Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work occupation series (code 5001), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 249 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Plant and Animal Work Family family, and headcount grew from the prior period. Its average salary of $68,338 pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- +5.1%
- Pay change
- -0.7%
- Avg tenure
- 9.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #4 of 7
What the Numbers Say About Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved up versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. As for pay, the latest move was a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.
Code 50, the Plant and Animal Work Family family, is where the federal government classifies Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work alongside 6 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Plant and Animal Work Family family. Across the Plant and Animal Work Family family, 1,470 employees work in 7 occupations; Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work is 16.9% of that headcount.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$68,338
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-41.8%
Where Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work ranks on lean federal pay
Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work earns more on average than 24% of federal occupation series (129 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work.
Related Occupations in Plant and Animal Work Family
6 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardening | 465 | $67,401 | 11.9 yrs |
| Animal Caretaking | 307 | $58,156 | 8.7 yrs |
| Pest Controlling | 289 | $72,091 | 13 yrs |
| Insects Production Working | 97 | $55,565 | 8.6 yrs |
| Tree Trimming and Removing | 62 | $75,736 | 10 yrs |
| Farming | 1 | $71,083 | 28.5 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work outside the Plant and Animal Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (249 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($68,338 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work 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 Plant and Animal Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Miscellaneous Plant and Animal Work 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.