What are the average salaries for several common federal sector jobs? How does the average salary compare to the highest ones? Some jobs sound similar but the category may pay more (or less) than similar sounding job categories.
We picked a few federal jobs at random that are used in different agencies in the federal government to make these comparisons. Some of the job categories are in most federal agencies, such as General Attorney, Human Resources Management or Equal Employment Opportunity. Others, such as Administrative Law Judge or Tax Law Specialist are less common. All data on federal employee salaries is from FedsDataCenter.com with the underlying data provided by the Office of Personnel Management.
Some agencies are outside of the federal General Schedule pay system. Some agencies have unique implementing legislation to pay higher salaries, presumably in order to attract qualified people from higher paying sectors of the American economy such as finance or banking. The reality is that while the higher salaries may be necessary to obtain qualified employees in technical fields, the higher salaries are also often paid to jobs that are common elsewhere in government but pay less. (See, for example, this 2012 article Highly Paid Federal Administrative Positions: Where Are They and How Much Do They Make?)
Here are a few examples of average salaries for some of these jobs:
| Occupation | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE | $157,259.80 |
| EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW | $110,978.76 |
| EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY | $94,725.44 |
| EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE | $92,962.44 |
| EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INVESTIGATION | $85,998.84 |
| GENERAL ATTORNEY | $129,268.03 |
| HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANCE | $44,769.78 |
| HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT | $88,411.71 |
| HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT STUDENT TRAIN | $37,537.58 |
| PATENT ATTORNEY | $151,517.21 |
| TAX LAW SPECIALIST | $96,774.24 |
With the general schedule pay system breaking down more with the passage of time, the highest salaries may vary considerably from the average. From the FedsDataCenter.com database, here are the highest salaries listed in the database for these same jobs.
Administrative Law Judge:
| DICKENS,DONNA D | 03 | AL | $173,575.00 | $0.00 | OFC SEC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES | MIAMI | ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE | 2013 |
| KRANE,DAVID J | 03 | AL | $173,575.00 | $0.00 | OFC SEC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES | MIAMI | ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE | 2013 |
| BULLARD,JANICE K | 03 | AL | $165,300.00 | $0.00 | DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION | WASHINGTON | ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE | 2013 |
Employee Benefits Law:
| LEBOWITZ,ALAN D | 00 | ES | $179,655.00 | $0.00 | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION | WASHINGTON | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW | 2013 |
| MAGUIRE,DANIEL J | 00 | ES | $179,213.00 | $0.00 | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION | WASHINGTON | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW | 2013 |
| HALL,LYSSA EILEEN | 00 | ES | $171,050.00 | $0.00 | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION | WASHINGTON | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS LAW | 2013 |
Equal Employment Opportunity:
| MORAN,MICHAEL P | 01 | CM | $203,781.00 | $933.00 | FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION | WASHINGTON | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY | 2013 |
| BERMAN,SUSAN L | 01 | CM | $198,401.00 | $1,200.00 | FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION | WASHINGTON | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY | 2013 |
| TUDISCO,REBECCA VALAS | 06 | NB | $182,428.00 | $140.00 | OFC OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY | WASHINGTON | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY | 2013 |
Equal Opportunity Compliance:
| JONES,MARY N | 00 | ES | $169,900.00 | $0.00 | OFC OF SEC OF TRANSPORTATION | WASHINGTON | EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE | 2013 |
| NAME WITHHELD BY AGENCY | 00 | ES | $167,066.00 | $0.00 | OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE | EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE | 2013 | |
| MARSHALL,ERA L | 00 | SL | $165,300.00 | $0.00 | SMITHSONIAN INST (EXC SEP BRDS OF TRUST) | WASHINGTON | EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMPLIANCE | 2013 |
Equal Opportunity Investigation:
| VIRAMONTES,ROSA M | 15 | GS | $155,500.00 | $0.00 | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION | LOS ANGELES | EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INVESTIGATION | 2013 |
| CONNOLLY,MICHAEL P | 15 | GS | $155,500.00 | $0.00 | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION | SAN FRANCISCO | EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INVESTIGATION | 2013 |
| BOWMAN,JULIANNE | 15 | GS | $155,500.00 | $0.00 | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION | CHICAGO | EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INVESTIGATION | 2013 |
General Attorney:
| FRIEND,AMY S | 09 | NB | $259,500.00 | $0.00 | OFC OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY | WASHINGTON | GENERAL ATTORNEY | 2013 |
| POLLARD,ALFRED M | 01 | LL | $255,000.00 | $0.00 | FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY | WASHINGTON | GENERAL ATTORNEY | 2013 |
| RAWLS,CHARLES R | 44 | VH | $252,296.00 | $0.00 | FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION | MCLEAN | GENERAL ATTORNEY | 2013 |
Human Resources Assistance:
| COX,LEMUEL | 13 | GS | $111,148.00 | $0.00 | SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION | COVINGTON | HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANCE | 2013 |
| SEGEARS,THEREST I | 04 | NB | $101,034.00 | $839.00 | OFC OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY | WASHINGTON | HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANCE | 2013 |
| ROBINSON,VITA H | 04 | NB | $96,954.00 | $534.00 | OFC OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY | CHICAGO | HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANCE | 2013 |
Human Resources Management:
| CLARK,DAVID SHAWN | 07 | NB | $243,000.00 | $0.00 | OFC OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY | WASHINGTON | HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT | 2013 |
| KATCOFF,BENJAMIN H | 07 | NB | $234,938.00 | $0.00 | OFC OF COMPTROLLER OF CURRENCY | WASHINGTON | HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT | 2013 |
| RISINGER,JEFFREY A | 01 | LL | $234,000.00 | $17,500.00 | FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY | WASHINGTON | HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT | 2013 |
Human Resources Management Student Train:
| CACERES-RODRIGUEZ,RICK | 12 | GS | $74,872.00 | $0.00 | NATIONAL PARK SERVICE | WASHINGTON | HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT STUDENT TRAIN | 2013 |
| MCLEISH-BOLEY,AMANDA A | 12 | GS | $68,809.00 | $0.00 | BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT | PARKERSBURG | HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT STUDENT TRAIN | 2013 |
| RODRIGUEZ,JENNIFER M | 11 | GS | $64,724.00 | $0.00 | LYNDON B. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER | HOUSTON | HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT STUDENT TRAIN | 2013 |
Patent Attorney:
| SMITH,JAMES D | 00 | ES | $179,700.00 | $0.00 | PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE | ALEXANDRIA | PATENT ATTORNEY | 2013 |
| ELLIOTT,GEORGE C | 00 | ES | $173,952.00 | $0.00 | PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE | ALEXANDRIA | PATENT ATTORNEY | 2013 |
| NAME WITHHELD BY AGENCY | 00 | ES | $172,957.00 | $0.00 | OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH | PATENT ATTORNEY | 2013 |
Tax Law Specialist:
| NAME WITHHELD BY OPM | SM | IR | $155,500.00 | $0.00 | INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | NEW YORK – KINGS | TAX LAW SPECIALIST | 2013 |
| NAME WITHHELD BY OPM | FM | IR | $155,500.00 | $0.00 | INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | SAN FRANCISCO | TAX LAW SPECIALIST | 2013 |
| NAME WITHHELD BY OPM | FM | IR | $155,500.00 | $0.00 | INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE | BOSTON | TAX LAW SPECIALIST | 2013 |
