Medical Officer

What the Numbers Say About Medical Officer

1.6% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Medical Officer occupation (OPM code 602): 37,766 people, headcount down -1.3% 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 Medical Officer is $290,548 per year, placing it 164.4% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 1.8% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. Average length of service in this role is 10.1 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

The Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 6) groups Medical Officer together with 44 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Medical Officer 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), Medical Officer holds the #3 spot by headcount, a 10.6% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (98th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.