Prevailing Wage for Cargo and Freight Agents
Prevailing wage for Cargo and Freight Agents (SOC 43-5011.00) is set by the DOL using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data. Whether your title reads Air Export Specialist, Intermodal Dispatcher, or Drop Shipment Clerk, the same four experience levels apply, and the wage floor shifts significantly depending on which U.S. city the worksite is in.
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Entry-level agents with limited experience, typically performing routine freight routing and basic bill-of-lading preparation under close supervision. Employers filing at Level 1 expect the worker to develop full competency on the job with structured guidance.
Qualified agents who handle standard cargo coordination independently, including customer order intake, carrier selection, and tariff verification. Level 2 is the most common filing level for Cargo and Freight Agents, reflecting the occupation's typical hands-on, experienced-hire profile.
Experienced agents managing complex shipments, multimodal freight coordination, or specialized commodity routing with minimal oversight. Workers at this level often mentor junior staff and resolve escalated discrepancies in shipping documentation or carrier billing.
Fully competent senior agents or leads responsible for high-value accounts, compliance oversight, or terminal-wide freight operations. Level 4 typically applies to workers setting procedures, training others, and exercising significant independent judgment across all freight modes.
Prevailing wage for Cargo and Freight Agents by OES area
Each area on the map is a DOL OES wage zone. Click any location to see the prevailing wage floor for Cargo and Freight Agents at each level.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for Cargo and Freight Agents and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Watch for title aliasing in freight operations
Job titles like Freight Broker or Load Planner sometimes get filed under a different SOC, pulling wages away from the SOC 43-5011.00 floor. Confirm your offer letter title maps to Cargo and Freight Agents before comparing it to this prevailing wage.
Flag Hartford and Vallejo as high-wage filing targets
Hartford, CT and Vallejo, CA post the highest prevailing wages for this occupation, well above the national median at every level. If an employer in those metros offers the national median as the floor, the LCA likely understates the required wage.
Exclude signing bonuses from wage compliance math
DOL prevailing wage compliance for sponsored positions is calculated on base salary only. Signing bonuses, relocation allowances, and one-time payments do not count toward the floor, a common gap in freight industry offer packages.
Use Migrate Mate to find employers who sponsor freight roles
Migrate Mate shows which companies have actually sponsored Cargo and Freight Agents and related intermodal roles before, so you can focus your search on employers with a demonstrated sponsorship track record rather than guessing from job board listings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Cargo and Freight Agents?
DOL uses Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate prevailing wages for SOC 43-5011.00. For H-1B visa and PERM filings, employers request a wage determination through OFLC, which returns a figure tied to the worksite metropolitan area and one of four experience levels. The result becomes the legal minimum the employer must pay the sponsored worker.
What do the four wage levels mean and how do I know which one applies to my role?
DOL assigns Level 1 to entry-level workers under close supervision, Level 2 to those performing the full range of duties independently, Level 3 to experienced workers handling complex tasks with limited oversight, and Level 4 to senior or lead staff exercising significant judgment. Your level should match the actual duties and supervision described in the job posting and the employer's LCA, not just the title on the offer letter.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same freight agent role vary so much by city?
DOL calculates wages from regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys, so local labor market conditions drive the figure. An LCA must list the actual worksite city, meaning a position in Hartford, CT triggers a much higher floor than the same title in McAllen, TX or San Juan, PR. Employers with multiple terminals must file separate LCAs for each distinct worksite location, so where you physically work determines your wage floor.
What happens if my sponsored job offer falls below the prevailing wage for Cargo and Freight Agents?
An employer cannot lawfully file an H-1B or PERM petition for a wage below the certified prevailing wage. USCIS and OFLC both review LCA wage attestations, and a deficient wage is grounds for denial or revocation. If you identify a shortfall before filing, the employer must either raise the offered salary to meet the floor or reclassify the role to the correct level before certification.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a Cargo and Freight Agents position in a specific U.S. city?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool to look up SOC 43-5011.00 wages by metropolitan area and experience level. Select the worksite metro, choose the applicable wage level, and the tool returns the current DOL floor. For sponsored job searches, Migrate Mate lists freight and logistics employers with verified sponsorship history, so you can cross-reference open roles against the OFLC Wage Search figure for the relevant city.
