Foreign Affairs

What the Numbers Say About Foreign Affairs

0.2% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Foreign Affairs occupation (OPM code 130): 3,843 people, headcount down -3.9% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Average tenure in Foreign Affairs runs 12 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $148,817 per year, 35.4% above the $109,869 federal civilian average and down -0.5% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.

The Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (code 1) groups Foreign Affairs together with 27 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Foreign Affairs 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 Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (28 occupations, 113,996 employees combined), Foreign Affairs holds the #7 spot by headcount, a 3.4% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (89th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.