Ecology
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Ecology occupation series (code 0408), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Biological Sciences Group family, Ecology counts 989 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce; pay averages $122,664, which pays near the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 16.1 yrs
- Rank in family
- #10 of 31
FedScope read on Ecology (dense series)
Headcount moved sideways versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Ecology sits inside the Biological Sciences Group family (code 04), which contains 31 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Ecology postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Biological Sciences Group family. Across the Biological Sciences Group family, 67,961 employees work in 31 occupations; Ecology is 1.5% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (58th percentile) of pay among Biological Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Ecology pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$122,664
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+4.5%
Where Ecology ranks on rich federal pay
Ecology earns more on average than 69% of federal occupation series (375 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Ecology sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Ecology.
Related Occupations in Biological Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences | 23,662 | $124,641 | 14 yrs |
| Forestry Technician | 11,090 | $61,659 | 8.7 yrs |
| Wildland Fire Management | 9,667 | $64,457 | 7 yrs |
| Biological Science Technician | 5,212 | $56,618 | 8.9 yrs |
| Soil Conservation | 4,101 | $89,391 | 13.8 yrs |
| Wildlife Biology | 1,868 | $95,468 | 16.3 yrs |
| Fish Biology | 1,629 | $116,550 | 16.2 yrs |
| Microbiology | 1,629 | $143,306 | 16.3 yrs |
| Forestry | 1,626 | $88,902 | 15.1 yrs |
| Rangeland Management | 692 | $88,317 | 14.6 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Ecology outside the Biological Sciences 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 (989 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($122,664 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Ecology 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 Biological Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Ecology 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.