RecruitLocalPros

Hiring a postal service mail carrier in Bakersfield, CA

Employers in the Bakersfield-Delano, CA area pay postal service mail carriers a median of $56,660, with the middle half of the market between $44,160 and $79,040. Bakersfield residents working in office and administrative support occupations report a median of $38,593, which is 32% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a postal service mail carrier earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Bakersfield-Delano, CA area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$44,160
Median$56,660
75th percentile$79,040

Half of postal service mail carriers in this area earn between $44,160 and $79,040. A band set below $44,160 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Bakersfield residents earn

$38,593

Median earnings of Bakersfield residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 19,029 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 32% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The role pays well above the local residential norm, which usually means you can hire from inside Bakersfield rather than competing for commuters.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
  • Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
  • Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
  • Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
  • Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 43-5052.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Address Management System AMS, Automated Data Collection System ADCS, Delivery operations information system DOIS, Delivery Routing System DRS, Electronic Time Clock ETC.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Bakersfield?

This is a job zone two: some preparation needed occupation. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 23.3% of Bakersfield adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Bakersfield commute runs 24.1 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 7.1% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Kern County, administrative and support services employs 12,743 and turns over 14.6% a quarter, with 3,421 hires against 3,658 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $4,539 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about postal service mail carriers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $11,332 to $16,998 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a postal service mail carrier somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in Bakersfield

Related

Bakersfield is the 9th largest of 21 California cities in this dataset.