Sanitarian
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Sanitarian occupation series (code 0688), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Sanitarian is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 55 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. At an average salary of $96,643 it pays below the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -3.5%
- Pay change
- -0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 15.4 yrs
- Rank in family
- #45 of 45
FedScope read on Sanitarian (thin 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 long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.
Code 06, the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, is where the federal government classifies Sanitarian alongside 44 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Sanitarian postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family. Sanitarian makes up 0.0% of the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family's 339,162 combined employees.
Salary Context
How Sanitarian pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$96,643
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-17.6%
Where Sanitarian ranks on federal pay
Sanitarian earns more on average than 52% of federal occupation series (281 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Sanitarian sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Sanitarian.
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 thin headcount
Two peer sets for Sanitarian outside the Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (55 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($96,643 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Sanitarian 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 Sanitarian 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.