SOC 43-5053.00

    Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

    Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS).

    Median pay
    $58,470
    Growth
    -5.3%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    7,300
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $45,530
    Median
    $58,470
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $75,280
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    105,200 people work in this occupation.

    What postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Examine, sort, and route mail. Load, operate, and occasionally adjust and repair mail processing, sorting, and canceling machinery. Keep records of shipments, pouches, and sacks, and perform other duties related to mail handling within the postal service. Includes postal service mail sorters and processors employed by USPS contractors.

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

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    60 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    9 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    14 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    11 / 100
    Conventional (C) · strongest
    82 / 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

    Handling and Moving Objects
    70
    Performing General Physical Activities
    70
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    69
    Getting Information
    63
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    58
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    55
    Processing Information
    52
    Controlling Machines and Processes
    52
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    50
    Working with Computers
    50
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Monitoring
    • Coordination
    • Critical Thinking
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Operations Monitoring
    • Time Management
    • Operation and Control

    Knowledge

    • English Language
    • Production and Processing
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Administrative
    • Administration and Management
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Transportation
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Education and Training
    • Mathematics

    Abilities

    • Near Vision
    • Manual Dexterity
    • Category Flexibility
    • Information Ordering
    • Multilimb Coordination
    • Perceptual Speed
    • Static Strength
    • Written Comprehension
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Finger Dexterity

    Work styles

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

    Also called

    Assorter · Automation Clerk · Computer Forwarding System Markup Clerk (CFS Markup Clerk) · Dead Mail Checker · Distribution Clerk · Distribution Handler · Distributor · Equipment Operator · File Conversion Operator · Flat Sorter Operator

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

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

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    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.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.