Social Work
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Social Work occupation series (code 0185).
The verdict
In the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, Social Work counts 22,339 employees, a major federal occupation at 1.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged down from the prior period; pay averages $112,147, which pays near the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -0.2%
- Pay change
- +0.2%
- Avg tenure
- 10 yrs
- Rank in family
- #2 of 29
FedScope read on Social Work (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Social Work 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 Social Work 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; Social Work is 22.1% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (41st percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Social Work pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$112,147
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-4.4%
Where Social Work ranks on federal pay
Social Work earns more on average than 62% of federal occupation series (335 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Social Work sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Social Work.
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 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 |
| Social Services Aid and Assistant | 962 | $59,911 | 11.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Social Work 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 (22,339 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($112,147 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Social Work 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 Social Work 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.