Psychology Federal Employee Pay and Staffing

March 2025 workforce snapshot. The Psychology occupation series had 11,079 employees with an average salary of $138,990.

11,079 employees in this occupation series

$138,990 average pay

"Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group" occupation family

Veterans Health Administration largest agency for this occupation

What this page helps you check

Use this page when you want to see where a federal occupation is concentrated, which agencies employ the most people in it, and what the average pay looks like across government.

Occupation family

Psychology is reported under the "Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group" family in the latest OPM summary.

Agencies that employ the most Psychology staff

These are the agencies with the biggest reported headcount in this occupation series.

Agency	Department	Employees	Total salary expense	Average pay	Share of occupation
Veterans Health Administration	Department of Veterans Affairs	8,318	$1,162,332,044	$139,737	75.1%
Military Treatment Facilities Under DHA	Department of Defense	562	$77,241,522	$137,440	5.1%
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System	Department of Justice	554	$72,297,766	$130,501	5.0%
National Institutes of Health	Department of Health and Human Services	128	$14,218,994	$111,086	1.2%
Air Force Materiel Command	Department of Defense	115	$16,336,541	$142,057	1.0%
United States Army Futures Command	Department of Defense	91	$14,433,753	$158,613	0.8%
U.s. Army Medical Command	Department of Defense	89	$9,515,168	$106,912	0.8%
Naval Air Systems Command	Department of Defense	74	$9,179,492	$124,047	0.7%
Hqda Field Operating Agencies and Staff Support Agencies and Staff Support Agencies	Department of Defense	72	$9,390,294	$130,421	0.6%
Indian Health Service	Department of Health and Human Services	38	$5,917,252	$155,717	0.3%
Office of Personnel Management	Independent or mixed	38	$5,549,045	$146,028	0.3%
Federal Aviation Administration	Department of Transportation	32	$6,029,604	$188,425	0.3%
Defense Health Agency	Department of Defense	28	$4,560,640	$162,880	0.3%
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration	Department of Health and Human Services	26	$1,356,550	$52,175	0.2%
Air Education and Training Command	Department of Defense	25	$2,781,312	$111,252	0.2%
Customs and Border Protection	Department of Homeland Security	21	$3,416,700	$162,700	0.2%
Defense Human Resources Activity	Department of Defense	19	$2,976,825	$156,675	0.2%
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences	Department of Defense	16	$2,635,008	$164,688	0.1%
Naval Sea Systems Command	Department of Defense	16	$2,121,504	$132,594	0.1%
"Commander, Navy Installations"	Department of Defense	14	$1,355,578	$96,827	0.1%
Forest Service	Department of Agriculture	14	$1,155,742	$82,553	0.1%
"Commander, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (Navwarsyscom)"	Department of Defense	12	$1,495,068	$124,589	0.1%
Office of Naval Research	Department of Defense	12	$2,271,600	$189,300	0.1%
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration	Department of Transportation	12	$1,925,016	$160,418	0.1%
Naval Medical Command	Department of Defense	12	$1,685,736	$140,478	0.1%

Common pay plans for Psychology

This shows the pay plans most commonly attached to this occupation series in the latest OPM summary.

Pay plan	Employees	Average pay	Share of occupation
GS	8,728	$150,290	78.8%
AD	1,081	$46,521	9.8%
DB	177	$146,953	1.6%
DR	96	$146,679	0.9%
EI	86	$52,782	0.8%
DP	74	$124,047	0.7%
RG	36	$148,578	0.3%
FV	32	$188,425	0.3%
ND	28	$129,163	0.3%
NH	19	$118,704	0.2%
RF	13	$227,565	0.1%
NP	12	$189,300	0.1%

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Occupation totals come from the latest OPM FedScope Employment Summary Data (March 2025).