Rural mail carrier vs postal carrier

The differences between rural mail carriers and postal carriers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a postal carrier has an average salary of $36,502, 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 postal carrier are delivery sequence, customer service, and mail delivery.

Rural mail carrier vs postal carrier overview

	Rural Mail Carrier	Postal Carrier
Yearly salary	$36,111	$36,502
Hourly rate	$17.36	$17.55
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	21,544	16,224
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Rural mail carrier vs postal carrier salary

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

	Rural Mail Carrier	Postal Carrier
Average salary	$36,111	$36,502
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $58,000	Between $21,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between rural mail carrier and postal carrier education

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

	Rural Mail Carrier	Postal Carrier
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Rural mail carrier vs postal carrier demographics

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

	Rural Mail Carrier	Postal Carrier
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 40.3% Female, 59.7%	Male, 56.0% Female, 44.0%
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, 11.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between rural mail carrier and postal 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.

Postal carrier example responsibilities.

Manage problems, conduct RCA investigations and deliver completed documentation.
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 postal 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 postal carrier skills

Delivery Sequence, 29%
Customer Service, 28%
Mail Delivery, 8%
COD, 6%
Postal Service, 5%
Necessary Paperwork, 4%