Patent Examining

What the Numbers Say About Patent Examining

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 9,513 people work in the Patent Examining occupation (OPM code 1224) across federal agencies, 0.4% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved up by 3.3% from 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.

Patent Examining pays $156,161 per year on average, 42.1% above the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 0.5% from the prior period (a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement). Employees in this role stay an average of 13.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

The Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family (code 12) groups Patent Examining together with 4 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Patent Examining 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 Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group family (5 occupations, 10,875 employees combined), Patent Examining holds the #1 spot by headcount, a 87.5% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (20th percentile) of pay among Copyright, Patent, and Trademark Group occupations.