Meteorology
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Meteorology occupation series (code 1340), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Meteorology is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 2,494 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Physical Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $123,942 it pays near the federal average, and headcount edged up from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- +0.3%
- Pay change
- -0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 15.9 yrs
- Rank in family
- #3 of 25
FedScope read on Meteorology (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 long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved up versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Meteorology sits inside the Physical Sciences Group family (code 13), which contains 25 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Meteorology postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. The Physical Sciences Group family totals 26,960 employees, and Meteorology accounts for 9.3% of them. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (33rd percentile) of pay among Physical Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Meteorology pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$123,942
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+5.6%
Where Meteorology ranks on rich federal pay
Meteorology earns more on average than 70% of federal occupation series (380 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Meteorology sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Meteorology.
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 |
| 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 |
| Hydrologic Technician | 1,356 | $76,077 | 12.9 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 Meteorology 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 (2,494 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($123,942 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Meteorology 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 Physical Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Meteorology 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.