How Much Do Couriers Make? Answered (2024 Updated)

How Much do Couriers Make?

With businesses booming one after another, courier drivers have become one of the most in-demand jobs in the world. If you’re in search of additional ways to earn money, a courier job could provide you with a decent salary.

But how much do couriers make? Read on as we share the average salary of courier drivers and answer more questions related to this.

About Courier Salary Rates

Despite the varying hazards courier drivers face in life, they get paid enough salary for their hard work. In some cases, couriers are paid hourly or based on the successful packages delivered, making it an ideal part-time or full-time job.

Furthermore, courier driver salaries vary depending on the industry, workers’ experience, country, or location. These workers can also get better salaries, benefits, and compensation by working at the right companies.

However, an independent contractor or part-time courier driver doesn’t normally get benefits.

partial view of delivery man counting money in hands
Image credit: LightFieldStudios/iStockphoto.com

How Much Do They Really Make?

So how much does a courier really make? Excluding the benefits and compensation, courier drivers can expect an average salary of $19.15 per hour in the United States.

In Canada, the average salary for courier drivers is $19.35 per hour – slightly higher than the national average. Meanwhile, the national average salary for courier drivers in California is $20.78 per hour.

Nonetheless, this data are only an estimate of courier drivers’ average salaries. The median salary of courier drivers may differ in other areas based on job title. Also, courier driver salary may be lower than this data based on their skills and experience.

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Courier’s Salary Estimates

Per Hour

The salaries per hour of a courier driver range around $17 to $20 on average. However, the hourly rate for courier driver salary can go as high as $30 to $80 in some companies and job-related titles.

Per Week

If in search of a part-time job, working as a courier driver in the highest paying cities allows you to earn around $707 to $855 per week. However, the expected salary for those employed by high-paying companies is over $1,000 weekly.

Per Month

In high-paying cities, the monthly expected courier driver salary is around $3,000 to $3,700. In the right company, the average salaries for couriers are around $4,344 to $4,988.

In addition, the average monthly salary can go higher than that for skilled courier drivers.

Per Year

On the other hand, if you’re considering a permanent job as a courier driver, you can earn decent money in this field. The average salaries for couriers are around $36,809 to $44,498 per year, while the salaries of high-paying courier jobs range from around $68,765 to $165,543 annually.

Factors That Affect Their Salary Rates

Location

Similar to any job, location is the top factor that affects couriers’ salaries. As seen in the chart below, the salaries of couriers differ in each city, and they may be higher than the national average. If working in a large area or traffic routes, it is also ideal to have a base salary.

Years Of Experience

Another factor that affects couriers’ salary is the years of experience in the delivery field. Those with a decade of experience who deliver packages on time can get better salaries and even receive benefits and compensation.

However, good work ethics matters too, so work on them while gaining experience.

Additional Skills

Experience and good work ethics are essential for couriers, but having additional skills (which you could learn for free) gives you more edge in the industry and affects how much money employers are willing to pay.

For instance, couriers who deliver documents and other important stuff should learn route planning so they don’t spend hours accomplishing deliveries [2].

Education & Certifications

Although couriers don’t require “specific” education for the job, a high school diploma may be necessary. Couriers may require undergoing on-the-job training before being hired full-time.

Couriers should also have a driver’s license, a clean driving record, and good recommendations from past employers to get better pay.

10 Cities That Offer The Highest Salary For Courier Jobs

City, Queens, NY, Morton, WA, Juneau, AK, Deer Park, CA, Berkeley, CA, Boston, MA, San Mateo, CA, Bridgehampton, NY, Atkinson, NE

Job Title, Emergency Courier, Innovative Courier Solutions, Air Courier, Travel Courier, Courier Owner Operator

Top 5 High-Paying Companies For Courier Drivers

Company, Sunrise Pharmacy, Stat courier, AHF Pharmacy, Walgreens, Falcon Express Tranportation

FAQs

What type of courier driver gets paid the most?

A courier owner operator has the highest salaries with related job types as they get paid $79.59 per hour or $165,543 annually.

This courier job involves truck owners who drive trucks and plan their routes to deliver cargo to clients. In short, courier owner-operators are not employees but business owners.

How much do couriers make per delivery?

It depends. While most courier jobs offer an average hourly rate, courier drivers working under food delivery services, such as Grubhub, are paid for every successful delivery.

Grubhub pays around $4 per delivery and may differ based on location, mileage, and how long the delivery takes.

How much do couriers make per mile?

It depends as some service charges per mile, especially for food delivery. For instance, Grubhub charges $0.22 per mile x 2 for food pick up, while $0.22 per mile x 3 for food drop off. Also, a $0.13 per minute x 30 minutes applies for driving and waiting for food.

Is it worth being a courier driver?

Yes, working as a courier driver is worth it since you can earn decent money as long as you work hard. In addition, you should develop skills essential in delivery, such as route planning to maximize your time and accomplish more deliveries.

Final Verdict

With more job openings for courier drivers, as per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is expected to have better job opportunities for these professions in the future.

So whether you’re an employee or entrepreneur, courier driving is surely a profitable career or business venture.

And if you’re looking for ways to expedite your services, get a route planning management app like Route4Me.

Want to See For Yourself How RouteMe Can Help You Increase Earning?

Whether you want to slash the time it takes you to plan routes for your drivers, increase the number of stops they can make, or keep your customers satisfied knowing that your drivers show up on time… Route4Me helps you achieve that!
START FREE 7 DAY TRIAL
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About author: Dominic Walker

Dominic Walker works as a content marketer as part of Route4Me’s worldwide remote workforce. A teacher of over 15 years, Dom knows how to break complex ideas down to the very basics and explain them in a digestible way. He loves answering questions, so if you’re wondering about route optimization, jazz guitar, or how to land a fat bass, Dom is your guy.

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About Route4Me

Route4Me has over 40,000 customers globally. Route4Me's Android and iPhone mobile apps have been downloaded over 2 million times since 2009. Extremely easy-to-use, Route4Me's apps create optimized routes, synchronize routes to mobile devices, enable communication with drivers and customers, offer turn-by-turn directions, delivery confirmation, and more. Behind the scenes, Route4Me's operational optimization platform combines high-performance algorithms with data science, machine learning, and big data to plan, optimize, and analyze routes of almost any size in real-time.