Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
43-5052 Postal Service Mail Carriers
Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Deliver mail on established route by vehicle or on foot. Includes postal service mail carriers employed by USPS contractors.
National estimates for Postal Service Mail Carriers
Industry profile for Postal Service Mail Carriers
Geographic profile for Postal Service Mail Carriers
National estimates for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 331,600 |
0.0 % |
$ 28.53 |
$ 59,340 |
0.0 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 19.94 |
$ 22.13 |
$ 27.08 |
$ 36.20 |
$ 36.50 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 41,480 |
$ 46,030 |
$ 56,330 |
$ 75,300 |
$ 75,920 |
Industry profile for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Postal Service Mail Carriers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Postal Service Mail Carriers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Top paying industries for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Geographic profile for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Postal Service Mail Carriers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Postal Service Mail Carriers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
32,800 |
1.83 |
0.84 |
$ 29.24 |
$ 60,820 |
| Texas |
26,890 |
1.98 |
0.91 |
$ 28.16 |
$ 58,570 |
| New York |
20,970 |
2.23 |
1.02 |
$ 28.93 |
$ 60,170 |
| Florida |
20,860 |
2.18 |
1.00 |
$ 28.50 |
$ 59,280 |
| Illinois |
14,990 |
2.49 |
1.14 |
$ 28.84 |
$ 59,980 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Mississippi |
3,370 |
2.93 |
1.34 |
$ 27.50 |
$ 57,210 |
| Alabama |
5,930 |
2.89 |
1.32 |
$ 27.72 |
$ 57,650 |
| Connecticut |
4,730 |
2.85 |
1.31 |
$ 28.45 |
$ 59,170 |
| Louisiana |
5,120 |
2.76 |
1.27 |
$ 28.01 |
$ 58,260 |
| Michigan |
11,940 |
2.75 |
1.26 |
$ 28.27 |
$ 58,810 |
Top paying states for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Massachusetts |
7,590 |
2.08 |
0.95 |
$ 29.48 |
$ 61,310 |
| Minnesota |
5,660 |
1.96 |
0.90 |
$ 29.44 |
$ 61,240 |
| California |
32,800 |
1.83 |
0.84 |
$ 29.24 |
$ 60,820 |
| New York |
20,970 |
2.23 |
1.02 |
$ 28.93 |
$ 60,170 |
| Arizona |
5,360 |
1.71 |
0.78 |
$ 28.91 |
$ 60,130 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
21,370 |
2.25 |
1.03 |
$ 29.04 |
$ 60,410 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
11,320 |
1.83 |
0.84 |
$ 29.42 |
$ 61,200 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
10,700 |
2.37 |
1.09 |
$ 29.06 |
$ 60,450 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
7,220 |
1.82 |
0.83 |
$ 28.62 |
$ 59,520 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
6,870 |
2.16 |
0.99 |
$ 28.13 |
$ 58,510 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
6,850 |
2.42 |
1.11 |
$ 28.47 |
$ 59,210 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
6,410 |
2.07 |
0.95 |
$ 29.46 |
$ 61,280 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
5,880 |
2.16 |
0.99 |
$ 28.78 |
$ 59,850 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
5,760 |
2.05 |
0.94 |
$ 28.06 |
$ 58,370 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI |
5,580 |
2.94 |
1.34 |
$ 28.57 |
$ 59,430 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Sebring, FL |
130 |
4.74 |
2.17 |
$ 27.61 |
$ 57,430 |
| Gadsden, AL |
140 |
4.39 |
2.01 |
$ 27.64 |
$ 57,490 |
| Jacksonville, NC |
220 |
4.30 |
1.97 |
$ 28.54 |
$ 59,360 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
170 |
4.15 |
1.90 |
$ 27.53 |
$ 57,260 |
| Danbury, CT |
320 |
4.12 |
1.89 |
$ 28.35 |
$ 58,960 |
| Bay City, MI |
140 |
4.02 |
1.84 |
$ 28.90 |
$ 60,110 |
| Waterbury, CT |
270 |
3.97 |
1.82 |
$ 28.75 |
$ 59,810 |
| Sumter, SC |
140 |
3.97 |
1.82 |
$ 27.00 |
$ 56,170 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL |
210 |
3.85 |
1.76 |
$ 28.32 |
$ 58,900 |
| Homosassa Springs, FL |
130 |
3.79 |
1.73 |
$ 28.09 |
$ 58,430 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
4,350 |
1.80 |
0.82 |
$ 30.63 |
$ 63,720 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,530 |
1.34 |
0.61 |
$ 30.36 |
$ 63,140 |
| Napa, CA |
140 |
1.74 |
0.80 |
$ 30.26 |
$ 62,940 |
| Bismarck, ND |
120 |
1.67 |
0.76 |
$ 30.25 |
$ 62,920 |
| Fargo, ND-MN |
220 |
1.54 |
0.70 |
$ 30.18 |
$ 62,780 |
| Rochester, MN |
220 |
1.85 |
0.85 |
$ 30.14 |
$ 62,680 |
| Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI |
130 |
1.70 |
0.78 |
$ 30.06 |
$ 62,530 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME |
110 |
2.32 |
1.06 |
$ 30.06 |
$ 62,520 |
| Lincoln, NE |
290 |
1.61 |
0.74 |
$ 30.01 |
$ 62,420 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
5,390 |
1.95 |
0.89 |
$ 29.99 |
$ 62,390 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Postal Service Mail Carriers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Postal Service Mail Carriers:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
