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Role hub · Postal Service Mail Carriers

Mail Carrier: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of mail carriers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$60,550
Hourly
$29.11
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Mail Carriers sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Deliver mail on established route by vehicle or on foot. The median pay is $60,550 a year ($29.11 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (78% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$60,550
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
328,820
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 1-2 of 5
very little to some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
78% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Postal Service Mail Carriers (O*NET-SOC 43-5052.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Key facts

Mail Carriers at a glance

  • Postal service mail carriers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $60,550 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry-level education for postal service mail carriers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of postal service mail carriers in the United States to decline 0.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 19,600 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 328,820 people were employed as postal service mail carriers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Mail Carriers

SalaryMail Carrier salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeMail Carrier how to become

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The work

What mail carriers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
  2. Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
  3. Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
  4. Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
  5. Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.
  6. Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
  7. Sign for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office.
  8. Hold mail for customers who are away from delivery locations.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Social PerceptivenesscoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreCritical ThinkingTime ManagementCoordinationService OrientationJudgment and Decision MakingReading Comprehension

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Sales and Marketing.

Tools and technology

Software mail carriers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Delivery Routing System DRSMap creation software
  • Electronic Time Clock ETCTime accounting software
  • Time and Attendance Collection System TACSHuman resources software
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WindowsOperating system softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Address Management System AMSData base user interface and query software
  • Automated Data Collection System ADCSData base user interface and query software
  • Delivery operations information system DOISEnterprise resource planning ERP software
  • End of Run Report EORData base user interface and query software

Also called: Postal Worker, City Carrier, City Carrier Assistant (CCA), City Letter Carrier, City Mail Carrier, Letter Carrier.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.