Postal clerk vs general office clerk

The differences between postal clerks and general office clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a postal clerk has an average salary of $38,239, which is higher than the $30,034 average annual salary of a general office clerk.

The top three skills for a postal clerk include customer service, postal service and postage rates. The most important skills for a general office clerk are data entry, customer service, and office equipment.

Postal clerk vs general office clerk overview

	Postal Clerk	General Office Clerk
Yearly salary	$38,239	$30,034
Hourly rate	$18.38	$14.44
Growth rate	-6%	-5%
Number of jobs	93,101	160,597
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	52	47
Years of experience	-	2

What does a postal clerk do?

A postal clerk is responsible for organizing mails for delivery and categorizing other mailroom supplies. Postal clerks sort mail and packages, verify the accurate addresses, and deliver to the correct location. They also operate various postal tools and equipment for labeling documents and weighing parcels. A postal clerk must be highly communicative and organizational, especially on responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about their deliveries and handling fragile packages with utmost care to avoid complications and operational delays.

What does a general office clerk do?

A general office clerk is responsible for performing various clerical duties to support business functions and ensure smooth daily operations. General office clerks respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, welcoming guests, and assisting in disseminating information across the organization. They maintain the adequacy of inventories, organize business and financial transaction reports, and perform basic bookkeeping tasks and banking transactions. A general office clerk must be highly organizational and analytical, especially in encoding account statements on the database and processing business reports required by the management.

Postal clerk vs general office clerk salary

Postal clerks and general office clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Postal Clerk	General Office Clerk
Average salary	$38,239	$30,034
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $50,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Providence, RI	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New York	Washington
Best paying company	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	USF Reddaway
Best paying industry	Government	Health Care

Differences between postal clerk and general office clerk education

There are a few differences between a postal clerk and a general office clerk in terms of educational background:

	Postal Clerk	General Office Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Postal clerk vs general office clerk demographics

Here are the differences between postal clerks' and general office clerks' demographics:

	Postal Clerk	General Office Clerk
Average age	52	47
Gender ratio	Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8%	Male, 22.2% Female, 77.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.6% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	10%	6%

Differences between postal clerk and general office clerk duties and responsibilities

Postal clerk example responsibilities.

Manage $24K official mail account, expertly track expenditures ultimately saving the DoD $1K with little to no supervision.
Maintain cleanliness of the company warehouse, operate warehouse machinery and organize the warehouse to ensure proper product placement.
Assist with various duties including spreadsheet development, payroll information and data population.

General office clerk example responsibilities.

Set up PowerPoint presentations using LCD projectors and computers.
Update and maintain PowerPoint presentations used for new hire orientation of management and employees.
Insert data accurately and expeditiously into the company payroll system for future retrieval.
Assist patients with sensitive and detail orient documentation, schedule appointments and verify insurance benefits.
Use QuickBooks for purchase order, inventory activities and sales order.
Bag groceries, assist customers in locating merchandise, cleaning of store floors, restrooms and shelves.

Postal clerk vs general office clerk skills

Common postal clerk skills

Customer Service, 24%
Postal Service, 20%
Postage Rates, 11%
ZIP Codes, 4%
USPS, 4%
Mail Delivery, 3%

Common general office clerk skills

Data Entry, 17%
Customer Service, 15%
Office Equipment, 12%
Front Desk, 11%
Word Processing, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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