General Health Science
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the General Health Science occupation series (code 0601), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, General Health Science counts 17,434 employees, a mid-sized federal occupation at 0.9% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $133,765, which pays above the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.3%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 11.9 yrs
- Rank in family
- #4 of 45
FedScope read on General Health Science (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down 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. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
General Health Science sits inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 06), which contains 45 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for General Health Science postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. The Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family totals 339,162 employees, and General Health Science accounts for 5.1% of them. Its average salary ranks in the top half (78th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How General Health Science pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$133,765
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+14.0%
Where General Health Science ranks on rich federal pay
General Health Science earns more on average than 78% of federal occupation series (421 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where General Health Science sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks General Health Science.
Related Occupations in Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse | 106,218 | $132,267 | 10.2 yrs |
| Medical Support Assistance | 39,856 | $58,279 | 8.2 yrs |
| Medical Officer | 34,687 | $301,569 | 11.6 yrs |
| Practical Nurse | 16,755 | $75,898 | 10.4 yrs |
| Pharmacist | 14,529 | $167,390 | 11.1 yrs |
| Nursing Assistant | 14,498 | $55,851 | 7.8 yrs |
| Health Aid and Technician | 12,490 | $61,276 | 10.8 yrs |
| Health System Specialist | 7,966 | $110,534 | 15.9 yrs |
| Pharmacy Technician | 7,658 | $70,794 | 9.5 yrs |
| Medical Technologist | 6,123 | $117,456 | 12.2 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for General Health Science outside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health 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 (17,434 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($133,765 here).
Key takeaways
- Place General Health Science 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 Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family occupations in the table above, or search current General Health Science 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.