Best Cities for Postal Service Mail Carrierss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where postal service mail carrierss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	ArkansasState	1.14	$59,700	$69,177	18%
2	West VirginiaState	1.13	$57,700	$68,527	17%
3	MississippiState	1.12	$57,470	$67,771	19%
4	MissouriState	1.12	$59,880	$67,585	21%
5	OhioState	1.12	$61,130	$67,622	21%
6	OklahomaState	1.12	$59,880	$67,661	19%
7	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.12	$62,070	$68,059	24%
8	IowaState	1.11	$59,880	$67,130	19%
9	South DakotaState	1.11	$60,760	$66,916	19%
10	KentuckyState	1.10	$58,910	$66,565	20%
11	Columbus, OHMetro	1.10	$62,070	$66,385	25%
12	AlabamaState	1.09	$57,700	$66,246	20%
13	IndianaState	1.09	$59,880	$66,166	21%
14	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$61,010	$65,744	25%
15	LouisianaState	1.08	$58,910	$65,383	21%
16	NebraskaState	1.08	$59,880	$65,443	21%
17	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.08	$59,990	$65,207	26%
18	KansasState	1.07	$58,540	$65,044	21%
19	MichiganState	1.07	$59,880	$64,875	22%
20	New MexicoState	1.07	$59,880	$65,087	21%
21	WisconsinState	1.07	$59,880	$64,875	22%
22	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.07	$59,880	$64,735	24%
23	TennesseeState	1.06	$58,570	$64,011	26%
24	WyomingState	1.06	$59,880	$64,387	20%
25	IllinoisState	1.05	$62,070	$63,727	25%
26	North CarolinaState	1.05	$59,990	$63,549	26%
27	North DakotaState	1.05	$59,010	$63,726	20%
28	Rhode IslandState	1.05	$63,610	$63,294	28%
29	TexasState	1.05	$60,550	$63,337	27%
30	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.05	$61,010	$63,685	30%
31	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.05	$62,070	$63,858	31%
32	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.05	$61,010	$63,420	31%
33	South CarolinaState	1.04	$57,700	$62,717	26%
34	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	1.04	$62,070	$63,015	33%
35	ArizonaState	1.02	$62,390	$61,833	29%
36	GeorgiaState	1.02	$57,700	$61,777	29%
37	NevadaState	1.02	$62,070	$61,946	28%
38	PennsylvaniaState	1.02	$59,880	$61,732	26%
39	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.02	$61,480	$61,789	29%
40	MinnesotaState	1.01	$59,990	$61,214	26%
41	MontanaState	1.01	$59,010	$61,214	23%
42	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.01	$59,400	$61,364	33%
43	FloridaState	0.99	$61,130	$60,227	34%
44	IdahoState	0.99	$57,820	$59,917	25%
45	UtahState	0.99	$59,880	$59,760	30%
46	VirginiaState	0.99	$62,070	$59,971	30%
47	DelawareState	0.98	$59,880	$59,287	27%
48	MaineState	0.98	$59,010	$59,128	26%
49	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$61,480	$59,401	31%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$62,070	$58,667	32%
51	AlaskaState	0.95	$59,880	$57,411	27%
52	OregonState	0.95	$59,400	$57,670	32%
53	VermontState	0.95	$59,010	$57,571	29%
54	ColoradoState	0.94	$59,880	$56,812	37%
55	ConnecticutState	0.94	$61,130	$56,812	31%
56	MarylandState	0.94	$62,070	$56,841	32%
57	MassachusettsState	0.94	$62,070	$57,207	44%
58	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.94	$62,070	$57,207	39%
59	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.94	$64,250	$56,959	37%
60	CaliforniaState	0.93	$62,090	$56,089	44%
61	District of ColumbiaState	0.93	$64,250	$56,212	39%
62	New HampshireState	0.93	$59,990	$56,594	32%
63	New JerseyState	0.93	$61,130	$56,186	35%
64	WashingtonState	0.92	$59,990	$55,909	38%
65	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.92	$59,990	$55,649	36%
66	New YorkState	0.91	$62,070	$55,173	36%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.91	$64,250	$55,150	42%
68	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.91	$62,960	$55,083	42%
69	HawaiiState	0.90	$59,880	$54,436	48%
70	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.90	$62,090	$54,705	49%
71	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	0.85	$62,070	$51,639	61%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).