Painting
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (March 2025), 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 3,831 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.2% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.6% from the prior period; pay averages $72,608, which pays below the federal-wide $109,869.
- Employees
- 3,831
- Share of workforce
- 0.2%
- Avg salary
- $72,608
- Avg tenure
- 10.4 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Painting
Federal agencies employ 3,831 people in the Painting occupation (OPM code 4102), accounting for 0.2% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.6% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Average tenure in Painting runs 10.4 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $72,608 per year, 33.9% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 2.1% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce.
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, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.
Inside the Painting and Paperhanging Family family (3 occupations, 3,944 employees combined), Painting holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 97.1% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (33rd percentile) of pay among Painting and Paperhanging Family occupations.
Employees
3,831
-0.6% from prior period
Average Salary
$72,608
+2.1%
Avg Length of Service
10.4 yrs
Occupation Family
Painting and Paperhanging Family
Salary Context
How Painting pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Occupation Average
$72,608
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-33.9%
Where Painting ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $72,608 is higher than 32% of federal occupation series (204 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Painting sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Painting ranks higher than 32%.
Related Occupations in Painting and Paperhanging Family
2 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sign Painting | 82 | $71,745 | 13.9 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Painting and Paperhanging | 31 | $79,280 | 14.5 yrs |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope occupation-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.