Weigh and price a parcel
Put the parcel on the scale, explain the shipping options, take payment, then apply the postage label.
Career profile
Postal Clerk
Postal service clerks help counter customers send mail, collect packages and choose the right service.
A customer's mailing question becomes your job until it ends in a finished sale or service, and you double-check details the whole way.
A day in the life
Release a held package
Find the held parcel and get the customer's signature, if required, before you hand it over.
Start a lost-mail claim
Listen to someone whose mail never arrived, walk them through claim forms, and forward the complaint for investigation.
Balance the drawer at day's end
Count the cash against today's sales records and look into any gap before closing out the drawer.
Quick facts
Learn on the job
United States · 2025
$62,130 a year
United States · May 2025
Little overall change
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Learn on the jobNo formal educational credential or related experience is typically required; employer hiring requirements still apply.
Pay
$62,130 a yearNational median for postal service clerks, equivalent to a published hourly median of $29.87.
Outlook
Little overall changePostal clerk employment is projected to fall 0.3%, with about 5,300 openings annually.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like explaining a choice to someone who has never used the service before.
- You enjoy keeping transactions accurate, even when the steps repeat.
Things to weigh
- Counter work means long stretches on your feet, plus handling parcels and mail.
- Customers may be upset about missing mail; you still need to give a clear, patient response.
- Weekend work can be part of the schedule. Check the actual position's hours before applying.
Where AI may help
Self-service kiosks can weigh packages, take payment and print postage, letting customers complete some transactions themselves.
What people still lead
You help customers choose services and work through mailing problems that need a conversation.
What we can’t predict yet
As more transactions move to self-service, the balance between routine sales and complicated customer questions may change.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median describes workers across the occupation, not a starting offer.
The national pay range
The median was $62,130 a year, or $29.87 an hour. The lowest-paid 10% earned $42,600 or less; the highest-paid 10% earned $75,030 or more. These are wage percentiles, not career stages.
The employer and schedule matter
United States Postal Service (USPS) career jobs have regular salary increases and may include overtime, night or Sunday premiums, depending on eligibility. A contract postal counter employs you through its operator, so check that employer's rate and benefits.
Openings despite flat employment
About 5,300 postal clerk openings are projected each year, even as total employment declines 0.3%. Openings include replacement needs; they do not mean the occupation is expanding.
Getting started
Apply for a USPS counter position
- What the route involves
- Look for sales and services/distribution associate openings. Apply through USPS Careers, complete the required hiring assessment and screening, then learn counter procedures on the job.
- What it can lead to
- A direct USPS role serving customers and processing postal purchases.
- What to check
- Generally, you must be 18, or 16 with a high school diploma, and meet citizenship or residency, background, drug-screening and medical requirements. Selective Service registration applies when required. Applications and exams are free.
Join a contract postal counter
- What the route involves
- Apply to a business that operates a contract postal unit. Ask its manager about hiring requirements and how new staff learn the postal counter.
- What it can lead to
- Postal retail work as an employee of the operator, selling mailing services to the public.
- What to check
- This is employment with the contractor, not appointment as a USPS employee.
You typically learn this work after hiring. A college degree is not the usual entry requirement.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get comfortable at the counter
Use initial job training to learn routine sales, then practice completing transactions accurately while talking with customers.
Handle more involved requests
Build confidence with insured and registered mail, claim forms and questions that need more than a price quote.
Explore supervision
If you want to lead other workers, explore USPS supervisory opportunities and its leadership training. Advancement requires selection for a role.
Where you can work
USPS post office
You work at a public service window with postal coworkers. A position may combine counter sales with sorting mail and keeping the retail lobby ready.
- Indoors
- Physical demands
Contract postal counter
You work inside an operator's business with its staff and managers. Mail leaves through scheduled collections, so the final collection time matters when explaining when a parcel will enter processing.
- Indoors
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Use the USPS postage calculator to compare two services for one pretend parcel. Explain the price and delivery tradeoff to a friend, then change the package weight and check again. Notice whether you enjoy checking details while making the choice understandable.
Stay safe: Use made-up shipment details; you do not need to buy postage or send anything.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Postal Service Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Postal Service Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–35. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Postal Service Workers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Top jobs: Sales & Services/Distribution Associate. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. How to apply. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Contract Postal Units. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Career development. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Compensation & benefits. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. How to Send a Package: Domestic. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: Postal Service Clerks. Accessed 2026-10-03.