Hydrologic Technician
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Hydrologic Technician occupation series (code 1316): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 1,356 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce), Hydrologic Technician ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Physical Sciences Group family. Its average salary of $76,077 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 1,356
- Share of workforce
- 0.1%
- Avg salary
- $76,077
- Avg tenure
- 12.9 yrs
FedScope read on Hydrologic Technician (dense series)
0.1% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Hydrologic Technician occupation (OPM code 1316): 1,356 people, headcount sideways 0.0% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
The average salary for Hydrologic Technician is $76,077 per year. Salaries moved down by -0.1% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. Average length of service in this role is 12.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Hydrologic Technician sits inside the Physical Sciences Group family (code 13), which contains 25 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Hydrologic Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family.
Within the Physical Sciences Group family, Hydrologic Technician ranks #7 of 25 by headcount, accounting for 5.0% of the family's combined 26,960 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (8th percentile) of pay among Physical Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Hydrologic Technician pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$76,077
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-35.2%
Where Hydrologic Technician ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $76,077 is higher than 33% of federal occupation series (176 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Hydrologic Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Hydrologic Technician ranks higher than 33%.
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 |
| Geology | 1,240 | $124,746 | 14 yrs |
| Health Physics | 746 | $146,649 | 16.4 yrs |
| Cartography | 487 | $120,890 | 16.3 yrs |
| Astronomy and Space Science | 416 | $177,819 | 18 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Hydrologic Technician outside the Physical Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (1,356 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($76,077 here).
Key takeaways
- Hydrologic Technician pays below the federal average by 35.2% ($76,077 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 33rd percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 1,356 employees, 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Hydrologic Technician ranks #184 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Physical Sciences Group family, Hydrologic Technician ranks #7 of 25 by headcount, accounting for 5.0% of the family's combined 26,960 employees.
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.