Geodesy
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Geodesy occupation series (code 1372): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Geodesy is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 54 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Physical Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $157,788 it pays well above the federal average, and headcount grew from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- +1.9%
- Pay change
- -0.4%
- Avg tenure
- 16.1 yrs
- Rank in family
- #21 of 25
FedScope read on Geodesy (thin series)
Headcount moved up versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. Pay moved down between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
The Physical Sciences Group family (code 13) groups Geodesy together with 24 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Geodesy postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. Geodesy makes up 0.2% of the Physical Sciences Group family's 26,960 combined employees.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Geodesy pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$157,788
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+34.5%
Where Geodesy ranks on rich federal pay
Geodesy earns more on average than 92% of federal occupation series (498 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Geodesy sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Geodesy.
Related Occupations in Physical Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Physical Science | 8,297 | $145,078 | 14.6 yrs |
| Chemistry | 4,440 | $149,099 | 14.9 yrs |
| Meteorology | 2,494 | $123,942 | 15.9 yrs |
| Physics | 2,009 | $174,005 | 15.9 yrs |
| Physical Science Technician | 1,577 | $78,820 | 13.3 yrs |
| Hydrology | 1,524 | $116,486 | 17.1 yrs |
| Hydrologic Technician | 1,356 | $76,077 | 12.9 yrs |
| Geology | 1,240 | $124,746 | 14 yrs |
| Health Physics | 746 | $146,649 | 16.4 yrs |
| Cartography | 487 | $120,890 | 16.3 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Geodesy outside the Physical Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (54 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($157,788 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Geodesy 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 Physical Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Geodesy 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.