Pathology Technician
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Pathology Technician occupation series (code 0646): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Pathology Technician counts 373 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew from the prior period; pay averages $72,679, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +1.1%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 11.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #37 of 45
What the Numbers Say About Pathology Technician
Headcount moved up 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 mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Pathology Technician sits inside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 06), which contains 45 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Pathology Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. Across the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, 339,162 employees work in 45 occupations; Pathology Technician is 0.1% of that headcount.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Pathology Technician pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$72,679
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-38.1%
Where Pathology Technician ranks on lean federal pay
Pathology Technician earns more on average than 29% of federal occupation series (156 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Pathology Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Pathology Technician.
Related Occupations in Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse | 106,218 | $132,267 | 10.2 yrs |
| Medical Support Assistance | 39,856 | $58,279 | 8.2 yrs |
| Medical Officer | 34,687 | $301,569 | 11.6 yrs |
| General Health Science | 17,434 | $133,765 | 11.9 yrs |
| Practical Nurse | 16,755 | $75,898 | 10.4 yrs |
| Pharmacist | 14,529 | $167,390 | 11.1 yrs |
| Nursing Assistant | 14,498 | $55,851 | 7.8 yrs |
| Health Aid and Technician | 12,490 | $61,276 | 10.8 yrs |
| Health System Specialist | 7,966 | $110,534 | 15.9 yrs |
| Pharmacy Technician | 7,658 | $70,794 | 9.5 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Pathology Technician outside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (373 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($72,679 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Pathology Technician 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 Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Pathology Technician 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.