Pharmacist

What the Numbers Say About Pharmacist

0.7% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Pharmacist occupation (OPM code 660): 14,934 people, headcount down -0.0% 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.

The average salary for Pharmacist is $163,569 per year, placing it 48.9% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.0% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 9.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Code 6, the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, is where the federal government classifies Pharmacist alongside 44 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Pharmacist 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.

Within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Pharmacist ranks #6 of 45 by headcount, accounting for 4.2% of the family's combined 356,984 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (91st percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.