Environmental Protection Specialist
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Environmental Protection Specialist occupation series (code 0028), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Environmental Protection Specialist is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 4,157 employees (0.2% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family. At an average salary of $127,481 it pays above the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 4.6% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 4,157
- Share of workforce
- 0.2%
- Avg salary
- $127,481
- Avg tenure
- 15.2 yrs
FedScope read on Environmental Protection Specialist (dense series)
0.2% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Environmental Protection Specialist occupation (OPM code 0028): 4,157 people, headcount down -4.6% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Environmental Protection Specialist pays $127,481 per year on average, moving up 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 15.2 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Environmental Protection Specialist sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 00), which contains 27 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Environmental Protection Specialist postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family.
Inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (27 occupations, 92,278 employees combined), Environmental Protection Specialist holds the #9 spot by headcount, a 4.5% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (76th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Environmental Protection Specialist pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$127,481
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+8.6%
Where Environmental Protection Specialist ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $127,481 is higher than 73% of federal occupation series (396 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Environmental Protection Specialist sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Environmental Protection Specialist ranks higher than 73%.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 15,507 | $125,293 | 15.4 yrs |
| Correctional Officer | 14,821 | n/a | 10.3 yrs |
| Police | 11,883 | n/a | 12.2 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 11,832 | $100,833 | 9.7 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 8,848 | $74,762 | 14.6 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 5,704 | $117,177 | 16.3 yrs |
| Park Ranger | 5,202 | $75,210 | 10.6 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,312 | $57,464 | 11.3 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,340 | $65,477 | 12.7 yrs |
| Correctional Institution Administration | 1,677 | $122,358 | 19.4 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Environmental Protection Specialist outside the Miscellaneous Occupations 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 (4,157 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($127,481 here).
Key takeaways
- Environmental Protection Specialist pays above the federal average by 8.6% ($127,481 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 73rd percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 4,157 employees, 0.2% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 4.6% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Environmental Protection Specialist ranks #99 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (27 occupations, 92,278 employees combined), Environmental Protection Specialist holds the #9 spot by headcount, a 4.5% share of the family total.
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.