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Updated with current federal pay tables and reference data

March 2025 workforce snapshot. National Science Foundation had 1,601 employees with an average salary of $162,683.
1,601 employees
$162,683 average pay
$260,455,483 estimated total salary expense
Management and Program Analysis largest occupation in the agency

What this page helps you check

Use this page when you want a quick feel for the size of National Science Foundation, where its workforce is concentrated, and which occupations account for the largest share of employees.

Parent organization

This workforce group rolls up under National Science Foundation in the latest federal workforce file.

Largest occupations in National Science Foundation

These occupation series account for the biggest share of employees reported under National Science Foundation.

Occupation Employees Average pay Share of agency
Management and Program Analysis 234 $114,769 14.6%
General Physical Science 140 $208,334 8.7%
Miscellaneous Administration and Program 138 $143,652 8.6%
Information Technology Management 86 $172,491 5.4%
General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences 76 $199,550 4.7%
General Education and Training 57 $201,848 3.6%
General Engineering 47 $202,871 2.9%
Social Science 47 $199,664 2.9%
Human Resources Management 39 $148,930 2.4%
Grants Management 34 $152,540 2.1%
Financial Administration and Program 28 $181,485 1.7%
Program Management 24 $203,376 1.5%
Mathematics 24 $200,216 1.5%
Computer Science 23 $207,054 1.4%
Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant 19 $60,775 1.2%
General Attorney 17 $207,110 1.1%
Chemistry 16 $199,236 1.0%
Contracting 15 $159,758 0.9%
Astronomy and Space Science 12 $202,070 0.7%
Auditing 11 $157,913 0.7%

Where National Science Foundation employees are based

This list shows the biggest duty-station states reported for National Science Foundation in the latest OPM summary.

State Employees Average pay
Virginia 1,375 $163,865
Maryland 68 $148,941
District of Columbia 16 $141,249
Colorado 12 $163,730
California 12 $202,026
Texas 11 $121,644
New York 11 $154,335

Agency totals and duty-location summaries come from the latest OPM FedScope Employment Summary Data (March 2025).