Office and Administrative Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Peer-group outlier SOC 43-5021

Couriers and Messengers

Median pay sits 33% below the mid peer in Office and Administrative Support Occupations (neighbors include Postal Service Mail Carriers, Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs, Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators).

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Couriers and Messengers: Postal Service Mail Carriers ($61K) , Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs ($54K) , Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants ($56K) , Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators ($58K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Couriers and Messengers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 43-5021 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities
  2. 2. Obtain signatures and payments, or arrange for recipients to make payments
  3. 3. Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages
  4. 4. Receive messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery i…
  5. 5. Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods
  6. 6. Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials
  7. 7. Sort items to be delivered according to the delivery route
  8. 8. Deliver messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments an…
  9. 9. Unload and sort items collected along delivery routes
  10. 10. Plan and follow the most efficient routes for delivering goods
  11. 11. Check with home offices after completed deliveries to confirm deliveries and collections and to receive instructions for other deliveries
  12. 12. Collect, seal, and stamp outgoing mail, using postage meters and envelope sealers

Couriers and Messengers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 43-5021 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.3 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.3
  2. 2. Speaking 3.3
  3. 3. Time Management 3.3
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 3.0
  5. 5. Writing 3.0
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.0
  7. 7. Service Orientation 3.0
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 2.9

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 3.8
  2. 2. Transportation 3.8
  3. 3. English Language 3.5
  4. 4. Public Safety and Security 2.4
  5. 5. Administrative 2.3
  6. 6. Geography 2.2
Pay vs Office and Administrative Support Occupations peers
-33%
vs mid peer median $58,260
This role $39,200/yr
$39K
National median
↑ +8%
Growth 2024-2034
27,900
Annual openings
68,640
Estimated US jobs
Postal Service Mail Carriers
Highest-pay peer · $61K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Couriers and Messengers

1. California $44,970
2. Massachusetts $42,380
3. Nevada $46,520
4. District of Columbia $45,210
5. Minnesota $44,860
6. Colorado $45,140
7. Vermont $45,600
8. Utah $42,840
9. Washington $46,500
10. Oregon $45,170

Other Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants $55,570
  2. 2. Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators $58,470
  3. 3. Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs $54,210
  4. 4. Desktop Publishers $55,290
  5. 5. Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks $59,650
  6. 6. Postal Service Mail Carriers $60,550

Among Office and Administrative Support Occupations peers on this card, Couriers and Messengers sits 33% below the mid peer median ($58,260). Its own median is $39,200.

Employment Projections expect +8% change between 2024 and 2034 (much faster than average vs baseline 3.1%). About 27,900 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: California at $44,970. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Postal Service Mail Carriers at $60,550. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Couriers and Messengers pay-rank #49 in Office and Administrative Support Occupations

On the Office and Administrative Support Occupations median table (54 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Couriers and Messengers lands at #49, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 43-5021 · national median $39,200 · lower third of Office and Administrative Support Occupations (#49/54). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Couriers and Messengers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 43-5021

California · top state for Couriers and Messengers

$45K published median

Massachusetts · #2 state pay

$42K · behind California

Postal Service Mail Carriers

Highest-pay peer vs Couriers and Messengers · $61K

Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs

Lower-pay peer beside Couriers and Messengers · $54K

Compare Couriers and Messengers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Couriers and Messengers with another occupation →

Peer-comparison next reads

Compare Couriers and Messengers

Against another occupation

Postal Service Mail Carriers card

Top peer in this major group

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Couriers and Messengers land on the Office and Administrative Support Occupations median table? ▼
Couriers and Messengers is pay-rank #49 of 54 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service ($39K), Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service ($39K), Receptionists and Information Clerks ($38K), Gambling Cage Workers ($38K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do couriers and messengers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Couriers and Messengers. Leading ones include: Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities; Obtain signatures and payments, or arrange for recipients to make payments; Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages; Receive messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery i…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for couriers and messengers? ▼
For SOC 43-5021, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.3), Speaking (3.3), Time Management (3.3), Reading Comprehension (3.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Transportation, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Couriers and Messengers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $39,200 as the national median for Couriers and Messengers. The published 10th-90th range is $31,550 to $50,330. Beside Postal Service Mail Carriers ($60,550), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Couriers and Messengers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Couriers and Messengers is +8%. Projected annual openings: about 27,900. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: much faster than average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Couriers and Messengers? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Couriers and Messengers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Couriers and Messengers? ▼
California ($44,970), Massachusetts ($42,380), Nevada ($46,520) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Couriers and Messengers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 43-5021. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Couriers and Messengers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics