Sports Specialist
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Sports Specialist occupation series (code 0030), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
In the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, Sports Specialist counts 364 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 0.6% from the prior period; pay averages $83,884, which pays below the federal-wide $117,339.
- Employees
- 364
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $83,884
- Avg tenure
- 15.3 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Sports Specialist
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 364 people work in the Sports Specialist occupation (OPM code 0030) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved up by 0.6% from 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.
Sports Specialist pays $83,884 per year on average, moving up 0.2% from the prior period (a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change). Employees in this role stay an average of 15.3 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Sports Specialist sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 00), which contains 27 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Sports Specialist postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family.
Sports Specialist makes up 0.4% of the 92,278 employees across the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, ranking #16 of 27 occupations in that family by headcount.
Salary Context
How Sports Specialist pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$83,884
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-28.5%
Where Sports Specialist ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $83,884 is higher than 40% of federal occupation series (214 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Sports Specialist sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Sports Specialist ranks higher than 40%.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 15,507 | $125,293 | 15.4 yrs |
| Correctional Officer | 14,821 | n/a | 10.3 yrs |
| Police | 11,883 | n/a | 12.2 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 11,832 | $100,833 | 9.7 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 8,848 | $74,762 | 14.6 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 5,704 | $117,177 | 16.3 yrs |
| Park Ranger | 5,202 | $75,210 | 10.6 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,312 | $57,464 | 11.3 yrs |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 4,157 | $127,481 | 15.2 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,340 | $65,477 | 12.7 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Sports Specialist outside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (364 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($83,884 here).
Key takeaways
- Sports Specialist pays below the federal average by 28.5% ($83,884 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 40th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 364 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 0.6% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Sports Specialist ranks #337 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Sports Specialist makes up 0.4% of the 92,278 employees across the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, ranking #16 of 27 occupations in that family by headcount.
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.