Office and Administrative Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 43-5051

Postal Service Clerks

O*NET task statements lead this Postal Service Clerks card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Postal Service Mail Carriers, Financial Clerks, All Other, Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators, Desktop Publishers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Postal Service Clerks: Postal Service Mail Carriers ($61K) , Financial Clerks, All Other ($54K) , Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators ($58K) , Desktop Publishers ($55K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Postal Service Clerks publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 43-5051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders
  2. 2. Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage
  3. 3. Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions
  4. 4. Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing
  5. 5. Register, certify, and insure letters and parcels
  6. 6. Complete forms regarding changes of address, or theft or loss of mail, or for special services such as registered or priority mail
  7. 7. Sort incoming and outgoing mail, according to type and destination, by hand or by operating electronic mail-sorting and scanning devices
  8. 8. Receive letters and parcels, and place mail into bags
  9. 9. Put undelivered parcels away, retrieve them when customers come to claim them, and complete any related documentation
  10. 10. Obtain signatures from recipients of registered or special delivery mail
  11. 11. Respond to complaints regarding mail theft, delivery problems, and lost or damaged mail, filling out forms and making appropriate referra…
  12. 12. Answer questions regarding mail regulations and procedures, postage rates, and post office boxes

Postal Service Clerks: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 43-5051 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.4 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.4
  2. 2. Speaking 3.3
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.1
  4. 4. Service Orientation 3.1
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.0
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.0
  7. 7. Social Perceptiveness 3.0
  8. 8. Time Management 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  2. 2. English Language 3.4
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.4
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.0
  5. 5. Administrative 3.0
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.0
National median after O*NET task lead
$62,130
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders
$62K
National median
↓ -4%
Growth 2024-2034
6,100
Annual openings
73,720
Estimated US jobs
Postal Service Mail Carriers
Highest-pay peer · $61K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education No formal educational credential

Top Paying States for Postal Service Clerks

1. North Carolina $64,290
2. Hawaii $63,650
3. California $63,650
4. District of Columbia $67,790
5. Guam $68,810
6. New Jersey $64,290
7. Michigan $63,650
8. Louisiana $63,210
9. Virgin Islands $63,660
10. Maryland $63,210

Other Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Postal Service Mail Carriers $60,550
  2. 2. Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators $58,470
  3. 3. Desktop Publishers $55,290
  4. 4. Financial Clerks, All Other $53,830
  5. 5. Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks $58,260
  6. 6. Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs $54,210

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Postal Service Clerks (SOC 43-5051). The national OEWS median is $62,130 inside Office and Administrative Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Postal Service Mail Carriers, Financial Clerks, All Other, Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators, Desktop Publishers. Lead published task: Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders.

Employment Projections expect -4% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 6,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns No formal educational credential 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: North Carolina at $64,290. 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.

Postal Service Clerks pay-rank #4 in Office and Administrative Support Occupations

Among 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations with a published OEWS median, Postal Service Clerks is pay-rank #4, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-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 43-5051 · national median $62,130 · upper third of Office and Administrative Support Occupations (#4/54). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Postal Service Clerks salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 43-5051

North Carolina · top state for Postal Service Clerks

$64K published median

Hawaii · #2 state pay

$64K · behind North Carolina

Postal Service Mail Carriers

Highest-pay peer vs Postal Service Clerks · $61K

Financial Clerks, All Other

Lower-pay peer beside Postal Service Clerks · $54K

Compare Postal Service Clerks

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Postal Service Clerks with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Postal Service Clerks full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Office and Administrative Support Occupations titles sit near Postal Service Clerks at the top of the pay table? ▼
Postal Service Clerks is pay-rank #4 of 54 detailed Office and Administrative Support Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Postal Service Mail Carriers ($61K), Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks ($60K), Brokerage Clerks ($66K), Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators ($58K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do postal service clerks do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Postal Service Clerks. Leading ones include: Sell and collect payment for products such as stamps, prepaid mail envelopes, and money orders; Weigh letters and parcels, compute mailing costs based on type, weight, and destination, and affix correct postage; Keep money drawers in order, and record and balance daily transactions; Check mail to ensure correct postage and that packages and letters are in proper condition for mailing. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for postal service clerks? ▼
For SOC 43-5051, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.4), Speaking (3.3), Reading Comprehension (3.1), Service Orientation (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Postal Service Clerks? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $62,130 as the national median for Postal Service Clerks. The published 10th-90th range is $42,600 to $75,030. 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 Postal Service Clerks? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Postal Service Clerks is -4%. Projected annual openings: about 6,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Postal Service Clerks? ▼
BLS assigns No formal educational credential as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Postal Service Clerks. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Postal Service Clerks? ▼
North Carolina ($64,290), Hawaii ($63,650), California ($63,650) 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 Postal Service Clerks card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 43-5051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Postal Service Clerks. 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