Postal Service Mail Carriers
SOC 43-5052 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -6.8%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $63,559per year
- Projected openings
- 19,360
- Projected change
- -6.8%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Time Management
- Coordination
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $65,932 | 460 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $65,932 | 240 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $65,930 | 90 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $65,930 | 380 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $63,642 | 400 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $62,069 | 1,350 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $61,742 | 960 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $60,792 | 80 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $60,434 | 120 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $60,434 | 190 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $59,648 | 1,970 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $59,648 | 230 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $59,643 | 1,440 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $58,728 | 690 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $58,728 | 2,140 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $58,258 | 140 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $57,543 | 90 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $57,543 | 170 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $57,339 | 360 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $56,583 | 310 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $56,205 | 130 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $55,521 | 50 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $54,754 | 100 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $54,601 | 240 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $53,498 | 240 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $53,488 | 70 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $52,783 | 510 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $49,636 | 160 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $44,140
- A quarter earn under
- $52,340
- Half earn under
- $63,559
- Three quarters earn under
- $82,958
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $82,958
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postal Service Clerks | $65,156 | 5,010 | -6.3% |
| Couriers and Messengers | $46,034 | 32,970 | +17.8% |
| Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service | $45,461 | 5,020 | -8% |
| Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks | $47,621 | 75,500 | -5.2% |
| Cargo and Freight Agents | $59,055 | 16,830 | +14.9% |
| Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators | $60,898 | 6,950 | -11% |