Geography
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Geography occupation series (code 0150), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 925 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Geography ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, and headcount edged down from the prior period. Its average salary of $120,293 pays near the federal average.
- Headcount change
- -0.1%
- Pay change
- +0.4%
- Avg tenure
- 13.7 yrs
- Rank in family
- #12 of 29
FedScope read on Geography (dense series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was 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 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 modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
The Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (code 01) groups Geography together with 28 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Geography postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family. The Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family totals 101,196 employees, and Geography accounts for 0.9% of them. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (48th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Geography pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$120,293
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+2.5%
Where Geography ranks on rich federal pay
Geography earns more on average than 68% of federal occupation series (366 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Geography sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Geography.
Related Occupations in Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Insurance Administration | 24,044 | $105,855 | 17.7 yrs |
| Social Work | 22,339 | $112,147 | 10 yrs |
| Social Science | 13,513 | $109,039 | 11.8 yrs |
| Intelligence | 12,860 | n/a | 15 yrs |
| Psychology | 10,259 | $144,240 | 10.7 yrs |
| Economist | 3,774 | $158,425 | 14.1 yrs |
| Foreign Affairs | 2,748 | $155,920 | 14.4 yrs |
| Health Insurance Administration | 2,443 | $149,476 | 15.3 yrs |
| Social Science Aid and Technician | 1,534 | $67,632 | 12.4 yrs |
| Archeology | 1,448 | $91,675 | 12 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Geography outside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare 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 (925 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($120,293 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Geography 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 Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Geography 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.