Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

43-5021 Couriers and Messengers

Pick up and carry messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance. Exclude "Truck Drivers, Light or Delivery Services" (53-3033).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
118,210 2.5 % $10.00 $20,790 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $6.69 $7.68 $9.39 $11.50 $14.25
Annual Wage (2) $13,910 $15,970 $19,530 $23,920 $29,630

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Couriers 23,080 $9.69 $20,150 1 80
Local messengers and local delivery 14,700 $9.34 $19,430 2 92
Legal services 11,130 $9.25 $19,240 3 96
Medical and diagnostic laboratories 7,520 $10.14 $21,090 4 61
General medical and surgical hospitals 6,920 $10.09 $20,980 5 64

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Federal government (OES designation) 940 $18.55 $38,590 21 1
Support activities for mining 70 $18.34 $38,140 77 2
Telecommunications resellers 80 $17.24 $35,870 69 3
Power generation and supply 70 $16.89 $35,130 76 4
Rail transportation 40 $14.68 $30,530 90 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
New York 15,220 $9.81 $20,410 0.184% 686
Kentucky 2,480 $9.11 $18,950 0.144% 597
California 20,620 $10.09 $21,000 0.142% 693
Nevada 1,460 $10.39 $21,620 0.137% 559
Vermont 330 $9.33 $19,410 0.114% 472

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Alaska 210 $13.80 $28,700 0.072% 389
District of Columbia 320 $12.15 $25,270 0.054% 382
Connecticut 1,040 $11.77 $24,490 0.063% 558
Maryland 1,300 $11.55 $24,030 0.053% 580
New Jersey 2,680 $11.52 $23,960 0.069% 609

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Champaign-Urbana, IL MSA 280 $9.04 $18,810 0.306%
Hattiesburg, MS MSA 130 $7.62 $15,860 0.270%
New York, NY PMSA 10,220 $9.60 $19,970 0.257%
Des Moines, IA MSA 690 $9.83 $20,450 0.246%
Tallahassee, FL MSA 370 $9.07 $18,870 0.236%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Anchorage, AK MSA 150 $12.90 $26,840 0.109%
Bergen-Passaic, NJ PMSA 470 $12.66 $26,340 0.074%
Danbury, CT PMSA 50 $12.45 $25,890 0.056%
Rochester, MN MSA 30 $12.36 $25,710 0.031%
Monmouth-Ocean, NJ PMSA 140 $12.32 $25,630 0.035%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004