Geophysics
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Geophysics occupation series (code 1313): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Geophysics is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 360 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Physical Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $150,639 it pays well above the federal average, and headcount edged down from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -0.6%
- Pay change
- -0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 15.9 yrs
- Rank in family
- #14 of 25
What the Numbers Say About Geophysics
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, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. 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.
Geophysics sits inside the Physical Sciences Group family (code 13), which contains 25 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Geophysics postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. Geophysics makes up 1.3% of the Physical Sciences Group family's 26,960 combined employees.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Geophysics pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$150,639
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+28.4%
Where Geophysics ranks on rich federal pay
Geophysics earns more on average than 89% of federal occupation series (479 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Geophysics sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Geophysics.
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 occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Geophysics outside the Physical Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (360 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($150,639 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Geophysics 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 Geophysics 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.