Best degree programs for Cargo and Freight Agents, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 117 schools train Cargo and Freight Agents. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $52,260 median wage, 97,670 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 117 schools train cargo and freight agents, graduating 1,454 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is General Office Occupations and Clerical Services. The job pays a median of $52,260 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About cargo and freight agents
Expedite and route movement of incoming and outgoing cargo and freight shipments in airline, train, and trucking terminals and shipping docks. Take orders from customers and arrange pickup of freight and cargo for delivery to loading platform. Prepare and examine bills of lading to determine shipping charges and tariffs.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.0408 | 1,140 | 78.4% | 114 | $25,993 | $9,500 |
| 2 | CIP 52.0410 | 314 | 21.6% | 4 | $25,993 | $9,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What cargo and freight agents earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $57,690 | 17,060 | 1.49× | 29 | 600 |
| Texas | $48,470 | 7,610 | 0.86× | 14 | 220 |
| Nebraskalimited | $62,500 | 390 | 0.60× | 1 | 195 |
| Wisconsin | $57,290 | 1,280 | 0.69× | 11 | 73 |
| Washington | $60,760 | 2,410 | 1.08× | 10 | 64 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $49,590 | 2,810 | 0.74× | 1 | 45 |
| Coloradomoderate | $51,390 | 850 | 0.47× | 4 | 32 |
| Arizonalimited | $49,880 | 1,840 | 0.90× | 2 | 26 |
| Georgiamoderate | $51,380 | 3,630 | 1.18× | 3 | 26 |
| Illinois | $59,750 | 6,110 | 1.60× | 5 | 26 |
| South Carolinalimited | $57,000 | 1,540 | 1.06× | 2 | 23 |
| New Mexicomoderate | $48,910 | 110 | 0.20× | 3 | 18 |
| New Yorklimited | $60,040 | 5,760 | 0.95× | 1 | 18 |
| Oregon | $49,420 | 1,290 | 1.04× | 5 | 18 |
| Michiganmoderate | $47,940 | 2,150 | 0.78× | 3 | 9 |
| Minnesotalimited | $58,650 | 1,380 | 0.74× | 2 | 9 |
| Idaholimited | $45,710 | 300 | 0.57× | 1 | 7 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $58,680 | 820 | 0.36× | 3 | 7 |
| Montanamoderate | $59,240 | 370 | 1.16× | 3 | 7 |
| Kansaslimited | $42,500 | 890 | 0.99× | 1 | 5 |
| West Virginialimited | $49,100 | 130 | 0.29× | 2 | 5 |
| Missourilimited | $50,840 | 1,410 | 0.76× | 1 | 3 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $60,310 | 140 | 0.43× | 1 | 3 |
| Arkansaslimited | $50,500 | — | — | 1 | 2 |
| Iowalimited | $48,370 | 660 | 0.67× | 1 | 2 |
| South Dakotalimited | $64,340 | 200 | 0.68× | 1 | 2 |
| Floridalimited | $48,520 | 8,110 | 1.30× | 1 | 1 |
| Louisianalimited | $48,940 | 840 | 0.69× | 1 | 1 |
| Nevadalimited | $47,000 | 490 | 0.51× | 1 | 1 |
| Ohiolimited | $49,530 | 2,840 | 0.82× | 1 | 1 |
| Wyominglimited | — | 160 | 0.92× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Negotiate and arrange transport of goods with shipping or freight companies.
- Determine method of shipment and prepare bills of lading, invoices, and other shipping documents.
- Track delivery progress of shipments.
- Advise clients on transportation and payment methods.
- Estimate freight or postal rates and record shipment costs and weights.
- Keep records of all goods shipped, received, and stored.
- Notify consignees, passengers, or customers of freight or baggage arrival and arrange for delivery.
- Retrieve stored items and trace lost shipments as necessary.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.5
- Active Listening3.4
- Speaking3.4
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Monitoring3.3
- Writing3.1
- Active Learning2.9
- Mathematics2.6
Knowledge areas
- Transportation4.7
- Geography4.2
- Administration and Management4.1
- English Language4.1
- Administrative4.0
- Public Safety and Security4.0
Abilities
- Oral Expression3.9
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Written Comprehension3.9
- Near Vision3.4
- Problem Sensitivity3.3
- Information Ordering3.3
Core activities
- Getting Information4.3
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.0
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events3.9
- Documenting/Recording Information3.9
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings3.9
- Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People3.8
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Cargo
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Cargo and Freight Agents2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 52.0408General Office Occupations and Clerical Services
- 52.0410Traffic, Customs, and Transportation Clerk/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Cargo?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is General Office Occupations and Clerical Services, which awarded 1,140 degrees in 2024-25, 78.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Cargo?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Business Operations Support and Assistant Services. Together they graduate about 1,454 people a year.
How much do cargo and freight agents earn?+
The median is $52,260 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $38,340 at the 10th percentile to $79,810 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for cargo and freight agents growing?+
BLS projects a +8.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 8,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
117 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do cargo and freight agents work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Air Export Agent, Freight Forwarder, Drop Shipment Clerk, Air Export Specialist, Logistics Coordinator, Air Export Coordinator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-5011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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