Soil Science
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (March 2025), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Soil Science occupation series (code 470).
The verdict
With 780 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Soil Science ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Biological Sciences Group family, and headcount declined 1.0% from the prior period. Its average salary of $105,478 pays near the $109,869 federal average.
- Employees
- 780
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $105,478
- Avg tenure
- 15.6 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Soil Science
As of the March 2025 reporting window, 780 people work in the Soil Science occupation (OPM code 470) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -1.0% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Soil Science pays $105,478 per year on average, 4.0% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 1.6% from the prior period (a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement). Employees in this role stay an average of 15.6 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
The Biological Sciences Group family (code 4) groups Soil Science together with 30 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Soil Science 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 Biological Sciences Group family, Soil Science ranks #14 of 31 by headcount, accounting for 1.1% of the family's combined 69,668 employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (42nd percentile) of pay among Biological Sciences Group occupations.
Employees
780
-1.0% from prior period
Average Salary
$105,478
+1.6%
Avg Length of Service
15.6 yrs
Occupation Family
Biological Sciences Group
Salary Context
How Soil Science pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Occupation Average
$105,478
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-4.0%
Where Soil Science ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $105,478 is higher than 65% of federal occupation series (411 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Soil Science sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Soil Science ranks higher than 65%.
Related Occupations in Biological Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences | 28,385 | $115,600 | 12.4 yrs |
| Forestry Technician | 11,381 | $55,040 | 8.1 yrs |
| Biological Science Technician | 5,597 | $55,254 | 8.6 yrs |
| Soil Conservation | 4,882 | $84,996 | 12.4 yrs |
| Wildlife Biology | 2,082 | $95,599 | 15.4 yrs |
| Fish Biology | 1,992 | $114,066 | 15.4 yrs |
| Microbiology | 1,940 | $140,441 | 15.1 yrs |
| Wildland Fire Management | 1,908 | $69,817 | 13.2 yrs |
| Forestry | 1,870 | $86,729 | 13.4 yrs |
| Ecology | 1,260 | $118,786 | 14.3 yrs |
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope occupation-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.