Postal Service Clerks Salary: $64,786 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 78,060 postal service clerks nationally earn a mean of $64,786. Projections imply about 2.5% annual decline; much hiring sits in transportation and warehousing.
Key Statistics
Postal Service Clerks: what the data shows
Common questions about postal service clerks careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a postal service clerks?
Postal Service Clerks is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 43-5051.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 78,060 workers.
What does a postal service clerks do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Getting Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Handling and Moving Objects, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a postal service clerks make?
BLS national median annual wage: $61,630 (May 2024 in our extract).
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $53,437 |
| 25th percentile | $57,666 |
| Median (50th) | $65,041 |
| 75th percentile | $75,645 |
| 90th percentile | $77,003 |
What education do you need?
For Postal Service Clerks, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Time Management, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Mathematics, Sales and Marketing. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is postal service clerks in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.5% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -12.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -22.7%.
Current U.S. headcount: 78,060.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do postal service clerkss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 78,060 | 16.7% |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 78,060 | 16.7% |
| Postal Service (Federal Government) | 78,060 | 16.7% |
| Postal Service (Federal Government) | 78,060 | 16.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 78,060 | 16.7% |
| Federal Government, including the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 78,060 | 16.7% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Postal Service Clerks in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Postal Service Clerks workforce.
Employment Over Time
78,060 Workforce in 2023
The Postal Service Clerks workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Postal Service Clerks.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$64,786 Average Wage
In 2023, Postal Service Clerks earned an average of $64,786.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Postal Service Clerks.
Salary distribution for Postal Service Clerks.
Employment Growth Projections
-2.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
20,104 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -12.1%
17,681 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -22.7%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Postal Service Clerks.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Postal Service Clerks and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Postal Service Clerks employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Postal Service Clerks.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Postal Service Clerks.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Postal Service Clerks.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 6,890 employees, $63,420 avg wage
- NY: 5,480 employees, $61,870 avg wage
- TX: 5,150 employees, $61,510 avg wage
- PA: 3,820 employees, $60,120 avg wage
- FL: 3,770 employees, $61,730 avg wage
- IL: 2,920 employees, $60,730 avg wage
- OH: 2,570 employees, $61,090 avg wage
- MI: 2,470 employees, $63,070 avg wage
- NJ: 2,400 employees, $63,620 avg wage
- VA: 2,190 employees, $60,700 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Postal Service Clerks.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 4,760 employees, $63,610 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 2,310 employees, $64,120 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 1,530 employees, $63,440 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,480 employees, $61,820 avg wage
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: 1,360 employees, $61,730 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 1,270 employees, $62,810 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,210 employees, $63,380 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 1,080 employees, $63,720 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 1,030 employees, $66,090 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 950 employees, $61,970 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Postal Service Clerks.
Diversity
Demographic information on Postal Service Clerks in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Postal Service Clerks in 2023 was 78,060 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Postal Service Clerks.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Postal Service Clerks.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Postal Service Clerks.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Postal Service Clerks in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Postal Service Clerks.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Postal Service Clerks workers.
Education level distribution for Postal Service Clerks.
Skills
Postal Service Clerks need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Postal Service Clerks.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Postal Service Clerks.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Postal Service Clerks include Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Mathematics, Sales and Marketing, Administrative.
Knowledge areas required for Postal Service Clerks.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Postal Service Clerks include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Near Vision, Written Comprehension, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Postal Service Clerks.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Postal Service Clerks.
Daily Activities
Postal Service Clerks spend their time on activities such as Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Getting Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.
Most important work activities for Postal Service Clerks.
About
Postal Service Clerks
The average yearly wage for Postal Service Clerks was $64,786 in 2023.
SOC Code
43-5051 - Postal Service Clerks
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Postal Service Clerks reports an average salary of $64,786.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 78,060 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -2.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.