Pay Statistics for Entry Level Jobs
The average starting pay for an entry level postal employee is $21 an hour, with benefits. This is extremely competitive in the marketplace. Please see the following table for an example of starting pay for a popular entry level position, which is a Mail Carrier, specifically, the Rural Carrier Associate (RCA). This data is official, and is sourced from the USPS, and is reported here by the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.
The $21 per hour on average claim asserted on this site is based on data from pay tables like this one. Rural Carrier Associates do not typically receive benefits. The wages alone for this position range from $21 to $26 per hour. Other entry level positions, like Window Clerk, City Mail Carrier, Mail Handler and Mail Processor are eligible for benefits after a typical probationary period determined by local postal authorities on a case per case basis.
The average starting pay (wages only) for these positions range from $15 to $20 per hour. When you add the value of benefits (worth about 33% of wages, as reported above), the pay range for these positions is therefore $20 to $26 per hour, in total. And contrary to what many say, benefits are made available in various forms when postal employees first start. Granted, they do improve over time, as with most companies. Regardless of which entry level position you pursue, you can expect your total pay to be about $21 an hour, on average.