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Postal Service Mail Carriers
Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Deliver mail on established route by vehicle or on foot. Includes postal service mail carriers employed by USPS contractors.
Also Known As:
City Carrier
City Carrier Assistant (CCA)
City Letter Carrier
City Mail Carrier
Letter Carrier
Mail Carrier
Rural Carrier
Rural Carrier Associate (RCA)
Rural Mail Carrier
Rural Route Carrier
Wages
Annual wages for Postal Service Mail Carriers in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
307,100
-3% Change From 2023
Explore Postal Service Mail Carriers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Sell stamps and money orders.
- Maintain accurate records of deliveries.
- Register, certify, and insure parcels and letters.
- Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
- Travel to post offices to pick up the mail for routes or pick up mail from postal relay boxes.
- Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
- Turn in money and receipts collected along mail routes.
- Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
- Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
- Bundle mail in preparation for delivery or transportation to relay boxes.
- Register, certify, and insure parcels and letters.
- Provide customers with change of address cards and other forms.
- Hold mail for customers who are away from delivery locations.
- Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
- Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
- Report any unusual circumstances concerning mail delivery, including the condition of street letter boxes.
- Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses.
- Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
- Answer customers' questions about postal services and regulations.
- Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.
- Sign for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office.
- Return incorrectly addressed mail to senders.
- Complete forms that notify publishers of address changes.
- Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses.
- Leave notices telling patrons where to collect mail that could not be delivered.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")