Sociology
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Sociology occupation series (code 0184), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Sociology is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 13 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family. At an average salary of $136,463 it pays above the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -18.8%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 16.1 yrs
- Rank in family
- #27 of 29
FedScope read on Sociology (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 01, the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, is where the federal government classifies Sociology alongside 28 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Sociology 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; Sociology is 0.0% of that headcount.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Sociology pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$136,463
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+16.3%
Where Sociology ranks on rich federal pay
Sociology earns more on average than 79% of federal occupation series (429 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Sociology sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Sociology.
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 thin headcount
Two peer sets for Sociology outside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare 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 (13 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($136,463 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Sociology 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 Sociology 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.