Technical Writing and Editing
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Technical Writing and Editing occupation series (code 1083), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 816 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Technical Writing and Editing ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Information and Arts Group family, and headcount declined from the prior period. Its average salary of $128,063 pays above the federal average.
- Headcount change
- -1.2%
- Pay change
- +0.7%
- Avg tenure
- 14.1 yrs
- Rank in family
- #5 of 19
What the Numbers Say About Technical Writing and Editing
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. On length of service, 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 modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Code 10, the Information and Arts Group family, is where the federal government classifies Technical Writing and Editing alongside 18 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Technical Writing and Editing postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Information and Arts Group family. Across the Information and Arts Group family, 14,755 employees work in 19 occupations; Technical Writing and Editing is 5.5% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (78th percentile) of pay among Information and Arts Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Technical Writing and Editing pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$128,063
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+9.1%
Where Technical Writing and Editing ranks on rich federal pay
Technical Writing and Editing earns more on average than 74% of federal occupation series (398 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Technical Writing and Editing sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Technical Writing and Editing.
Related Occupations in Information and Arts Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Affairs | 5,552 | $129,060 | 14.3 yrs |
| General Arts and Information | 2,759 | $126,733 | 14.5 yrs |
| Visual Information | 1,245 | $110,638 | 15.6 yrs |
| Language Specialist | 864 | $117,705 | 11.8 yrs |
| Writing and Editing | 760 | $138,055 | 15.2 yrs |
| Museum Specialist and Technician | 657 | $91,362 | 13.8 yrs |
| Audiovisual Production | 619 | $128,404 | 16 yrs |
| Museum Curator | 490 | $125,118 | 17.5 yrs |
| Interior Design | 355 | $105,579 | 11 yrs |
| Exhibits Specialist | 268 | $103,348 | 16.7 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Technical Writing and Editing outside the Information and Arts Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (816 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($128,063 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Technical Writing and Editing 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 Information and Arts Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Technical Writing and Editing 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.