Rural mail carrier vs contract mail carrier

The differences between rural mail carriers and contract mail carriers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a contract mail carrier has an average salary of $39,511, which is higher than the $36,111 average annual salary of a rural mail carrier.

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

Rural mail carrier vs contract mail carrier overview

	Rural Mail Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Yearly salary	$36,111	$39,511
Hourly rate	$17.36	$19.00
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	21,544	29,336
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Rural mail carrier vs contract mail carrier salary

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

	Rural Mail Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Average salary	$36,111	$39,511
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $58,000	Between $20,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between rural mail carrier and contract mail carrier education

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

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

Rural mail carrier vs contract mail carrier demographics

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

	Rural Mail Carrier	Contract Mail Carrier
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 40.3% Female, 59.7%	Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 6.2% White, 63.7% 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 mail carrier and contract mail carrier duties and responsibilities

Rural mail carrier example responsibilities.

Manage problems, conduct RCA investigations and deliver completed documentation.
Track packages through use of USPS website.
Make customers aware of all services available to them from their carrier and the USPS.
Attend bid openings for prospective construction projects and prepared/draft construction contracts in accordance with RCA policies/procedures.
Sort DPS mail and other mail types per assign route destinations and distribute mail to customer sites.

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 mail carrier vs contract mail carrier skills

Common rural mail carrier skills

Customer Service, 26%
Delivery Sequence, 25%
Mail Delivery, 7%
COD, 6%
Necessary Paperwork, 5%
Postal Service, 5%

Common contract mail carrier skills

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

Rural Mail Carrier vs. similar jobs

Rural Mail Carrier related careers

Rural Mail Carrier related jobs

What similar roles do

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

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs