Public Affairs
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Public Affairs occupation series (code 1035): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Information and Arts Group family, Public Affairs counts 5,552 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.3% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 2.4% from the prior period; pay averages $129,060, which pays above the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 5,552
- Share of workforce
- 0.3%
- Avg salary
- $129,060
- Avg tenure
- 14.3 yrs
FedScope read on Public Affairs (dense series)
0.3% of the federal civilian workforce (1,953,300 employees total, June 2026) works in the Public Affairs occupation (OPM code 1035): 5,552 people, headcount down -2.4% 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.
Average tenure in Public Affairs runs 14.3 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $129,060 per year, 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.
Public Affairs sits inside the Information and Arts Group family (code 10), which contains 19 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Public Affairs postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Information and Arts Group family.
Public Affairs makes up 37.6% of the 14,755 employees across the Information and Arts Group family, ranking #1 of 19 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (89th percentile) of pay among Information and Arts Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Public Affairs pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$129,060
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+10.0%
Where Public Affairs ranks on rich federal pay
Its average salary of $129,060 is higher than 74% of federal occupation series (402 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Public Affairs sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Public Affairs ranks higher than 74%.
Related Occupations in Information and Arts Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Exhibits Specialist | 268 | $103,348 | 16.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Public Affairs outside the Information and Arts 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 (5,552 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($129,060 here).
Key takeaways
- Public Affairs pays above the federal average by 10.0% ($129,060 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 74th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 5,552 employees, 0.3% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined 2.4% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Public Affairs ranks #75 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Public Affairs makes up 37.6% of the 14,755 employees across the Information and Arts Group family, ranking #1 of 19 occupations in that family by headcount.
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.