SOC 43-5021.00Bright outlook

    Couriers and Messengers

    Pick up and deliver messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.

    Median pay
    $39,200
    Growth
    +8.0%
    Much faster than average
    Openings a year
    23,800
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $31,550
    Median
    $39,200
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $50,330
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    68,640 people work in this occupation.

    What couriers and messengers do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Pick up and deliver messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    58 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    1 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    33 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    31 / 100
    Conventional (C) · strongest
    68 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code CRS. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
    79
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    74
    Getting Information
    67
    Handling and Moving Objects
    66
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    64
    Performing General Physical Activities
    63
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    58
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    54
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    53
    Assisting and Caring for Others
    52
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Speaking
    • Time Management
    • Critical Thinking
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Service Orientation
    • Writing
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Coordination
    • Monitoring

    Knowledge

    • Transportation
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • English Language
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Law and Government
    • Production and Processing
    • Administrative
    • Telecommunications
    • Communications and Media
    • Mathematics

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Far Vision
    • Multilimb Coordination
    • Near Vision
    • Speech Recognition
    • Written Comprehension
    • Category Flexibility
    • Finger Dexterity
    • Information Ordering

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Cautiousness
    • Social Orientation
    • Cooperation
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Perseverance
    • Adaptability
    • Self-Control

    Also called

    Bank Courier · Bank Messenger · Bicycle Messenger · Call Person · Call Worker Person · Caller · Circular Distributor · Copy Messenger · Courier · Courier Delivery Driver

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What couriers and messengers may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Licenses by state

    1 state lists a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

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    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.