Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
SOC 43-9051 · 2024-2034
Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. Time-stamp, open, read, sort, and route incoming mail; and address, seal, stamp, fold, stuff, and affix postage to outgoing mail or packages. Duties may also include keeping necessary records and completed forms.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -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
- $45,461per year
- Projected openings
- 5,020
- Projected change
- -8%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
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.
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $57,175 | 190 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $51,477 | 300 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $49,295 | 340 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $46,030 | 400 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $43,524 | 1,790 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $42,700 | 470 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $42,251 | 70 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $41,158 | 360 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $40,575 | 70 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $38,470 | 710 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $36,964
- A quarter earn under
- $39,595
- Half earn under
- $45,461
- Three quarters earn under
- $53,476
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $64,644
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% |
| Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators | $60,898 | 6,950 | -11% |
| Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks | $47,621 | 75,500 | -5.2% |
| Postal Service Mail Carriers | $63,559 | 19,360 | -6.8% |
| Couriers and Messengers | $46,034 | 32,970 | +17.8% |
| Data Entry Keyers | $48,122 | 10,930 | -21.6% |