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Postal Service Worker

$58,470
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Sort and deliver mail and packages along routes, and serve customers at the counter.

Where you work

Post offices, trucks, and streets; on your feet, outdoors in all weather.

The hours

Full-time and part-time; early mornings, weekends, and holidays.

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$58,470
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~20,600
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-5%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
coming soon

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

No formal credential

Training path: Hired and trained by USPS.

License or certification

No license required beyond a driver's license for routes.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

Physical staminaReliabilityOrganizationCustomer service

The honest take

Federal benefits and union protection — but a shrinking headcount.

Standard Occupational Classification 43-5052. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.