Rural letter carrier vs route carrier

The differences between rural letter carriers and route carriers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a rural letter carrier has an average salary of $40,124, which is higher than the $37,724 average annual salary of a route carrier.

The top three skills for a rural letter carrier include delivery sequence, customer service and postal service. The most important skills for a route carrier are newspapers, delivery sequence, and delivery route.

Rural letter carrier vs route carrier overview

	Rural Letter Carrier	Route Carrier
Yearly salary	$40,124	$37,724
Hourly rate	$19.29	$18.14
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	16,047	22,260
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Rural letter carrier vs route carrier salary

Rural letter carriers and route carriers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Rural Letter Carrier	Route Carrier
Average salary	$40,124	$37,724
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $75,000	Between $16,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between rural letter carrier and route carrier education

There are a few differences between a rural letter carrier and a route carrier in terms of educational background:

	Rural Letter Carrier	Route Carrier
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Rural letter carrier vs route carrier demographics

Here are the differences between rural letter carriers' and route carriers' demographics:

	Rural Letter Carrier	Route Carrier
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 47.3% Female, 52.7%	Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 7.1% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between rural letter carrier and route carrier duties and responsibilities

Rural letter carrier example responsibilities.

Manage problems, conduct RCA investigations and deliver completed documentation.
Start with USPS in march 2001 as a RCA.
Follow directions and protocol of the USPS and all of its regulations and procedures.
Supervise and direct military and civilian personnel in the performance of daily supply logistics support functions.
Pass testing requirements including speed and accuracy in memorization as well as organizational skills.

Route carrier example responsibilities.

Supervise and direct military and civilian personnel in the performance of daily supply logistics support functions.
Learned federal mail organization system and relate processes.

Rural letter carrier vs route carrier skills

Common rural letter carrier skills

Delivery Sequence, 36%
Customer Service, 31%
Postal Service, 7%
COD, 6%
Mail Security, 4%
Mail Routes, 4%

Common route carrier skills

Newspapers, 54%
Delivery Sequence, 41%
Delivery Route, 4%

Rural Letter Carrier vs. similar jobs

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Updated January 8, 2025

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