Psychology
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Psychology occupation series (code 0180).
The verdict
In the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, Psychology counts 10,259 employees, a mid-sized federal occupation at 0.5% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $144,240, which pays above the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.9%
- Pay change
- +0.3%
- Avg tenure
- 10.7 yrs
- Rank in family
- #5 of 29
FedScope read on Psychology (dense series)
Headcount moved down 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. 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.
Psychology sits inside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (code 01), which contains 29 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Psychology postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family. Across the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, 101,196 employees work in 29 occupations; Psychology is 10.1% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (74th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Psychology pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$144,240
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+22.9%
Where Psychology ranks on rich federal pay
Psychology earns more on average than 85% of federal occupation series (459 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Psychology sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Psychology.
Related Occupations in Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Insurance Administration | 24,044 | $105,855 | 17.7 yrs |
| Social Work | 22,339 | $112,147 | 10 yrs |
| Social Science | 13,513 | $109,039 | 11.8 yrs |
| Intelligence | 12,860 | n/a | 15 yrs |
| Economist | 3,774 | $158,425 | 14.1 yrs |
| Foreign Affairs | 2,748 | $155,920 | 14.4 yrs |
| Health Insurance Administration | 2,443 | $149,476 | 15.3 yrs |
| Social Science Aid and Technician | 1,534 | $67,632 | 12.4 yrs |
| Archeology | 1,448 | $91,675 | 12 yrs |
| Social Services Aid and Assistant | 962 | $59,911 | 11.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Psychology outside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare 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 (10,259 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($144,240 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Psychology 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 Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Psychology 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.