Industrial Hygiene

What the Numbers Say About Industrial Hygiene

0.1% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Industrial Hygiene occupation (OPM code 690): 1,524 people, headcount down -2.9% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

The average salary for Industrial Hygiene is $115,893 per year, placing it 5.5% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.6% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 12.5 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Industrial Hygiene 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 Industrial Hygiene 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.

Inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (45 occupations, 356,984 employees combined), Industrial Hygiene holds the #26 spot by headcount, a 0.4% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (67th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.