Couriers and Messengers · SOC 43-5021

Couriers and Messengers Salary in the Madison Metro Area

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Madison, WI metro area

Figures describe the Madison, WI metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Madison city limits.

Median annual wage$41,080
Median hourly wage$19.75

Couriers and Messengers in the Madison, WI metro area earned a median of $41,080 per year ($19.75 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $34,720 at the 10th percentile to $47,740 at the 90th. BLS estimates 500 people work in this occupation in the area.

Pay distribution

Half of Couriers and Messengers in the Madison metro area earn more than $41,080 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $36,060 and $44,360.

Wage percentiles (BLS OEWS)
Wage10th25thMedian75th90th
Annual$34,720$36,060$41,080$44,360$47,740
Hourly$16.69$17.34$19.75$21.33$22.95

A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.

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How this area compares

  • Madison metro areathis metro area
    $41,080 median for Madison metro area; middle half earns $36,060 to $44,360
  • Wisconsinstate (WI)
    $36,910 median for Wisconsin; middle half earns $35,620 to $43,330
  • $39,200 median for United States; middle half earns $36,070 to $45,280

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

The median here is +11% vs Wisconsin overall and +5% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.

Compare with other areas

Where this metro sits nationally

$21,840$33,120$44,400$55,680Ponce, PR — $21,840Aguadilla, PR — $21,930Arecibo, PR — $22,210Mayaguez, PR — $22,230San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR — $23,760Tuscaloosa, AL — $29,280Bowling Green, KY — $30,170Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA — $30,190Johnstown, PA — $30,700Altoona, PA — $30,770Monroe, LA — $31,200Laredo, TX — $31,530Baton Rouge, LA — $31,910Mobile, AL — $31,970Lake Charles, LA — $32,130Ocala, FL — $32,350Rome, GA — $32,510Columbus, GA-AL — $32,630Johnson City, TN — $32,710Alexandria, LA — $32,770Flint, MI — $32,880Brownsville-Harlingen, TX — $32,940College Station-Bryan, TX — $33,260Panama City-Panama City Beach, FL — $33,700New Orleans-Metairie, LA — $34,100Punta Gorda, FL — $34,190Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC — $34,390Sioux Falls, SD-MN — $34,400Athens-Clarke County, GA — $34,510Idaho Falls, ID — $34,550Montgomery, AL — $34,590Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC — $34,810Charleston, WV — $34,840Springfield, IL — $34,850Reading, PA — $34,920Tallahassee, FL — $34,940Omaha, NE-IA — $35,080Clarksville, TN-KY — $35,090Huntsville, AL — $35,170Lafayette, LA — $35,340Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC — $35,360Abilene, TX — $35,400Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA — $35,490Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN — $35,490Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT — $35,620Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI — $35,730Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL — $35,750Sheboygan, WI — $35,750Waterbury-Shelton, CT — $35,750Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT — $35,780Roanoke, VA — $35,890Midland, MI — $35,900Lexington-Fayette, KY — $35,910McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX — $35,990Shreveport-Bossier City, LA — $35,990Wichita, KS — $36,000Gulfport-Biloxi, MS — $36,050Waco, TX — $36,100Canton-Massillon, OH — $36,270Chattanooga, TN-GA — $36,310Jackson, MS — $36,360Macon-Bibb County, GA — $36,430Binghamton, NY — $36,460Utica-Rome, NY — $36,500La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN — $36,510Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX — $36,540Fayetteville, NC — $36,550Lancaster, PA — $36,550Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI — $36,560Jacksonville, FL — $36,610Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR — $36,630Appleton, WI — $36,690Florence, SC — $36,710Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY — $36,740Twin Falls, ID — $36,780Birmingham, AL — $36,820Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH — $36,910Green Bay, WI — $36,930Evansville, IN — $36,940Erie, PA — $37,020Syracuse, NY — $37,040Tyler, TX — $37,040Greenville, NC — $37,050Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL — $37,070Tucson, AZ — $37,070Janesville-Beloit, WI — $37,080Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL — $37,080Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC — $37,090Providence-Warwick, RI-MA — $37,090Winston-Salem, NC — $37,180Champaign-Urbana, IL — $37,300Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL — $37,310Corpus Christi, TX — $37,310Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI — $37,320Wilmington, NC — $37,330Rockford, IL — $37,450Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH — $37,470Greensboro-High Point, NC — $37,510Stockton-Lodi, CA — $37,510Rochester, NY — $37,520Columbia, SC — $37,550Kalamazoo-Portage, MI — $37,560Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL — $37,650Savannah, GA — $37,670Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY — $37,680St. Cloud, MN — $37,790Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL — $37,820Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC — $37,820Naples-Marco Island, FL — $37,840Peoria, IL — $37,850Salinas, CA — $37,920Lubbock, TX — $37,930Corvallis, OR — $37,980Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL — $38,100Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL — $38,180Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR — $38,190Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA — $38,190Lansing-East Lansing, MI — $38,200Boise City, ID — $38,260Richmond, VA — $38,270Amarillo, TX — $38,280Burlington, NC — $38,340Bakersfield-Delano, CA — $38,390Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA — $38,410Port St. Lucie, FL — $38,420Gainesville, FL — $38,520Saginaw, MI — $38,550El Paso, TX — $38,570Charlottesville, VA — $38,580Longview, TX — $38,580Urban Honolulu, HI — $38,580Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN — $38,730Reno, NV — $38,730Lincoln, NE — $38,740Cedar Rapids, IA — $38,770Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL — $38,780Columbus, OH — $38,790Toledo, OH — $38,810Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT — $38,910Oklahoma City, OK — $38,970Asheville, NC — $38,980Topeka, KS — $38,980Dubuque, IA — $39,020Albuquerque, NM — $39,080Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ — $39,100Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC — $39,110North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL — $39,110Redding, CA — $39,110Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD — $39,140Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA — $39,160Tulsa, OK — $39,160Fort Wayne, IN — $39,230Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA — $39,270Barnstable Town, MA — $39,290Spartanburg, SC — $39,290York-Hanover, PA — $39,290Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA — $39,340Cleveland, OH — $39,410Albany, GA — $39,480Pueblo, CO — $39,590Visalia, CA — $39,600Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA — $39,630Raleigh-Cary, NC — $39,650Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI — $39,670Kennewick-Richland, WA — $39,710Traverse City, MI — $39,710Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA — $39,720Charleston-North Charleston, SC — $39,860San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX — $39,860Springfield, MA — $40,010Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — $40,050Trenton-Princeton, NJ — $40,080Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN — $40,160Manchester-Nashua, NH — $40,320Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD — $40,340Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX — $40,370Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA — $40,910Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA — $40,980Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY — $41,030Kansas City, MO-KS — $41,050Madison, WI — $41,080Ogden, UT — $41,080Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN — $41,130New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ — $41,140Springfield, MO — $41,410Worcester, MA — $41,420Winchester, VA-WV — $41,480Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT — $41,710Anchorage, AK — $41,720Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX — $41,860Pittsburgh, PA — $42,250Salem, OR — $42,280New Haven, CT — $42,300Colorado Springs, CO — $42,380San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA — $42,440Fort Collins-Loveland, CO — $42,490Knoxville, TN — $42,610St. Louis, MO-IL — $42,680Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN — $42,800Salt Lake City-Murray, UT — $42,840Medford, OR — $43,160Akron, OH — $43,240Eugene-Springfield, OR — $43,740Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — $43,760Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH — $43,830Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ — $43,920Memphis, TN-MS-AR — $44,040Duluth, MN-WI — $44,200Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX — $44,220Fresno, CA — $44,370Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA — $44,760Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV — $44,840Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA — $45,650Bellingham, WA — $45,920Rochester, MN — $46,000Napa, CA — $46,060Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO — $46,170Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA — $46,710Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV — $46,850Modesto, CA — $47,020Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI — $47,160San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA — $47,840Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA — $48,510San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA — $55,680

Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.

The Madison metro area has the 43rd-highest published median for this occupation among the 224 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Other metro areas in Wisconsin

Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for couriers and messengers, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.

  • Madison metro areathis page
    $41,080 median for Madison metro area; middle half earns $36,060 to $44,360
  • $37,080 median for Janesville metro area; middle half earns $35,140 to $43,860
  • $36,930 median for Green Bay metro area; middle half earns $30,690 to $44,500
  • $36,690 median for Appleton metro area; middle half earns $35,490 to $39,490
  • $36,560 median for Milwaukee metro area; middle half earns $35,770 to $43,690
  • $36,510 median for La Crosse metro area; middle half earns $35,300 to $41,800
  • $35,750 median for Sheboygan metro area; middle half earns $29,690 to $38,480

Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.

Keep exploring

Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:

Highest-paying metro areas for couriers and messengerss · Highest-paying occupations in Madison Metro

About this estimate

These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.

Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.

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.