Gardening

What the Numbers Say About Gardening

Federal agencies employ 500 people in the Gardening occupation (OPM code 5003), accounting for 0.0% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -6.4% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

The average salary for Gardening is $65,424 per year, placing it 40.5% below the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 3.2% 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 10.2 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

The Plant and Animal Work Family family (code 50) groups Gardening together with 5 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Gardening 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.

Within the Plant and Animal Work Family family, Gardening is the single largest occupation by headcount, accounting for 32.6% of the family's combined 1,533 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (33rd percentile) of pay among Plant and Animal Work Family occupations.