Hearings and Appeals

What the Numbers Say About Hearings and Appeals

0.2% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Hearings and Appeals occupation (OPM code 930): 3,910 people, headcount up 1.2% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Hearings and Appeals pays $124,130 per year on average, 13.0% above the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 1.9% from the prior period (a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement). Employees in this role stay an average of 14.4 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

The Legal and Kindred Group family (code 9) groups Hearings and Appeals together with 17 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Hearings and Appeals 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.

Hearings and Appeals makes up 2.9% of the 133,580 employees across the Legal and Kindred Group family, ranking #7 of 18 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (72nd percentile) of pay among Legal and Kindred Group occupations.