What is a Postal Service Mail Carrier?
Position Description Sort mail for delivery. Deliver mail on established route by vehicle or on foot.
What Do Postal Service Mail Carriers Do On a Daily Basis?
- Return incorrectly addressed mail to senders.
- Bundle mail in preparation for delivery or transportation to relay boxes.
- Enter change of address orders into computers that process forwarding address stickers.
- Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses.
- Provide customers with change of address cards and other forms.
- Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
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What Every Postal Service Mail Carrier Should Know
Postal Service Mail Carriers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
Related Job Titles
- Postal Carrier
- City Letter Carrier
- Postman
- Mailman
- Carrier Driver
Is There Job Demand for Postal Service Mail Carriers?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 316,700 jobs in the United States for Postal Service Mail Carrier. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Postal Service Mail Carrier. There will be an estimated 16,100 positions for Postal Service Mail Carrier per year.

The states with the most job growth for Postal Service Mail Carrier are Utah, Texas, and Connecticut. Watch out if you plan on working in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, or Ohio. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of a Postal Service Mail Carrier
The typical yearly salary for Postal Service Mail Carriers is somewhere between $36,990 and $63,970.

Postal Service Mail Carriers who work in California, Hawaii, or District of Columbia, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Postal Service Mail Carriers in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $51,320 |
Alaska | $51,840 |
Arizona | $52,130 |
Arkansas | $51,050 |
California | $53,680 |
Colorado | $51,070 |
Connecticut | $52,150 |
Delaware | $51,890 |
District of Columbia | $53,250 |
Florida | $52,090 |
Georgia | $51,180 |
Hawaii | $54,190 |
Idaho | $50,610 |
Illinois | $52,090 |
Indiana | $51,300 |
Iowa | $51,350 |
Kansas | $50,580 |
Kentucky | $51,290 |
Louisiana | $50,840 |
Maine | $50,710 |
Maryland | $51,540 |
Massachusetts | $52,730 |
Michigan | $51,340 |
Minnesota | $51,610 |
Mississippi | $51,260 |
Missouri | $51,010 |
Montana | $50,260 |
Nebraska | $51,210 |
Nevada | $51,840 |
New Hampshire | $51,380 |
New Jersey | $52,890 |
New Mexico | $51,350 |
New York | $52,150 |
North Carolina | $51,300 |
North Dakota | $50,340 |
Ohio | $51,290 |
Oklahoma | $50,820 |
Oregon | $50,210 |
Pennsylvania | $51,540 |
Rhode Island | $51,210 |
South Carolina | $51,230 |
South Dakota | $51,040 |
Tennessee | $51,560 |
Texas | $51,620 |
Utah | $51,140 |
Vermont | $50,560 |
Virginia | $50,760 |
Washington | $51,530 |
West Virginia | $50,660 |
Wisconsin | $51,360 |
Wyoming | $49,860 |
What Tools & Technology do Postal Service Mail Carriers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Postal Service Mail Carriers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Windows
- Time and Attendance Collection System TACS
- Delivery operations information system DOIS
- Electronic Time Clock ETC
- Address Management System AMS
- Delivery Routing System DRS
How to Become a Postal Service Mail Carrier
Are there Postal Service Mail Carriers education requirements?

How Long Does it Take to Become a Postal Service Mail Carrier?

Who Employs Postal Service Mail Carriers?

The table below shows the approximate number of Postal Service Mail Carriers employed by various industries.

Other Jobs You May be Interested In
Are you already one of the many Postal Service Mail Carrier in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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