Maintenance Mechanic
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Maintenance Mechanic occupation series (code 4749), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 10,441 employees (0.5% of the federal civilian workforce), Maintenance Mechanic ranks as a mid-sized federal occupation within the General Maintenance and Operations Work Family family, and headcount declined 0.5% from the prior period. Its average salary of $73,094 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 10,441
- Share of workforce
- 0.5%
- Avg salary
- $73,094
- Avg tenure
- 11.9 yrs
FedScope read on Maintenance Mechanic (dense series)
0.5% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Maintenance Mechanic occupation (OPM code 4749): 10,441 people, headcount down -0.5% 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.
The average salary for Maintenance Mechanic is $73,094 per year. Salaries moved down by -0.4% 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 11.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The General Maintenance and Operations Work Family family (code 47) groups Maintenance Mechanic together with 9 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Maintenance Mechanic postings should also review these sibling occupations in the General Maintenance and Operations Work Family family.
Inside the General Maintenance and Operations Work Family family (10 occupations, 15,982 employees combined), Maintenance Mechanic holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 65.3% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (11th percentile) of pay among General Maintenance and Operations Work Family occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Maintenance Mechanic pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$73,094
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-37.7%
Where Maintenance Mechanic ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $73,094 is higher than 29% of federal occupation series (159 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Maintenance Mechanic sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Maintenance Mechanic ranks higher than 29%.
Related Occupations in General Maintenance and Operations Work Family
9 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misc General Maintenance & Operations Work | 2,599 | $93,724 | 16.5 yrs |
| Utility Systems Repairing-Operating | 1,983 | $84,204 | 13.2 yrs |
| Cemetery Caretaking | 644 | $63,552 | 8.6 yrs |
| General Equipment Mechanic | 140 | $75,100 | 15.4 yrs |
| Model Making | 91 | $93,472 | 14.8 yrs |
| Boat Building and Repairing | 34 | $74,449 | 13.3 yrs |
| General Equipment Operating | 26 | $81,524 | 18.2 yrs |
| Exhibits Making/modeling | 16 | n/a | 17.5 yrs |
| Research Laboratory Mechanic | 8 | $83,825 | 13 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Maintenance Mechanic outside the General Maintenance and Operations Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (10,441 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($73,094 here).
Key takeaways
- Maintenance Mechanic pays below the federal average by 37.7% ($73,094 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 29th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 10,441 employees, 0.5% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.5% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Maintenance Mechanic ranks #45 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the General Maintenance and Operations Work Family family (10 occupations, 15,982 employees combined), Maintenance Mechanic holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 65.3% share of the family total.
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.