Painting
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Painting occupation series (code 4102).
The verdict
In the Painting and Paperhanging Family family, Painting counts 3,572 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.2% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged up from the prior period; pay averages $76,440, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +0.2%
- Pay change
- -0.3%
- Avg tenure
- 11.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 3
FedScope read on Painting (dense series)
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, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. 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.
Painting sits inside the Painting and Paperhanging Family family (code 41), which contains 3 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Painting postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Painting and Paperhanging Family family. The Painting and Paperhanging Family family totals 3,676 employees, and Painting accounts for 97.2% of them. Its average salary ranks right at the midpoint of pay among Painting and Paperhanging Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Painting pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$76,440
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-34.9%
Where Painting ranks on federal pay
Painting earns more on average than 33% of federal occupation series (179 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Painting sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Painting.
Related Occupations in Painting and Paperhanging Family
2 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sign Painting | 77 | $73,223 | 15.4 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Painting and Paperhanging | 27 | n/a | 14.9 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Painting outside the Painting and Paperhanging Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (3,572 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($76,440 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Painting 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 Painting and Paperhanging Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Painting 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.