Transportation Specialist

What the Numbers Say About Transportation Specialist

Federal agencies employ 8,729 people in the Transportation Specialist occupation (OPM code 2101), accounting for 0.4% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.6% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.

Average tenure in Transportation Specialist runs 15 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. Pay averages $118,970 per year, 8.3% above the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 1.6% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.

The Transportation Group family (code 21) groups Transportation Specialist together with 18 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Transportation Specialist 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.

Inside the Transportation Group family (19 occupations, 44,430 employees combined), Transportation Specialist holds the #2 spot by headcount, a 19.6% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the top half (68th percentile) of pay among Transportation Group occupations.