Plastering
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Plastering occupation series (code 3605), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Structural and Finishing Work Family family, Plastering counts 8 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce; pay averages $73,254, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 19.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #7 of 7
FedScope read on Plastering (thin series)
Headcount moved sideways 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 long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
The Structural and Finishing Work Family family (code 36) groups Plastering together with 6 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Plastering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Structural and Finishing Work Family family. Across the Structural and Finishing Work Family family, 949 employees work in 7 occupations; Plastering is 0.8% of that headcount.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Plastering pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$73,254
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-37.6%
Where Plastering ranks on lean federal pay
Plastering earns more on average than 30% of federal occupation series (161 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Plastering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Plastering.
Related Occupations in Structural and Finishing Work Family
6 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insulating | 567 | $78,342 | 9.9 yrs |
| Masonry | 241 | $72,911 | 11.7 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Structural & Finishing Work | 47 | $95,000 | 14 yrs |
| Tile Setting | 38 | $99,467 | 12.9 yrs |
| Roofing | 38 | $80,318 | 11.2 yrs |
| Cement Finishing | 10 | n/a | 16.4 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Plastering outside the Structural and Finishing Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (8 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($73,254 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Plastering 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 Structural and Finishing Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Plastering 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.