Health Physics
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Health Physics occupation series (code 1306).
The verdict
In the Physical Sciences Group family, Health Physics counts 746 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $146,649, which pays above the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.8%
- Pay change
- +0.4%
- Avg tenure
- 16.4 yrs
- Rank in family
- #9 of 25
What the Numbers Say About Health Physics
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 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.
Health Physics sits inside the Physical Sciences Group family (code 13), which contains 25 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Health Physics postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. Across the Physical Sciences Group family, 26,960 employees work in 25 occupations; Health Physics is 2.8% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (54th percentile) of pay among Physical Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Health Physics pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$146,649
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+25.0%
Where Health Physics ranks on rich federal pay
Health Physics earns more on average than 86% of federal occupation series (466 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Health Physics sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Health Physics.
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 |
| Cartography | 487 | $120,890 | 16.3 yrs |
| Astronomy and Space Science | 416 | $177,819 | 18 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Health Physics 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 (746 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($146,649 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Health Physics 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 Health Physics 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.