Rural mail carriers are paid according to the U.S Postal Service’s Salary Locality System. Rural carriers receive an annual locality payment depending on where they work; the higher-paying areas include Eastern and Northern New York, Buffalo, NYC, NYC suburbs and Long Island, Indianapolis, Wichita and Omaha. In addition to their locality pay, rural carriers receive regular step increases on the three-grade-level schedule corresponding to their years of experience as a letter carrier—from $17.39 per hour at step 1 in year 1 up to $25.09 per hour at step 10 in year 14
A rural mail carrier is a mail carrier who works on routes outside of cities. They generally have more territory, but also get to enjoy more wildlife and wildlife viewing opportunities than city carriers. Rural carriers have lower salary expectations but can take comfort in knowing that their family is safe, warm and not living anywhere near a city.
Rural mail carriers salaries can be roughly estimated by adding the weighted average of their base salary to the difference between their cost of living and their metropolitan salary. A rural mail carrier in New England could earn an average annual income of $46,770 if he or she did not have to pay for health care insurance or for any income taxes on top of Social Security.
Salary For Rural Mail Carriers Overview
Well, you’re in luck! We all know that being a rural mail carrier is one of the best jobs out there—you get to deliver awesome letters and packages to your neighbors every day. And who doesn’t love getting their mail in the morning?
But if you’ve been thinking about switching careers or just trying something new, you might be wondering what the pay is like for rural mail carriers.
The good news is that those jobs are very well-paid for the amount of time and effort they take. In fact, according to USPS pay scale 2022, rural carriers can make up to $18 per hour when they start out as letter carriers or mailmen (depending on which position). That’s almost $50,000 per year! That’s more than most people make in a year! And once you get more experience under your belt, there are even better opportunities available—up to $21 per hour.
So if you’re interested in becoming a rural mail carrier but not sure how much money it would take to do so, don’t worry—we’ve got your back! Check out our full guide below for everything you need to know before making
What Is A Rural Mail Carriers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Rural Mail Carrier. For example, did you know that they make an average of $32.2 an hour? That’s $66,970 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -21% and produce -103,800 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Rural Mail Carrier Do
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a Rural Mail Carrier, we found that a lot of resumes listed 16.5% of Rural Mail Carriers included Customer Service, while 16.3% of resumes included Delivery Sequence, and 12.2% of resumes included Heavy Packages. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
How To Become a Rural Mail Carrier
If you’re interested in becoming a Rural Mail Carrier, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 26.7% of Rural Mail Carriers have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.5% of Rural Mail Carriers have master’s degrees. Even though some Rural Mail Carriers have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Rural Mail Carrier. When we researched the most common majors for a Rural Mail Carrier, we found that they most commonly earn Associate Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Rural Mail Carrier resumes include Bachelor’s Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Rural Mail Carrier. In fact, many Rural Mail Carrier jobs require experience in a role such as Cashier. Meanwhile, many Rural Mail Carriers also have previous career experience in roles such as Customer Service Representative or Sales Associate.
How Much Do Part-Time Rural Carriers Make
Part-time rural mail carriers, also known as “Rural Carrier Associates,” ensure that even those who live in outlying, hard-to-reach and desolate areas receive their mail and have their outgoing mail collected in accordance with U.S. Postal Service regulations. The position typically starts out as an on-call role, with part-time carriers subbing for regular full-time carriers during sick days and vacation leave. The job has the potential to develop into a full-time route after a year of service.
Challenges of Rural Mail Carrying
While all postal service delivery personnel face similar challenges – dealing with traffic, hard-to-read or incorrect addresses, inaccessible mailboxes, loose pets and vehicle malfunctions, there are additional challenges for rural carriers.
Rough roads: Unpaved and poorly maintained roads in rural areas can present hazards, including potholes, slippery gravel and lack of berms and dividers.
Poorly marked roadways: Not all rural routes are clearly marked, or may go by different “unofficial” names that make identification tricky – for example, County Road 52 may be known to locals as “Riverside Hollow,” with mail marked accordingly. This can make route identification difficult, at least until you become familiar with an area.
Navigation app issues: Not only may navigation apps not be able to identify where you are in rural areas, you may lack data access and cell phone service in remote areas as well. This can mean misdirection, as well as an inability to access emergency services if needed.
Roaming pets: While wandering or unattended animals are a hazard for mail carriers everywhere, roaming pets are more likely to be seen in rural areas. This puts part-time rural mail carriers at risk for animal attacks, bites and general mail delivery interference.
Accessibility: Rural mailboxes can be tougher to access than multi-box neighborhood receptacles. Mail carriers may experience under-maintained boxes covered in vines, rusted shut, or locations just off the road that are tough to reach without getting out of a delivery vehicle.
Weather hazards: While inclement weather always presents an issue for mail carriers, rural routes are often the last routes to be serviced in ice storms and snow storms, making delivery difficult, if not dangerous. Heavy rains can create muddy back roads, in which vehicles have the potential for getting stuck.
Access to services: Rural route drivers may find that it takes longer than average if their vehicles break down and they need to call for assistance, stop for gas, food or other services that are less accessible in rural routes than they are in metro regions.
Chatty customers: A postal service carrier may be the only human face that a rural customer sees during the day; as such, carriers are often delayed by small talk or other customer interactions, which can have the potential to throw off a delivery schedule.
While some rural carriers are assigned postal delivery vehicles, a majority of part-time rural mail carriers use their own vehicles for mail delivery, which can add to wear-and-tear and associated maintenance costs. The postal service usually provides a stipend to cover some costs; proof of insurance, a clean driving record and a minimum of two years of independent driving is required for the job.
Highest paying cities for Rural Carrier Associates in United States
- Atlanta, GA$28.16 per hour13 salaries reported
- Houston, TX$19.52 per hour6 salaries reported
- Oshkosh, WI$19.06 per hour5 salaries reported
- Appleton, WI$18.88 per hour32 salaries reported
- Fort Atkinson, WI$18.86 per hour23 salaries reported
- West Bend, WI$18.84 per hour16 salaries reported
- Rockford, IL$18.73 per hour20 salaries reported
- Madison, WI$18.71 per hour65 salaries reported
- Lincoln, NE$17.83 per hour9 salaries reported
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