Couriers and Messengers · SOC 43-5021

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Couriers and Messengerss

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for couriers and messengers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (3 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 224 metro areas

Couriers and Messengers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$55,680	390	0.3
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$48,510	660	0.3
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$47,840	940	0.4
4	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$47,160	240	0.1
5	Modesto, CA	$47,020	110	0.6
6	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$46,850	420	0.4
7	Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA	$46,710	140	0.6
8	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$46,170	440	0.3
9	Napa, CA	$46,060	50	0.7
10	Rochester, MN	$46,000	60	0.5
11	Bellingham, WA	$45,920	60	0.7
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$45,650	520	0.4
13	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$44,840	1,010	0.3
14	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$44,760	470	0.4
15	Fresno, CA	$44,370	170	0.4
16	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$44,220	410	0.3
17	Duluth, MN-WI	$44,200	30	0.2
18	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$44,040	1,100	1.8
19	Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	$43,920	390	1.0
20	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$43,830	1,070	0.4
21	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$43,760	3,030	0.5
22	Eugene-Springfield, OR	$43,740	90	0.6
23	Akron, OH	$43,240	130	0.4
24	Medford, OR	$43,160	50	0.5
25	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	$42,840	620	0.7

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Couriers and Messengers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.