How Much Does UPS Pay? Hourly Wages by Role

UPS pay depends mostly on whether a job is covered by the Teamsters national master agreement. Most package handlers and drivers are union members, and their rates follow the contract. Supervisors and some seasonal staff are not covered, so their pay is set separately and varies by location.

The contract was ratified in August 2023 and runs through July 2028. The union figures below come from the Teamsters' own announcement, and role-by-role ranges come from a 2026 pay guide. Self-reported averages from a salary site are included for comparison, but they can mix older and newer entries.

Pay starts with the part-time rate. New part-time hires start at $21/hr and move up to $23/hr, according to the union. Existing part-time employees were raised to no less than the starting rate when the contract took effect.

Full-time pay is higher, and it depends on the job classification. Gridwise lists the following hourly ranges for common roles in 2026.

A full-time package handler or sorter falls in the range of $21 – $25/hr. A package car driver, the standard delivery truck job, starts near the low end of $21 – $42.73/hr and progresses toward the top of that range under the contract's progression. Feeder drivers, who move freight between hubs in tractor-trailers, reach as much as $49/hr, and the job requires a commercial driver's license.

The union states that wage increases for full-time drivers improve their average top rate to $49/hr. That figure is the union's own description of an average top rate, not a UPS-published pay average, so treat it as the Teamsters' framing.

For existing employees, the contract provides $2.75/hr more in 2023, and general wage increases totaling $7.50/hr over the five years of the agreement. These are raises added to current pay, not wage levels. The agreement runs from 2023 through July 2028, so any pay changes after that date depend on a new contract.

Not every UPS job is covered by the master agreement. Hourly supervisors earn a non-union rate in the range of $25 – $35/hr, and they do not receive Teamsters benefits. Seasonal driver helpers hired for peak season are paid in the range of $15 – $22/hr, and air drivers fall in $17 – $25/hr. Pay for these roles depends on classification and location.

Salary sites collect pay reported by current and former employees. On that basis, Payscale shows an average across all UPS employees of $22.16/hr, with averages by job title running from $16.70/hr to $31.45/hr.

The site lists UPS delivery drivers at an average of $26.28/hr. That sits below the top driver rate described by the union. An average may blend new hires with long-tenured drivers and can include older entries from before the 2023 raises.

• Job classification. Package handler, package car driver, feeder driver and air driver each follow a different scale.
• Seniority. Driver pay rises on a progression, so a first-year driver earns less than one at the top rate.
• Union coverage. Supervisors and some seasonal staff are outside the contract.
• Hours. Part-time handlers often work short shifts, so weekly earnings can be much lower than the hourly rate suggests.
• Location. Local labor markets can affect pay for non-union roles.

Pay guides disagree for a few reasons. Some quote the contract's starting rate while others quote what a long-serving employee earns. Some report a top rate that applies after several years. Salary sites mix union and non-union jobs, and entries from before the 2023 contract lower the average. When you compare numbers, find out which role, which year and which seniority level they describe.