Physician Assistant
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Physician Assistant occupation series (code 0603).
The verdict
Physician Assistant is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 3,861 employees (0.2% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. At an average salary of $169,981 it pays well above the federal average of $117,339, and headcount declined 0.2% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 3,861
- Share of workforce
- 0.2%
- Avg salary
- $169,981
- Avg tenure
- 10.4 yrs
FedScope read on Physician Assistant (dense series)
Federal agencies employ 3,861 people in the Physician Assistant occupation (OPM code 0603), accounting for 0.2% of the total federal civilian workforce of 1,953,300 for the June 2026 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.2% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
The average salary for Physician Assistant is $169,981 per year. Salaries moved up by 0.5% from the prior period, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. Average length of service in this role is 10.4 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Physician Assistant 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 Physician Assistant postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family.
Within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Physician Assistant ranks #15 of 45 by headcount, accounting for 1.1% of the family's combined 339,162 employees. Its average salary ranks in the top half (91st percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Physician Assistant pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$169,981
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+44.9%
Where Physician Assistant ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $169,981 is higher than 96% of federal occupation series (519 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Physician Assistant sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Physician Assistant ranks higher than 96%.
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 peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Physician Assistant outside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (3,861 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($169,981 here).
Key takeaways
- Physician Assistant pays well above the federal average by 44.9% ($169,981 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 96th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 3,861 employees, 0.2% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 0.2% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Physician Assistant ranks #105 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, Physician Assistant ranks #15 of 45 by headcount, accounting for 1.1% of the family's combined 339,162 employees.
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.