Contractor - Federal Salaries of 2020

Pay Rates for "Contractor"

How much does a Contractor in the federal government get paid? $108,931.08* *Based on the 2020 average.

13,482 EMPLOYEES

$1.43B TOTAL SALARY

GS MOST COMMON PAYSCALE

Contractor was the 26th most popular job in the U.S. Government in 2020, with 13,482 employed. The most common payscale was the general schedule payscale.

In 2020, the Veterans Health Administration hired the most employees titled Contracting, with an average salary of $86,233.

Government Contracting jobs are classified under the General Schedule (GS) payscale. Remember that the starting and maximum yearly pay listed above reflect base pay only - your actual salary will be higher based on the Locality Pay Adjustment for the area in which you work.

Job Description

This occupation includes positions that manage, supervise, perform, or develop policies and procedures for professional work involving the procurement of supplies, services, construction, or research and development using formal advertising or negotiation procedures; the evaluation of contract price proposals; and the administration or termination and close out of contracts. The work requires knowledge of the legislation, regulations, and methods used in contracting; and knowledge of business and industry practices, sources of supply, cost factors, and requirements characteristics.

Agencies that have hired a Contractor

Agency	Employees Hired	Average Salary
Veterans Health Administration	2,075	$86,233.22
Federal Acquisition Service	1,065	$113,120.69
Public Buildings Service	707	$103,015.91
Department of Energy	614	$115,910.55
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics	548	$101,931.01
National Institutes of Health	437	$115,311.06
U.S. Coast Guard	413	$105,526.94
Department of Homeland Security Headquarters	342	$123,415.98
U.S. Agency for International Development	311	$120,218.15
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System	310	$84,079.63
Forest Service	281	$91,536.15
Environmental Protection Agency	275	$114,325.63
National Park Service	241	$94,394.78
Internal Revenue Service	238	$132,295.57
Federal Aviation Administration	237	$123,909.32
Department of State	228	$128,684.61
Federal Emergency Management Agency	188	$117,868.22
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	170	$111,655.09
Goddard Space Flight Center	159	$121,574.89
Bureau of Reclamation	155	$89,716.26
Customs and Border Protection	154	$135,885.43
Office of the Secretary of the Interior	146	$120,744.01
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	145	$118,590.79
Indian Health Service	132	$90,814.07
Immigration and Customs Enforcement	117	$133,927.57
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center	117	$123,959.73
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center	105	$105,087.02
Food and Drug Administration	105	$112,440.97
Bureau of Land Management	104	$85,062.44
Transportation Security Administration	99	$128,866.68
Headquarters, Nasa	96	$126,191.96
John F. Kennedy Space Center	95	$104,483.20
Office Assistant Secretary Administration and Management	89	$124,180.60
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	86	$99,599.92
Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys and the Office of U.s Attorneys	85	$94,659.18
Bureau of the Fiscal Service	83	$73,891.13
Federal Bureau of Investigation	82	$148,105.25
Office Secretary Health and Human Services	80	$128,911.25
Office of the Chief Procurement Officer	79	$127,884.03
Social Security Administration	77	$106,405.74
Federal Highway Administration	76	$112,565.00
Geological Survey	73	$100,787.52
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	71	$96,768.61
Citizenship and Immigration Services	64	$99,494.80
Small Business Administration	62	$121,924.85
Departmental Administration	59	$118,023.08
Federal Student Aid	57	$136,265.12
National Institute of Standards and Technology	56	$136,304.91
Rural Housing Service	53	$102,707.11
Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs	52	$116,089.62
Agricultural Research Service	49	$102,823.06
Langley Research Center	48	$113,166.71
U.S. Marshals Service	47	$107,396.96
Securities and Exchange Commission	47	$169,236.89
Office of the Secretary (Department of Veterans Affairs)	45	$133,775.04
Fpac Business Center	44	$104,267.66
Program Support Center	44	$116,200.23
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation	44	$163,146.59
Ames Research Center	43	$125,184.07
Office of Personnel Management	43	$125,098.86
Offices, Boards and Divisions	42	$136,701.31
Patent and Trademark Office	41	$126,334.37
Office of Governmentwide Policy	39	$152,158.00
National Cemetery Administration	38	$106,829.29
Agricultural Marketing Service	38	$105,916.03
Veterans Benefits Administration	37	$103,868.59
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers	36	$103,504.47
Indian Affairs	36	$99,899.03
John Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field	36	$100,621.67
Office of Secretary of Transportation	35	$124,534.34
U.S. Secret Service	34	$118,798.35
Bureau of Engraving and Printing	34	$117,684.88
Bureau of the Census	33	$113,694.70
Drug Enforcement Administration	33	$113,394.06
Maritime Administration	31	$115,059.55
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service	28	$100,496.04
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	28	$133,113.82
U.S. Mint	27	$118,320.48
Office of the Secretary (Department of Commerce)	27	$130,241.81
Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement	23	$128,244.78
Health Resources and Services Administration	23	$137,986.09
John C. Stennis Space Center	21	$108,158.86
Office of Comptroller of Currency	21	$153,246.29
Office of Administrative Services	21	$120,643.33
Dryden Flight Research Center	19	$110,958.37
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation	18	$131,914.33
Administration for Children and Families	17	$122,373.06
Broadcasting Board of Governors	17	$120,302.12
Millennium Challenge Corporation	17	$153,885.29
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives	17	$126,013.24
Smithsonian Institution (Exchange Sep Boards of Trust)	15	$112,175.60
National Science Foundation	15	$141,430.80
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board	14	$126,896.79
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration	14	$126,534.79
Food and Nutrition Service	14	$121,210.93
National Archives and Records Administration	13	$128,650.15
Peace Corps	13	$130,390.15
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection	13	$164,242.38
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality	13	$129,055.92
Government Printing Office	12	$128,735.33
Federal Railroad Administration	11	$124,733.55
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration	11	$122,443.00
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Service Administration	11	$119,814.73
Office of Administration	11	$122,395.00
Federal Communications Commission	11	$125,367.91
Office of Justice Programs	10	$112,630.70
Food Safety and Inspection Service	9	$117,116.11
National Telecommunications and Information Administration	8	$160,803.13
National Credit Union Administration	8	$0.00
Railroad Retirement Board	8	$116,522.88
Consumer Product Safety Commission	8	$115,101.50
Federal Transit Administration	8	$125,842.50
Pipeline/Hazardous Materials Safety Administration	8	$128,567.75
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	8	$127,326.25
Overseas Private Investment Corporation	8	$117,664.50
Office of Inspector General (Department of Health and Human Services)	7	$112,834.14
Federal Housing Finance Agency	7	$174,079.00
Inspector General (Department of Veterans Affairs)	7	$133,365.29
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	7	$133,456.29
Federal Trade Commission	7	$135,722.43
Office of Small Business Utilization	7	$121,726.14
National Gallery of Art	7	$133,442.86
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Homeland Security)	6	$125,404.83
Corporation for National and Community Service	6	$117,239.33
National Labor Relations Board	6	$133,691.17
Executive Office for Immigration Review	6	$127,235.00
Commodity Futures Trading Commission	6	$200,005.33
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (Department of Agriculture)	5	$103,338.60
National Transportation Safety Board	5	$136,690.00
U.S. International Trade Commission	5	$123,357.40
Export-Import Bank of the United States	5	$134,196.20
Departmental Offices	4	$156,754.00
Trade and Development Agency	4	$126,197.75
Office of the Director	4	$137,209.50
Presidio Trust	4	$100,116.00
Office of Inspector General for Tax Administration	3	$118,314.33
National Endowment for the Arts	3	$116,892.00
Office of Management and Budget	3	$150,568.33
Office of Inspector General (Department of Housing and Urban Development)	3	$144,243.67
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement	3	$121,836.33
Federal Election Commission	3	$109,038.67
Federal Maritime Commission	3	$140,079.33
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts	3	$107,124.67
St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation	3	$76,588.00
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Labor)	3	$133,928.67
International Boundary & Water Commission: U.S. & Mexico	3	$92,327.67
Office of Inspector General (Federal Housing Finance Agency)	2	$130,647.00
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Interior)	2	$128,063.50
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology	2	$0.00
American Battle Monuments Commission	2	$120,321.50
Farm Service Agency	2	$93,346.50
Merit Systems Protection Board	2	$119,456.00
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Justice)	2	$133,447.50
U.S. Trustee Program	2	$152,123.50
Farm Credit Administration	2	$0.00
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service	2	$154,145.50
Pretrial Services Agency	2	$112,460.50
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars	2	$106,782.00
Selective Service System	2	$96,409.00
Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission	1	$94,970.00
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau	1	$157,709.00
Foreign Agricultural Service	1	$133,465.00
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Agriculture)	1	$149,621.00
National Endowment for the Humanities	1	$142,701.00
Institute of Museum and Library Services	1	$145,578.00
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board	1	$141,534.00
Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency	1	$86,335.00
Office of General Services Administration Innovative Technologies	1	$161,730.00
Office of the Committee for Purchase from People Blind	1	$161,730.00
Administration for Community Living	1	$145,578.00
Community Relations Service	1	$92,091.00
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs	1	$123,198.00
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs	1	$145,578.00
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education	1	$149,621.00
National Assessment Governing Board	1	$125,360.00
Chemical Safety/Hazard Investigation Board	1	$141,534.00
Immediate Office of the Administrator	1	$161,730.00
Office of Inspector General (Department of Treasury)	1	$153,665.00
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission	1	$133,000.00

Contractor Pay Distribution

The average pay for a Contractor is $108,931.08. The highest paid Contractor made $253,300 in 2020.

Common Contractor Payscales

Payscale	Number of Contracting Employees
GS - General Schedule	12,212
FV - Federal Aviation Administration Core Compensation Plan	237
NQ - Employees In The National Nuclear Secuirty Administration's Professional, Technical, And Admin Career Path	118
GL - Gs Employees In Grades 3 Through 10 Paid A Law Enforcement Officer Special Base Rate	115
SV - Transportation Security Administration Employees Other Than Executives	97
ZA - Administrative	88
FP - Foreign Service Personnel	81
ES - Senior Executive Service	79
FO - Foreign Service Officers	77
IC - Employees Holding Incident Management Cadre Of On-call Response/recovery Employees(core)positions	77
SK - Non-supervisorty Postions Employed By The Securities And Exchange Commission (sec) And Formerly Under Gs Pay	47
IR - Internal Revenue Service Broadband Classification And Pay System Positions Only	39
CG - Corporate Graded	39
GG - Grades Similar To General Schedule	30
AD - Administratively Determined Rates, Not Elsewhere Specified	25
NB - Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency Only	21
MC - Employees Of The Millennium Challenge Corporation Appointed Under Public Law 108-199 Only.	17
CN - Bureau Of Consumer Financial Protect(cfpb) Independent Agcy Within The Fed Res Syst(use By Cfpb Only)	13
PG - Printing Office Grades	12
EL - Non-executive Positions At The Federal Housing Finance Agency	9
CU - Credit Union Employees	8
EJ - The Department Of Energy Organization Act Excepted Service	6
CT - Commodity Futures Trading Commission Positions Previously Defined Under Pay Plan Codes Ad, Es, Gm, And Gs	6
CM - Fdic Supervisory And Managerial Positions Below The Executive Level Only	5
EN - National Nuclear Security Administration Excepted Service Only	5
NY - All Other Positions In The Corporation For National And Community Service, P.l. 103-82, Subtitle G, Section	5
SL - Senior Level Positions	4
FE - Senior Foreign Service	3
VH - Professional, Administrative, And Managerial	2
SW - Transportation Security Administration Executives	2
NX - Executive-level And Managerial Positions In The Corporation For National And Community Service, P.l. 103-82	1
CE - Contract Education--year Long	1
GM - Employees Covered By The Performance Management And Recognition System (pmrs) Termination Provisions	1

Category:	N/A
Occupation Family:	1100 BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY GROUP

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Average Contracting Pay Trend from 2004 to 2021

In 2004, the average pay for a Contractor was $75,790. Since then, the average pay has increased to $109,962 in 2021.

Data Sources

The information provided on these pages is sourced from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) dataset. Postal Service data is managed exclusively by the USPS . All information is displayed unmodified and as provided by the source agency.

Federal employee salaries are public information under open government laws (5 U.S.C. § 552). FederalPay provides this data in the interest of government transparency — employee data may not be used for commercial soliciting or vending of any kind. Learn more about the FederalPay Employees Dataset here.

The series code of this occupation is 1102.