Public Health Program Specialist
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Public Health Program Specialist occupation series (code 0685).
The verdict
Public Health Program Specialist is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 3,150 employees (0.2% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. At an average salary of $141,619 it pays above the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -1.3%
- Pay change
- +0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 13.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #21 of 45
FedScope read on Public Health Program Specialist (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
The Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family (code 06) groups Public Health Program Specialist together with 44 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Public Health Program Specialist postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. Across the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, 339,162 employees work in 45 occupations; Public Health Program Specialist is 0.9% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (82nd percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Public Health Program Specialist pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$141,619
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+20.7%
Where Public Health Program Specialist ranks on rich federal pay
Public Health Program Specialist earns more on average than 83% of federal occupation series (451 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Public Health Program Specialist sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Public Health Program Specialist.
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 Public Health Program Specialist 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 (3,150 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($141,619 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Public Health Program Specialist 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 Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Public Health Program Specialist 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.