General Investigation
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the General Investigation occupation series (code 1810): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
General Investigation is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 770 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Investigation Group family. At an average salary of n/a it pays below the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -67.9%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 19.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #12 of 20
What the Numbers Say About General Investigation
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. 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.
The Investigation Group family (code 18) groups General Investigation together with 19 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for General Investigation postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Investigation Group family. General Investigation makes up 0.4% of the Investigation Group family's 209,389 combined employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among Investigation Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How General Investigation pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where General Investigation ranks on lean federal pay
General Investigation earns more on average than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where General Investigation sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks General Investigation.
Related Occupations in Investigation Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Inspection and Support | 53,444 | n/a | 9.8 yrs |
| Criminal Investigation | 44,633 | n/a | 14.5 yrs |
| General Inspection, Investigation, Enforcement, and Compliance Series | 44,491 | n/a | 14.8 yrs |
| Customs and Border Protection | 27,421 | n/a | 14.7 yrs |
| Border Patrol Enforcement Series | 21,781 | n/a | 13.3 yrs |
| Consumer Safety Inspection | 5,242 | $74,073 | 15.3 yrs |
| Aviation Safety | 4,206 | $143,216 | 15 yrs |
| Investigative Analysis | 2,129 | n/a | 15.9 yrs |
| Import Compliance Series | 1,104 | $126,314 | 16.5 yrs |
| Wage and Hour Investigation Series | 885 | $120,994 | 17.1 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for General Investigation outside the Investigation Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (770 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Place General Investigation 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 Investigation Group family occupations in the table above, or search current General Investigation 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.