Recreation Specialist
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Recreation Specialist occupation series (code 0188), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, Recreation Specialist counts 913 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $81,987, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.3%
- Pay change
- -0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 15.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #13 of 29
FedScope read on Recreation Specialist (dense series)
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved down between the two reporting periods, 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 long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Recreation Specialist sits inside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (code 01), which contains 29 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Recreation Specialist postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family. Across the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, 101,196 employees work in 29 occupations; Recreation Specialist is 0.9% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (26th percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Recreation Specialist pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$81,987
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-30.1%
Where Recreation Specialist ranks on federal pay
Recreation Specialist earns more on average than 38% of federal occupation series (208 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Recreation Specialist sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Recreation Specialist.
Related Occupations in Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Insurance Administration | 24,044 | $105,855 | 17.7 yrs |
| Social Work | 22,339 | $112,147 | 10 yrs |
| Social Science | 13,513 | $109,039 | 11.8 yrs |
| Intelligence | 12,860 | n/a | 15 yrs |
| Psychology | 10,259 | $144,240 | 10.7 yrs |
| Economist | 3,774 | $158,425 | 14.1 yrs |
| Foreign Affairs | 2,748 | $155,920 | 14.4 yrs |
| Health Insurance Administration | 2,443 | $149,476 | 15.3 yrs |
| Social Science Aid and Technician | 1,534 | $67,632 | 12.4 yrs |
| Archeology | 1,448 | $91,675 | 12 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Recreation Specialist outside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare 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 (913 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($81,987 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Recreation 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 Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Recreation 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.