Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators · SOC 43-5053
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operatorss
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 163 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duluth, MN-WI | $70,990 | 40 | 0.3 |
| 2 | Erie, PA | $69,680 | 30 | 0.2 |
| 3 | Wichita, KS | $66,750 | 210 | 0.7 |
| 4 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $63,650 | 1,510 | 0.6 |
| 5 | Rocky Mount, NC | $62,610 | 80 | 1.5 |
| 6 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $61,710 | 170 | 0.9 |
| 7 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | $61,570 | 100 | 0.3 |
| 8 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | $61,570 | 60 | 0.7 |
| 9 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $60,740 | 110 | 0.5 |
| 10 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | $60,530 | 50 | 0.4 |
| 11 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | $60,530 | 840 | 2.1 |
| 12 | Evansville, IN | $60,530 | 130 | 1.0 |
| 13 | Fresno, CA | $60,530 | 170 | 0.4 |
| 14 | Madison, WI | $60,530 | 190 | 0.5 |
| 15 | Mankato, MN | $60,530 | 40 | 0.7 |
| 16 | Peoria, IL | $60,530 | 80 | 0.5 |
| 17 | Sioux Falls, SD-MN | $60,530 | 140 | 0.8 |
| 18 | Medford, OR | $60,200 | 60 | 0.6 |
| 19 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $60,200 | 1,140 | 1.1 |
| 20 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $60,200 | 740 | 0.5 |
| 21 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $60,200 | 420 | 0.4 |
| 22 | Great Falls, MT | $60,010 | 30 | 0.9 |
| 23 | Portland-South Portland, ME | $59,760 | 330 | 1.1 |
| 24 | Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | $59,740 | 30 | 0.3 |
| 25 | St. Cloud, MN | $59,740 | 50 | 0.5 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators 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.