SalaryExplorer

SOC 43-5051 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Postal Service Clerks — Hickory

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · 10 metro areas compared

$68,540 /year
$32.95per hour
80jobs in area
+10.3%vs US median

The median wage for Postal Service Clerks in Hickory, NC is $68,540 per year, 10.3% above the national median of $62,130.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $62,13010TH$55,35025TH$58,470MEDIAN$68,54090TH$76,360

How pay has moved

$70,490$58,7902019202020212022202320242025$68,540
$60,740 in 2019 to $68,540 in 2025, +12.8% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-3.5%
Openings per year
6,100
Typical entry-level education
No formal educational credential
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Postal Service Clerks in Hickory, NC is $68,540 per year, 10.3% above the national median of $62,130. Pay ranges from under $55,350 at the tenth percentile to more than $76,360 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $58,470 to $75,030.

Employment stands at 80, or 0.5 jobs per thousand held locally. Asheville leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $69,700. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 85th of 385 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$55,350−10.9%
25th$58,470−5.9%
Median (50th)$68,540+10.3%
75th$75,030+20.8%
90th$76,360+22.9%
Mean$65,650+5.7%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in North Carolina

Median annual wage for Postal Service Clerks, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Asheville$69,70080
2Greensboro$66,750120
3Greenville$66,75040
4Winston-Salem$66,750110
5Raleigh$66,520170
6Rocky Mount$66,46030
7Fayetteville$65,66070
8Burlington$65,17040
9Pinehurst$65,17030
10Charlotte$63,650390

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Hickory run 11.5% below the national average, so the median of $68,540 goes as far as $77,446 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 24.7% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$68,540as reported by BLS

Local price level

88.5US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$77,446US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $68,540 a year, 10.3% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $55,350 to $76,360 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 80 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Asheville, at $69,700.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Postal Service Clerks in Hickory, NC?

The median annual wage is $68,540, or $32.95 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $62,130, so pay in Hickory, NC is 10.3% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Hickory, NC earns more than $76,360 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $55,350 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Asheville, at $69,700 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 80 jobs in this occupation in Hickory, NC. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.

Postal Service Clerks Salary in Hickory, NC (2025): $68,540 Median | Salary Explorer