History

What the Numbers Say About History

Federal agencies employ 791 people in the History occupation (OPM code 170), accounting for 0.0% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.1% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

History pays $121,207 per year on average, 10.3% above the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 2.3% from the prior period (a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce). Employees in this role stay an average of 12.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

History sits inside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (code 1), which contains 28 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for History 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.

History makes up 0.7% of the 113,996 employees across the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, ranking #14 of 28 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (46th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.