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The differences between rural carrier associates and city carrier assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a rural carrier associate has an average salary of $41,259, which is higher than the $40,196 average annual salary of a city carrier assistant.
The top three skills for a rural carrier associate include delivery sequence, RCA and customer service. The most important skills for a city carrier assistant are mail delivery, customer service, and place packages.
A rural carrier associate specializes in picking up and delivering mail or parcels within a particular rural area. They are primarily responsible for ensuring that clients will receive the correct packages on time. Aside from this, they must also coordinate with logistics managers, abide by the traffics laws and regulations, communicate with clients and acquire their signature upon a transaction, and monitor the company vehicle by conducting maintenance checks. Furthermore, a rural carrier associate must maintain an accurate record of all deliveries, even the missed and attempted ones.
A city carrier assistant is responsible for organizing and delivering mail and packages from the postal office to designated locations. City carrier assistants ensure the timely delivery of items most safely and securely. They also handle the customers' postal requests, especially with changes in the delivery address and additional distribution of mail. A city carrier assistant must know how to operate equipment such as scanner tools essential for items' validation. Since this job requires customer interaction, a city carrier assistant should have excellent communication skills to respond to the customers' inquiries and concerns and resolve possible complaints immediately.
Rural carrier associates and city carrier assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Rural Carrier Associate | City Carrier Assistant | |
| Average salary | $41,259 | $40,196 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $80,000 | Between $20,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | - |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | - |
| Best paying company | Bristol-Myers Squibb | - |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a rural carrier associate and a city carrier assistant in terms of educational background:
| Rural Carrier Associate | City Carrier Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between rural carrier associates' and city carrier assistants' demographics:
| Rural Carrier Associate | City Carrier Assistant | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.6% Female, 61.4% | Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 6.4% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 7.6% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |