Recreation/creative Arts Therapist
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Recreation/creative Arts Therapist occupation series (code 0638), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 1,057 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce), Recreation/creative Arts Therapist ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. Its average salary of $95,020 pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 11.6 yrs
- Rank in family
- #29 of 45
FedScope read on Recreation/creative Arts Therapist (dense series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was 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. Headcount moved sideways versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Code 06, the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, is where the federal government classifies Recreation/creative Arts Therapist alongside 44 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Recreation/creative Arts Therapist 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; Recreation/creative Arts Therapist is 0.3% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (40th percentile) of pay among Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Recreation/creative Arts Therapist pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$95,020
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-19.0%
Where Recreation/creative Arts Therapist ranks on federal pay
Recreation/creative Arts Therapist earns more on average than 50% of federal occupation series (268 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Recreation/creative Arts Therapist sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Recreation/creative Arts Therapist.
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 Recreation/creative Arts Therapist 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 (1,057 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($95,020 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Recreation/creative Arts Therapist 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 Recreation/creative Arts Therapist 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.