Forestry Technician
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Forestry Technician occupation series (code 0462), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 11,090 employees (0.6% of the federal civilian workforce), Forestry Technician ranks as a mid-sized federal occupation within the Biological Sciences Group family, and headcount declined 8.3% from the prior period. Its average salary of $61,659 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 11,090
- Share of workforce
- 0.6%
- Avg salary
- $61,659
- Avg tenure
- 8.7 yrs
FedScope read on Forestry Technician (dense series)
Federal agencies employ 11,090 people in the Forestry Technician occupation (OPM code 0462), accounting for 0.6% of the total federal civilian workforce of 1,953,300 for the June 2026 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -8.3% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.
The average salary for Forestry Technician is $61,659 per year. Salaries moved down by -2.8% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 8.7 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 04, the Biological Sciences Group family, is where the federal government classifies Forestry Technician alongside 30 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Forestry Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Biological Sciences Group family.
Forestry Technician makes up 16.3% of the 67,961 employees across the Biological Sciences Group family, ranking #2 of 31 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (19th percentile) of pay among Biological Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Forestry Technician pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$61,659
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-47.5%
Where Forestry Technician ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $61,659 is higher than 16% of federal occupation series (87 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Forestry Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Forestry Technician ranks higher than 16%.
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 |
| 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 |
| Ecology | 989 | $122,664 | 16.1 yrs |
| Rangeland Management | 692 | $88,317 | 14.6 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Forestry Technician 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 (11,090 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($61,659 here).
Key takeaways
- Forestry Technician pays below the federal average by 47.5% ($61,659 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 16th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 11,090 employees, 0.6% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 8.3% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Forestry Technician ranks #43 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Forestry Technician makes up 16.3% of the 67,961 employees across the Biological Sciences Group family, ranking #2 of 31 occupations in that family by headcount.
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.