Oceanography
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Oceanography occupation series (code 1360).
The verdict
With 379 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Oceanography ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Physical Sciences Group family, and headcount declined from the prior period. Its average salary of $155,653 pays well above the federal average.
- Headcount change
- -1.3%
- Pay change
- -0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 16.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #13 of 25
What the Numbers Say About Oceanography
For job seekers weighing career length: 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 down 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 small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Physical Sciences Group family (code 13) groups Oceanography together with 24 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Oceanography postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. The Physical Sciences Group family totals 26,960 employees, and Oceanography accounts for 1.4% of them.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Oceanography pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$155,653
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+32.7%
Where Oceanography ranks on rich federal pay
Oceanography earns more on average than 91% of federal occupation series (491 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Oceanography sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Oceanography.
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 |
| Meteorology | 2,494 | $123,942 | 15.9 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 |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Oceanography outside the Physical Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (379 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($155,653 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Oceanography 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 Oceanography 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.