Photography
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Photography occupation series (code 1060): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 234 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Photography ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Information and Arts Group family, and headcount declined 6.8% from the prior period. Its average salary of $105,460 pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 234
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $105,460
- Avg tenure
- 16 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Photography
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 234 people work in the Photography occupation (OPM code 1060) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -6.8% from 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.
Photography pays $105,460 per year on average, moving up 0.1% from the prior period (a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change). Employees in this role stay an average of 16 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Code 10, the Information and Arts Group family, is where the federal government classifies Photography alongside 18 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Photography postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Information and Arts Group family.
Inside the Information and Arts Group family (19 occupations, 14,755 employees combined), Photography holds the #12 spot by headcount, a 1.6% share of the family total.
Salary Context
How Photography pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$105,460
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-10.1%
Where Photography ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $105,460 is higher than 57% of federal occupation series (309 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Photography sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Photography ranks higher than 57%.
Related Occupations in Information and Arts Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Affairs | 5,552 | $129,060 | 14.3 yrs |
| General Arts and Information | 2,759 | $126,733 | 14.5 yrs |
| Visual Information | 1,245 | $110,638 | 15.6 yrs |
| Language Specialist | 864 | $117,705 | 11.8 yrs |
| Technical Writing and Editing | 816 | $128,063 | 14.1 yrs |
| Writing and Editing | 760 | $138,055 | 15.2 yrs |
| Museum Specialist and Technician | 657 | $91,362 | 13.8 yrs |
| Audiovisual Production | 619 | $128,404 | 16 yrs |
| Museum Curator | 490 | $125,118 | 17.5 yrs |
| Interior Design | 355 | $105,579 | 11 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Photography outside the Information and Arts Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (234 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($105,460 here).
Key takeaways
- Photography pays below the federal average by 10.1% ($105,460 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 57th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 234 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 6.8% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Photography ranks #392 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Information and Arts Group family (19 occupations, 14,755 employees combined), Photography holds the #12 spot by headcount, a 1.6% share of the family total.
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.