Park Ranger
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Park Ranger occupation series (code 0025), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, Park Ranger counts 5,202 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.3% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew from the prior period; pay averages $75,210, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +3.5%
- Pay change
- -1.3%
- Avg tenure
- 10.6 yrs
- Rank in family
- #7 of 27
FedScope read on Park Ranger (dense series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. On length of service, 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 useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.
Park Ranger sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 00), which contains 27 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Park Ranger postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family. The Miscellaneous Occupations Group family totals 92,278 employees, and Park Ranger accounts for 5.6% of them. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (33rd percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Park Ranger pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$75,210
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-35.9%
Where Park Ranger ranks on lean federal pay
Park Ranger earns more on average than 31% of federal occupation series (170 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Park Ranger sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Park Ranger.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 15,507 | $125,293 | 15.4 yrs |
| Correctional Officer | 14,821 | n/a | 10.3 yrs |
| Police | 11,883 | n/a | 12.2 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 11,832 | $100,833 | 9.7 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 8,848 | $74,762 | 14.6 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 5,704 | $117,177 | 16.3 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,312 | $57,464 | 11.3 yrs |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 4,157 | $127,481 | 15.2 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,340 | $65,477 | 12.7 yrs |
| Correctional Institution Administration | 1,677 | $122,358 | 19.4 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Park Ranger outside the Miscellaneous Occupations 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 (5,202 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($75,210 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Park Ranger 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 Miscellaneous Occupations Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Park Ranger 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.