Shipwright

What the Numbers Say About Shipwright

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 729 people work in the Shipwright occupation (OPM code 5220) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -0.1% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

The average salary for Shipwright is $76,849 per year, placing it 30.1% below the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.3% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 8.9 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Shipwright sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Family family (code 52), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Shipwright 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.

Within the Miscellaneous Occupations Family family, Shipwright is one of the top 5 occupations by headcount (#2), accounting for 24.6% of the family's combined 2,958 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (20th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Family occupations.