Psychology

What the Numbers Say About Psychology

0.5% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Psychology occupation (OPM code 180): 11,079 people, headcount down -0.7% 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 Psychology is $138,990 per year, placing it 26.5% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.5% 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 years, 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 1), which contains 28 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Psychology 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.

Psychology makes up 9.7% of the 113,996 employees across the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, ranking #5 of 28 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (79th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.