Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service Salaries by State

Q: How much do mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service make in the U.S.?

The median mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service salary in the United States is $39,280 per year (mean $41,650), and about 80% earn between $30,780 and $54,820.

Q: How much do mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service make per hour?

Roughly $20 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $41,650 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Q: Which state pays mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service the most?

District of Columbia has the highest average pay for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service at $52,800 per year (median $49,240).

Q: What is the job outlook for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service?

Employment is projected to change -6.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 6,900 openings per year.

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal services across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $41,650 ≈ $20/hr

National median salary $39,280

Total employment 55,230 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth -6.6% Decline

Annual openings 6,900 per year (avg)

Employment 2024→2034 67,400 → 62,900 (-4,400)

Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

AK ME WI VT NH WA ID MT ND MN IL MI NY MA OR NV WY SD IA IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA UT CO NE MO KY WV VA MD DE AZ NM KS AR TN NC SC DC OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL

Mean annual wage $0–$37,000 $37,000–$39,000 $39,000–$41,000 $41,000–$44,000 $44,000–$53,000 U.S. mean $41,650

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

Wyoming$33,400
Mississippi$34,530
Louisiana$35,010
Tennessee$35,590
West Virginia$36,010

State Rankings

⇄ Compare specific states

#	State	Mean	Median	Hourly	vs. U.S.	Employment
1	District of Columbia	$52,800	$49,240	$25	+26.8%	310
2	Massachusetts	$50,660	$48,860	$24	+21.6%	1,050
3	Washington	$48,130	$46,380	$23	+15.6%	1,360
4	California	$47,290	$44,410	$23	+13.5%	4,710
5	New Jersey	$45,950	$43,700	$22	+10.3%	2,210
6	Florida	$45,180	$39,300	$22	+8.5%	2,470
7	Connecticut	$45,020	$43,970	$22	+8.1%	680
8	Vermont	$44,510	$45,380	$21	+6.9%	120
9	Maine	$44,480	$44,780	$21	+6.8%	160
10	Colorado	$44,390	$43,430	$21	+6.6%	880
11	Utah	$44,290	$45,150	$21	+6.3%	460
12	Minnesota	$44,220	$44,840	$21	+6.2%	1,170
13	New York	$44,030	$42,020	$21	+5.7%	5,990
14	Oregon	$42,890	$43,450	$21	+3%	370
15	New Hampshire	$42,310	$41,060	$20	+1.6%	280
16	Rhode Island	$42,070	$38,330	$20	+1%	310
17	Maryland	$41,980	$40,280	$20	+0.8%	1,580
18	Hawaii	$41,380	$38,270	$20	-0.6%	200
19	Nevada	$40,930	$40,520	$20	-1.7%	420
20	Illinois	$40,720	$38,190	$20	-2.2%	3,150
21	New Mexico	$40,720	$40,080	$20	-2.2%	100
22	Nebraska	$40,440	$40,080	$19	-2.9%	240
23	North Dakota	$40,370	$38,120	$19	-3.1%	110
24	Ohio	$40,000	$38,470	$19	-4%	2,210
25	Arizona	$39,870	$38,260	$19	-4.3%	810
26	Missouri	$39,760	$38,110	$19	-4.5%	1,140
27	South Carolina	$39,660	$36,780	$19	-4.8%	580
28	Pennsylvania	$39,450	$37,980	$19	-5.3%	2,810
29	Indiana	$39,370	$38,490	$19	-5.5%	1,310
30	Idaho	$39,330	$39,890	$19	-5.6%	110
31	Montana	$39,060	$38,880	$19	-6.2%	180
32	Texas	$38,980	$38,470	$19	-6.4%	3,250
33	Virginia	$38,840	$36,780	$19	-6.7%	1,610
34	Michigan	$38,550	$36,900	$19	-7.4%	1,660
35	Wisconsin	$38,310	$37,730	$18	-8%	1,310
36	South Dakota	$38,250	$37,580	$18	-8.2%	320
37	Delaware	$38,110	$36,450	$18	-8.5%	630
38	Kentucky	$38,000	$37,890	$18	-8.8%	530
39	North Carolina	$37,990	$37,830	$18	-8.8%	1,280
40	Arkansas	$37,490	$37,940	$18	-10%	330
41	Oklahoma	$37,400	$36,680	$18	-10.2%	810
42	Georgia	$37,290	$36,110	$18	-10.5%	1,850
43	Kansas	$36,530	$36,020	$18	-12.3%	750
44	Alabama	$36,500	$36,190	$18	-12.4%	470
45	Iowa	$36,060	$35,610	$17	-13.4%	830
46	West Virginia	$36,010	$35,140	$17	-13.5%	270
47	Tennessee	$35,590	$35,610	$17	-14.5%	760
48	Louisiana	$35,010	$34,860	$17	-15.9%	590
49	Mississippi	$34,530	$34,350	$17	-17.1%	270
50	Wyoming	$33,400	$32,940	$16	-19.8%	90

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 223 metro areas.

#	Metro area	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Springfield, MA	$51,490	$49,470	60
2	Northern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area	$49,740	$48,410	30
3	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$49,520	$48,100	170
4	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$49,270	$50,970	910
5	Duluth, MN-WI	$48,430	$48,560	30
6	Salem, OR	$48,420	$45,190	70
7	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$48,120	$46,110	310
8	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$48,050	$49,920	330
9	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$47,500	$50,230	820
10	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$47,430	$52,100	620

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal services (BLS OEWS, by median).

#	Industry	Median	Mean	Employment
1	Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations	$63,270	$62,040	60
2	Utilities	$61,950	$61,590	120
3	Sector 22 - Utilities	$61,950	$61,590	120
4	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$57,670	$57,710	100
5	Pharmacies and Drug Retailers	$50,520	$49,810	120
6	Health and Personal Care Retailers	$50,500	$49,750	120
7	Health and Personal Care Retailers	$50,500	$49,750	120
8	Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals, State Government Owned	$49,610	$48,830	60
9	Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	$49,450	$53,440	50
10	Chemical Manufacturing	$49,420	$52,140	40
11	Hospitals, State Government Owned	$49,290	$48,190	100
12	Scientific Research and Development Services	$48,950	$49,640	60

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K

32,562

$10-20k

8,586

$20-30k

10,930

$30-40k

14,643

$40-50k

8,553

$50-60k

4,142

$60-70k

1,244

$70-80k

849

$80-90k

1,757

$100-110k

173

$120-130k

177

$130-140k

$180-190k

$200k+

220

Pay by age band

16-24

$14,517

25-34

$23,995

35-44

$33,185

45-54

$33,728

55-64

$30,861

65+

$12,421

Education level

Regular high school diploma

$21,964

1 or more years of college credit, no degree

$20,606

Bachelors Degree

$28,516

Some college, but less than 1 year

$23,833

Associates Degree

$33,180

GED or alternative credential

$22,118

12th grade - no diploma

$13,021

Grade 9

$15,332

No schooling completed

$20,021

Masters Degree

$33,101

Grade 11

$37,637

Grade 8

$12,648

Grade 6

$20,676

Grade 10

$2,264

Professional degree

$15,796

Doctorate degree

$60,296

Grade 7

$29,974

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time

41,371 · $39,124

Part-time

16,941 · $16,552

Race / ethnicity

White

$24,388

Black

$23,576

Two or More Races

$21,886

Other

$19,214

Asian

$29,840

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

$8,368

American Indian

$15,423

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races

$39,531

Alaska Native

$58,112

Top fields of study

Business Management And Administration

$28,215

Sociology

$29,080

Physical Fitness Parks Recreation And Leisure

$21,848

Liberal Arts

$25,831

History

$27,370

Economics

$23,468

Philosophy And Religious Studies

$34,905

General Business

$30,116

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Critical Thinking

3.0

Monitoring

3.0

Speaking

3.0

Reading Comprehension

3.0

Time Management

3.0

Coordination

2.9

Operation and Control

2.9

Active Listening

2.9

Writing

2.9

Judgment and Decision Making

2.9

Operations Monitoring

2.9

Social Perceptiveness

2.8

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service make in the U.S.?

The median mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service salary in the United States is $39,280 per year (mean $41,650), and about 80% earn between $30,780 and $54,820.

How much do mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service make per hour?

Roughly $20 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $41,650 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service the most?

District of Columbia has the highest average pay for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service at $52,800 per year (median $49,240).

What is the job outlook for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service?

Employment is projected to change -6.6% from 2024 to 2034 (Decline), with about 6,900 openings per year.