Rural carrier vs contract mail carrier

The differences between rural carriers and contract mail carriers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a rural carrier has an average salary of $40,325, which is higher than the $39,511 average annual salary of a contract mail carrier.

The top three skills for a rural carrier include delivery sequence, customer service and mail delivery. The most important skills for a contract mail carrier are delivery sequence, newspapers, and quality customer service.

Rural carrier vs contract mail carrier overview

	Rural Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Yearly salary	$40,325	$39,511
Hourly rate	$19.39	$19.00
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	16,047	29,336
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 29%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Rural carrier vs contract mail carrier salary

Rural carriers and contract mail carriers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Rural Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Average salary	$40,325	$39,511
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $75,000	Between $20,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between rural carrier and contract mail carrier education

There are a few differences between a rural carrier and a contract mail carrier in terms of educational background:

	Rural Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 29%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Rural carrier vs contract mail carrier demographics

Here are the differences between rural carriers' and contract mail carriers' demographics:

	Rural Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0%	Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.7% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 7.9% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between rural carrier and contract mail carrier duties and responsibilities

Rural carrier example responsibilities.

Manage problems, conduct RCA investigations and deliver completed documentation.
Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specify routes by driving personal vehicle approve by USPS.
Improve efficiency and safety of the route taken to deliver mail in order to comply with USPS regulations
Attend bid openings for prospective construction projects and prepared/draft construction contracts in accordance with RCA policies/procedures.
Ascertain that delivery address matches actual address, requiring excellent number memorization.

Contract mail carrier example responsibilities.

Manage problems, conduct RCA investigations and deliver completed documentation.
Adhere to suspicious package handling per USPS standards.
Interact with USPS supervisors and customers to handle inquiries and problem resolution.
Attend bid openings for prospective construction projects and prepared/draft construction contracts in accordance with RCA policies/procedures.
Pass testing requirements including speed and accuracy in memorization as well as organizational skills.

Rural carrier vs contract mail carrier skills

Common rural carrier skills

Delivery Sequence, 27%
Customer Service, 25%
Mail Delivery, 6%
Mail Security, 6%
Necessary Paperwork, 5%
Postal Service, 4%

Common contract mail carrier skills

Delivery Sequence, 40%
Newspapers, 23%
Quality Customer Service, 14%
Mail Delivery, 10%
USPS, 4%
Address Changes, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Rural Carrier
Rural Carrier vs Contract Mail Carrier

Updated January 8, 2025

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