Health System Specialist

What the Numbers Say About Health System Specialist

Federal agencies employ 8,572 people in the Health System Specialist occupation (OPM code 671), accounting for 0.4% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved up by 1.3% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.

Average tenure in Health System Specialist runs 13.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $104,039 per year, 5.3% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 2.3% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce.

Health System Specialist sits inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 6), which contains 45 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Health System Specialist postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Health System Specialist ranks #9 of 45 by headcount, accounting for 2.4% of the family's combined 356,984 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (60th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.