Put the mail in route order
Sort every piece of mail, bundles included, into the order of your stops before heading out.
Career profile
Mail Carrier
Mail carriers bring letters and parcels to the right addresses along a route of stops.
Much of your day goes to moving between stops. The route has to get finished, and now and then a customer needs your help.
A day in the life
Walk or drive the route
You go address to address on foot or by vehicle, dropping off mail and picking up outgoing pieces.
Scan parcels and record handoffs
Scan each parcel label, get a signature if required, and leave a notice if you cannot deliver.
Turn in mail and money
Back at the post office, hand over gathered mail plus any cash and receipts you collected.
Quick facts
Learn on the job
United States · 2025
$60,550/year
United States · May 2025
Nearly flat employment
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Learn on the jobTypically no formal educational credential or related experience is needed. Employer screening still applies.
Pay
$60,550/yearNational median for postal service mail carriers; $29.11 per hour.
Outlook
Nearly flat employmentEmployment is projected to decline 0.3%, with about 19,600 openings annually.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like staying physically active.
- You can keep checking details through repetitive work.
- You enjoy brief customer conversations.
Things to weigh
- Rain, heat and cold are part of outdoor delivery, alongside lifting mail and packages.
- Weekend and holiday work can make your schedule different from friends' schedules.
Where AI may help
Machines sort mail before delivery; scanners help record what reaches the customer.
What people still lead
You still move the mail, handle signatures and respond when a delivery cannot be completed.
What we can’t predict yet
Less sorting time can mean a larger route. More shared mailbox locations may also change how much walking and door-to-door delivery your day contains.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median gives you a reference point, not a starting-pay offer.
The national pay spread
Postal service mail carriers had a median wage of $60,550 a year, or $29.11 an hour. The lowest-paid 10% earned $42,390 or less; the highest-paid 10% earned $81,040 or more. These are wage percentiles, not career stages.
Read the rate and the schedule
For rural carriers, the 2024–2027 agreement includes general wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments. When comparing offers, check expected hours as well as the rate: associate work can require broad availability without a full week's schedule.
Openings despite little growth
Postal service mail carrier employment is projected to fall 0.3% from 2025 to 2035. About 19,600 openings a year are projected nationally; that does not tell you how many vacancies are near you.
Getting started
Start as a City Carrier Assistant
- What the route involves
- Learn through workplace training, then deliver and collect mail on city routes.
- What it can lead to
- Build delivery experience in a position with opportunities to advance into career employment.
Start as a Rural Carrier Associate
- What the route involves
- Train on the job to deliver mail and packages in rural or suburban areas.
- What it can lead to
- This can lead to a full-time regular rural carrier position.
- What to check
- You may need your own vehicle and availability beyond the days you actually work.
Apply to the United States Postal Service (USPS). Eligibility includes citizenship or qualifying residency status, background, drug and medical screening, and Selective Service registration when applicable. The usual minimum age is 18; some non-driving jobs allow younger applicants, including graduates at 16. Driving jobs require age 18, a license, a safe record and a road test. Complete the posting's required assessment, commonly the Virtual Entry Assessment for Mail Carriers (Exam 474). Applications and exams are free.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Learn the delivery routine
After hiring, learn at work, sometimes alongside an experienced carrier.
Handle the exceptions
Get reliable at address changes, held mail and accurate delivery records.
Move into a career position
A next step can be career city carrier or regular rural carrier. Eligibility and available positions shape when that move is possible.
Where you can work
City delivery routes
Your route may combine walking and driving, with brief customer conversations between stops. Road and weather conditions stay part of the job.
- Outdoors
- Vehicle
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Rural delivery routes
Vehicle delivery shapes the day. You prepare mail before departure and may need to use a personal vehicle when a postal vehicle is unavailable.
- Indoors
- Outdoors
- Vehicle
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Draw a fictional route with ten addresses and make paper letters for them. Sort the letters into stop order, then add a hold request and an address change. Check what needs to be set aside. Notice whether careful, repetitive checking holds your attention.
Stay safe: Use made-up addresses and paper props, not anyone's real mail.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Postal Service Mail Carriers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- O*NET OnLine. Postal Service Mail Carriers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Postal Service Workers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Top jobs. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. How to apply. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Handbook EL-312: 513 Eligibility Requirements. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Postal exams. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. Career opportunities. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. A New and Rewarding Career Awaits at the United States Postal Service. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- United States Postal Service. National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association approves contract with USPS. Accessed 2026-10-03.