | $99,784 | 13.5 yrs |
| Traffic Management | 1,782 | $96,204 | 13.7 yrs |
| Technical Systems Program Manager | 792 | $188,489 | 23.3 yrs |
| Railroad Safety | 550 | $117,382 | 10.2 yrs |
| Motor Carrier Safety | 511 | $89,300 | 11.3 yrs |
| Aircrew Technician | 462 | $82,511 | 10.1 yrs |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope occupation-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.