Medical Officer
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Medical Officer occupation series (code 0602): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Medical Officer counts 34,687 employees, a major federal occupation at 1.8% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $301,569, which pays well above the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.7%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 11.6 yrs
- Rank in family
- #3 of 45
FedScope read on Medical Officer (dense series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down 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 Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 06) 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 in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. Across the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, 339,162 employees work in 45 occupations; Medical Officer is 10.2% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (98th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Medical Officer pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$301,569
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+157.0%
Where Medical Officer ranks on rich federal pay
Medical Officer earns more on average than 100% of federal occupation series (540 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Medical Officer sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Medical Officer.
Related Occupations in Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse | 106,218 | $132,267 | 10.2 yrs |
| Medical Support Assistance | 39,856 | $58,279 | 8.2 yrs |
| General Health Science | 17,434 | $133,765 | 11.9 yrs |
| Practical Nurse | 16,755 | $75,898 | 10.4 yrs |
| Pharmacist | 14,529 | $167,390 | 11.1 yrs |
| Nursing Assistant | 14,498 | $55,851 | 7.8 yrs |
| Health Aid and Technician | 12,490 | $61,276 | 10.8 yrs |
| Health System Specialist | 7,966 | $110,534 | 15.9 yrs |
| Pharmacy Technician | 7,658 | $70,794 | 9.5 yrs |
| Medical Technologist | 6,123 | $117,456 | 12.2 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Medical Officer outside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health 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 (34,687 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($301,569 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Medical Officer pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Medical Officer postings on USAJOBS.
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.