Transportation Operations
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Transportation Operations occupation series (code 2150), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 1,900 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce), Transportation Operations ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Transportation Group family, and headcount edged down from the prior period. Its average salary of $105,349 pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- -0.5%
- Pay change
- +0.3%
- Avg tenure
- 16.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #5 of 20
FedScope read on Transportation Operations (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: 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, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. 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.
Code 21, the Transportation Group family, is where the federal government classifies Transportation Operations alongside 19 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Transportation Operations postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Transportation Group family. Across the Transportation Group family, 42,428 employees work in 20 occupations; Transportation Operations is 4.5% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (40th percentile) of pay among Transportation Group occupations.
Salary Context
How Transportation Operations pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$105,349
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-10.2%
Where Transportation Operations ranks on federal pay
Transportation Operations earns more on average than 57% of federal occupation series (308 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Transportation Operations sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Transportation Operations.
Related Occupations in Transportation Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Traffic Control | 21,627 | $153,037 | 13.7 yrs |
| Transportation Specialist | 8,313 | $123,621 | 16.6 yrs |
| Transportation Clerk and Assistant | 2,525 | $55,598 | 11.3 yrs |
| Aircraft Operation | 2,432 | $149,284 | 15.2 yrs |
| Traffic Management | 1,400 | $119,205 | 15.8 yrs |
| Dispatching | 1,378 | $58,047 | 10.9 yrs |
| Technical Systems Program Manager | 672 | $191,580 | 24.5 yrs |
| Railroad Safety | 497 | $119,966 | 14.1 yrs |
| Motor Carrier Safety | 467 | $94,322 | 12 yrs |
| Aircrew Technician | 374 | n/a | 13.5 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Transportation Operations outside the Transportation 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 (1,900 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($105,349 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Transportation Operations 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 Transportation Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Transportation Operations 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.