Wildland Fire Management
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Wildland Fire Management occupation series (code 0456), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Wildland Fire Management is a mid-sized federal occupation: 9,667 employees (0.5% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Biological Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $64,457 it pays below the federal average of $117,339, and headcount grew 24.6% from the prior period.
- Employees
- 9,667
- Share of workforce
- 0.5%
- Avg salary
- $64,457
- Avg tenure
- 7 yrs
FedScope read on Wildland Fire Management (dense series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 9,667 people work in the Wildland Fire Management occupation (OPM code 0456) across federal agencies, 0.5% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved up by 24.6% from 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.
The average salary for Wildland Fire Management is $64,457 per year. Salaries moved up by 2.0% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. Average length of service in this role is 7 years, a comparatively short average tenure, which can reflect faster turnover, a competitive private-sector alternative, or a newer program still building up its workforce.
The Biological Sciences Group family (code 04) groups Wildland Fire Management together with 30 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Wildland Fire Management postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Biological Sciences Group family.
Inside the Biological Sciences Group family (31 occupations, 67,961 employees combined), Wildland Fire Management holds the #3 spot by headcount, a 14.2% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (23rd percentile) of pay among Biological Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Wildland Fire Management pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
$64,457
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-45.1%
Where Wildland Fire Management ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of $64,457 is higher than 19% of federal occupation series (103 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Wildland Fire Management sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Wildland Fire Management ranks higher than 19%.
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 | 23,662 | $124,641 | 14 yrs |
| Forestry Technician | 11,090 | $61,659 | 8.7 yrs |
| Biological Science Technician | 5,212 | $56,618 | 8.9 yrs |
| Soil Conservation | 4,101 | $89,391 | 13.8 yrs |
| Wildlife Biology | 1,868 | $95,468 | 16.3 yrs |
| Fish Biology | 1,629 | $116,550 | 16.2 yrs |
| Microbiology | 1,629 | $143,306 | 16.3 yrs |
| Forestry | 1,626 | $88,902 | 15.1 yrs |
| Ecology | 989 | $122,664 | 16.1 yrs |
| Rangeland Management | 692 | $88,317 | 14.6 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Wildland Fire Management outside the Biological Sciences 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 (9,667 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($64,457 here).
Key takeaways
- Wildland Fire Management pays below the federal average by 45.1% ($64,457 vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 19th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A mid-sized federal occupation by headcount: 9,667 employees, 0.5% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew 24.6% from the prior period.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Wildland Fire Management ranks #49 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Inside the Biological Sciences Group family (31 occupations, 67,961 employees combined), Wildland Fire Management holds the #3 spot by headcount, a 14.2% share of the family total.
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.