Rural route carrier vs city mail carrier

The differences between rural route carriers and city mail carriers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a rural route carrier has an average salary of $41,800, which is higher than the $35,607 average annual salary of a city mail carrier.

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

Rural route carrier vs city mail carrier overview

	Rural Route Carrier	City Mail Carrier
Yearly salary	$41,800	$35,607
Hourly rate	$20.10	$17.12
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	22,379	23,473
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Rural route carrier vs city mail carrier salary

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

	Rural Route Carrier	City Mail Carrier
Average salary	$41,800	$35,607
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $83,000	Between $22,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between rural route carrier and city mail carrier education

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

	Rural Route Carrier	City Mail Carrier
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 29%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Rural route carrier vs city mail carrier demographics

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

	Rural Route Carrier	City Mail Carrier
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2%	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.2% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between rural route carrier and city mail carrier duties and responsibilities

Rural route carrier example responsibilities.

Manage problems, conduct RCA investigations and deliver completed documentation.
Deliver daily newspapers to customers in the community.
Save driving record with USPS vehicles.
Deliver mail and packages per set route while operating USPS vehicles to safety and legal standards.
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.

City mail carrier example responsibilities.

Operate and maneuver a USPS delivery vehicle through residential traffic.
Answer questions from customers on set route in regards to USPS policies and procedures.
Meter outgoing military govt mail, prepare fed-ex shipments...delivery of mail to squadrons .. work in control restricted area ..
Separate confidential file including taxes and vouchers to facilitate IRS processing

Rural route carrier vs city mail carrier skills

Common rural route carrier skills

Delivery Sequence, 36%
Customer Service, 22%
Mail Delivery, 13%
Postal Service, 6%
Mail Security, 4%
USPS, 4%

Common city mail carrier skills

Delivery Sequence, 32%
Customer Service, 23%
Mail Delivery, 13%
COD, 8%
Necessary Paperwork, 7%
Mail Routes, 4%

Rural Route Carrier vs. similar jobs

Rural Route Carrier related careers

Rural Route Carrier related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Rural Route Carrier
Rural Route Carrier vs City Mail Carrier

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs