Patent Classifying
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Patent Classifying occupation series (code 1223): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 33 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Patent Classifying ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family. Its average salary of $189,888 pays well above the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 21.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #5 of 7
FedScope read on Patent Classifying (thin series)
Headcount moved sideways 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. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
The Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family (code 12) groups Patent Classifying together with 6 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Patent Classifying postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family. The Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family totals 10,490 employees, and Patent Classifying accounts for 0.3% of them.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Patent Classifying pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$189,888
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+61.8%
Where Patent Classifying ranks on rich federal pay
Patent Classifying earns more on average than 98% of federal occupation series (531 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Patent Classifying sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Patent Classifying.
Related Occupations in Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group
6 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patent Examining | 9,385 | $157,963 | 14.3 yrs |
| Patent Attorney | 373 | $202,357 | 17.8 yrs |
| Design Patent Examining | 365 | $137,602 | 9.3 yrs |
| Patent Administration | 322 | $199,503 | 24.1 yrs |
| Patent Adviser | 7 | $160,445 | 10.6 yrs |
| Patent Technician | 5 | $95,669 | 29 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Patent Classifying outside the Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (33 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($189,888 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Patent Classifying 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 Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Patent Classifying 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.