Recreation Specialist

What the Numbers Say About Recreation Specialist

Federal agencies employ 995 people in the Recreation Specialist occupation (OPM code 188), accounting for 0.0% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved up by 0.2% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Recreation Specialist pays $76,470 per year on average, 30.4% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 1.7% from the prior period (a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement). Employees in this role stay an average of 13.5 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Recreation Specialist 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 Recreation Specialist 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.

Recreation Specialist makes up 0.9% of the 113,996 employees across the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, ranking #13 of 28 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (25th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.