Really? You didn’t know this? Impress people with your knowledge of some fun, interesting facts.
in Contiguous US
The largest ZIP Code in the contiguous U.S. is 89049, Tonopah, NV, at 10,821 square miles.
Twenty-four of the top 25 largest ZIP Codes in the country are located in Alaska – ranging from the largest, 99734, at more than 30,000 square miles to 99741 at 7,600 square miles. The 14th spot goes to Nevada, 89049.
in continental US
The largest ZIP Code in the continental U.S. is 99734, Prudhoe Bay, AK, at 30,683 square miles.
Twenty-four of the top 25 largest ZIP Codes in the country are located in Alaska – ranging from the largest, 99734, at more than 30,000 square miles to 99741 at 7,600 square miles. The 14th spot goes to Nevada, 89049.
postal employees
Heads of industry. Hollywood legends. Sports heroes. Singers. Painters. Writers. And a couple presidents. All were postal employees before they became household names! Twelve have even been featured on stamps.
CREATIVE
© is for creative. The Postal Service has more than 500 copyright registrations, many of them to protect artwork on postage stamps.
delivered by mail
The farm-to-table concept isn’t new. From 1914 to 1920, the farm-to-table program was a novel initiative that allowed farmers to arrange prices with people in urban areas and then mail them fresh meats, eggs, dairy products, produce, honey, jelly, and more. This was a way to give farmers more customers and city dwellers greater and cheaper access to fresh goods.
and the U.S. Mail
Extra! Extra! American newspapers largely owe their existence to Post Offices. As part of the Post Office Act of 1792, newspapers were permitted to be mailed at extremely low rates. By the start of the 19th century, newspapers made up the bulk of the U.S. Mail.
first post office
The first Post Office in America was established in a tavern in Boston in 1639.
mailman
John Prine, singer and songwriter, was a letter carrier in Maywood, IL, 1964-1969.
in the Postal Service
Each day the Postal Service picks up, processes and delivers millions of letters and packages. No single operation in the world comes close to this level of connectivity for so many households and businesses.
LINK
Link, a daily news site for Postal Service employees, is available on any computer with internet access. The content is produced by a team of writers and editors based at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. Additional contributions come from postal employees across the nation. The site is updated with new articles, photos, graphics and videos each weekday.
Regular features include “Heroes’ Corner,” a column about employees who perform heroic deeds, and “On the Move,” a weekly roundup of employees who’ve received new appointments or recognition.
Employees with postal email addresses receive a Link email each weekday with links to the most recent stories. The team also produces an end-of-week Link Recap email with stories readers might have missed, along with Link Extra emails for breaking news.
Link mobile is a mobile-friendly version of the Link site. Link mobile has all the news you’ll find on the desktop version of Link, except it’s formatted for easy reading on handheld smart devices. Employees and others can receive a weekly Link mobile email by subscribing at www.usps.link.
the postal dog
On an autumn day in 1888, a shaggy pup took his first steps toward becoming a postal legend when he crept into the Albany, New York, Post Office. Postal employees allowed him to stay and named him Owney.
At first, Owney stayed close to the Post Office, but he soon began riding mail wagons to the train depot and then rode the railway mail car down to New York City and back to Albany. As Owney traveled farther, his friends at the Albany Post Office feared he might wander too far away to find his way home again, so they purchased a leather collar with a tag reading “Owney, Post Office, Albany, N.Y.” Railway mail clerks recorded Owney’s travels by attaching metal baggage tags to his collar to identify the rail lines he traveled on. He was soon weighed down by his collection of tags. Postmaster General John Wanamaker presented Owney with a little jacket to distribute their weight more evenly.
Owney took to traveling farther and staying away longer, eventually visiting Mexico, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, Suez, Algiers, and the Azores. While being shown off to an Ohio newspaper reporter, Owney bit the clerk who was handling him. The Postmaster had Owney put down on June 11, 1897. Railway mail clerks chipped in money to have a taxidermist preserve Owney’s body, which then was sent to postal headquarters in Washington, D.C., for exhibit. In 1911, the Post Office Department entrusted Owney to the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1993, Owney has been part of the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. In 2011, Owney was honored on a commemorative U.S. postage stamp.
LINCOLN
On May 7, 1833, 24-year-old Abraham Lincoln was appointed Postmaster of New Salem, Illinois. Lincoln served until the office was closed May 30, 1836.
Two postmasters became U.S. Presidents later in their careers — Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman. Truman held the title and signed papers but immediately turned the position and its pay over to an assistant. Lincoln was the only President who served as a Postmaster.
On May 7, 1833, 24-year-old Lincoln was appointed Postmaster of New Salem, Illinois. Lincoln served until the office was closed May 30, 1836. Postal records show that Lincoln earned $55.70 as Postmaster in fiscal year 1835 and $19.48 for one quarter’s work in fiscal year 1837. Besides his pay, Lincoln, as Postmaster, could send and receive personal letters free and get one daily newspaper delivered free. Mail arrived once a week. If an addressee did not collect the mail, as was the custom, Lincoln delivered it personally — usually carrying the mail in his hat. Even then, Lincoln was “Honest Abe.”
Reportedly, when the New Salem Post Office was discontinued, Lincoln had a balance of $16 or $18, which he took with him to Springfield, Illinois. Months later, while his close friend Dr. A. G. Henry was visiting, a Post Office agent called on Lincoln to collect the funds. Henry knew that Lincoln had been in financial straits and feared that he might not have the money. Henry recalled that just as he was about to offer Lincoln a loan, the future President:
“. . . went over to his trunk at his boarding house, and returned with an old blue sock with a quantity of silver and copper coin tied up in it. Untying the sock, he poured the contents on the table and proceeded to count the coin, which consisted of such silver and copper pieces as the country-people were then in the habit of using in paying postage. On counting it up there was found the exact amount, to a cent, of the draft, and in the identical coin which had been received. He never used, under any circumstances, trust funds.”
mail delivery
Ship Ahoy! The JW Westcott is a 45-foot contract mail boat out of Detroit that delivers mail to passing ships on the Detroit River. The JW Westcott has its own ZIP Code — 48222.
This is the J.W. Westcott II approaching a Canadian freighter on the Detroit River
with walk-in freezers
The Peach Springs, AZ, Post Office has walk-in freezers for food destined for delivery by mule train to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
in caves
No troglodytes here! The Stamp Fulfillment Service facility, located in Kansas City, MO, is located in a limestone cave 150 feet beneath the ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located underground.
The consistent, year-round temperatures and humidity levels in the caves allow the stamps to be maintained in mint-quality condition. The underground facility also keeps the inventory and employees safe from snow, flooding, winds and tornadic activity common in the Midwest.
ZIP
Mr. ZIP, who has no first name, appeared in many public service announcements and advertisements urging postal customers to use the five-digit ZIP Code that was initiated on July 1, 1963. Within four years of his appearance, eight out of ten Americans knew who Mr. ZIP was and what he stood for.
With the introduction of the nine-digit ZIP Code, or ZIP+4, in 1983, Mr. ZIP went into partial retirement. His image still was printed on the selvage of some sheets of stamps, but that practice ended in January 1986. Mr. ZIP still is used occasionally by the Postal Service.
bicycle delivery routes
The Postal Service delivers mail by bicycle on 50 routes in Arizona and Florida -- reducing emissions, saving fuel and the carriers can ride a bike all day!
bargain
The price of a First-Class postage stamp is a global bargain.
woman on a stamp
The first American woman on a U.S. postage stamp was Martha Washington, 1902.
African American Carrier
The first known African American mail carrier was James B. Christian, Richmond, VA, 1869.
female mail carrier
The first known female mail carrier was Sarah Black, mail messenger, Charlestown, MD, 1845.
social network
The Postal Service is the original social network, but that doesn't mean we aren't represented on the others. You can find the Postal Service on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
the best
Patently the best. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued more than 500 patents to the United States Postal Service.
trademarks
Leaving a mark! The Postal Service has 385 domestic and 1,000 foreign trademark registrations.
vehicle batteries
We keep running and running. The Postal Service purchased 76,000 vehicle batteries in 2021.
wiper blades
Better to see you with! The Postal Service ordered 527,000 wiper blades in 2021.
deliver!
The Postal Service moves mail by planes, hovercraft, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, bicycles, mules and feet. #WeDeliverForYou
Post Office
There is a 24-hour, unstaffed, self-service Post Office in Northern Virginia that allows customers to conduct most shipping and mailing transactions quickly and easily themselves. The Self-Service Post Office provides round-the-clock accessibility to PO Boxes, as well as self-service kiosks and an automated package drop.
In 2020, more than 8,000 customers took advantage of this convenient office.
at Post Offices
Post Offices were first required to display the American flag in 1885 to comply with Treasury Department instructions. On Nov. 7, 2019, Post Offices were required to fly the Prisoner of War (POW)-Missing In Action (MIA) flag on the same days that the American flag is flown.
In 2021, the Postal Service replaced 31,874 American Flags and 27,550 POW/MIA Flags.
BULLETIN
On time. Every time. The Postal Bulletin, a nationally distributed biweekly publication, serves as a source for official policy, procedure updates and departmental news for all USPS functions. It has never missed a deadline since its inception in 1880.
Go to https://about.usps.com/resources/postal-bulletin.htm to browse past issues.
blue collection boxes
Today there are 139,868 blue boxes in use across the nation.
About those iconic blue boxes…
They weren’t always blue. Before 1970, they were green, then red, then white, then green again, and finally — beginning in 1955 — red, white and blue.
tires purchased
We’re rolling! The Postal Service purchased roughly 709,000 tires in 2021. If they were placed side-by-side, this tire line would measure more than 369 miles – the distance between New York City and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore or between Los Angeles and the Grand Canyon National Park.
addresses daily
The Postal Service added an average of 5,825 addresses to its delivery network every day in 2021.
million pieces
On average, the Postal Service processes and delivers 167.3 million pieces of First-Class Mail each day.
rubber bands purchased
BOING! The Postal Service ordered 1.2 billion rubber bands in 2021, totaling about 65,710 miles of material that could wrap around Earth 2.6 times!
corporate emails daily
With one of the largest corporate email systems, in 2021, the Postal Service handled more than 3.3 million legitimate emails a day delivered to more than 212,000 email accounts.
Staying connected
The Postal Service has one of the world’s largest computer networks — linking more than 31,000 facilities and connecting hundreds of thousands of employees and hundreds of systems.
In 2021 some emails were blocked due to:
postage stamp
Out of this world! A postage stamp was inside the New Horizons spacecraft that made a flyby of Pluto in July 2015. That's the farthest distance traveled by a postage stamp - more than 3 billion miles. So noted by the Guinness World Records.
delivery
The most unusual delivery method used by the Postal Service is a mule train in Arizona. The mules carry mail, food and supplies down a 9-mile trail to the Havasupai Indians at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Got mules? The most unusual mode of delivery used by the Postal Service is the mule train.
Since the 1930s, mules have been carrying mail and goods to the Havasupai people located inside the Grand Canyon.
Franklin cities
Ben, this one’s for you! Franklin is the most common city name — 28 of them — with Clinton, Madison and Washington tied for second (27 each) and Chester, Greenville, Marion and Springfield at third (25). The most common Post Office name is Clinton, with 26 locations, followed by Madison at second (25) and Franklin and Washington tied for third (24).
Main streets
Main Street America is here and here and… The most common street name in the country is Main —21,514 of them — followed by Second with 17,120, Third with 15,948 and First with 14,908.
ZIP Codes
There are 41,683 ZIP Codes in the country.
ZIP Codes range from 00501, belonging to the Internal Revenue Service in Holtsville, NY, to 99950 in Ketchikan, AK. Easiest to remember? How about 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.
Quick! What’s that ZIP Code?
The ZIP Code was introduced in 1963. The first number represents a general geographic area of the nation, “0” in the East moving to “9” in the West. The next two numbers indicate regional areas and the final two, specific Post Offices or postal zones in larger cities. Make it a ZIP+4 Code, introduced in 1983, and mail can be sorted to specific streets, buildings, houses and businesses. Today, ZIP Codes are important parts of the nation’s 911 emergency system. ZIP = Zone or Zoning Improvement Plan.
miles traveled
Stellar performance! During 2021, Postal Service employees traveled 1.2 billion miles to deliver your mail, equivalent to 48,191 laps around Earth, 5,023 trips to the moon or 13 trips to the sun. *Based on the average moon and sun distance.
Operation Santa
For 109 years, postal employees and the American public have helped bring more magic to the holiday season, one letter to Santa at a time.
In 2021, 4.3 million people visited USPSOperationSanta.com, more than 203,000 profiles were created, and the identity verification success rate was 93.5 percent. Generous customers adopted 21,175 letters and shipped 21,443 packages, helping families and children experience the magic of the season when they might not have otherwise, one letter to Santa at a time.
In 2020, the program expanded nationwide for the first time. More than 1 million people visited USPSOperationSanta.com. Generous customers shipped more than 21,000 packages to the families and children who wrote to Santa to help them have a happier holiday.
In 2019, the digital program continued to expand. Letters were accepted letters from 17 locations, and the letters could be adopted by anyone in the country. Gifts could be shipped from more than 19,000 post offices.
In 2018, the Postal Service expanded the 2017 pilot test to include 6 additional cities (Austin, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Washington DC – and Puerto Rico and Chico, CA (site of wildfires). Letters from those locations populated the website and people in those locations only could adopt them and ship from one dedicated post office per city.
In 2017, the Postal Service launched a pilot test of a digital Operation Santa option for residents of New York City. People living in New York City, within proximity of the James A. Farley building could adopt letters online and ship gifts from JAF. Puerto Rico was also added after the hurricanes that year.
HISTORY
In 1912, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to letters addressed to Santa Claus and the program came to be known as Operation Santa.
In the 1940s, mail volume increased to the point where the Post Office Department invited charitable organizations and corporations to participate for philanthropic purposes —providing written responses and small gifts.
Through the years, the program has taken on a life of its own and today cities around the country have established successful programs with recognized charitable organizations, major corporations, local businesses and postal employees making a major difference in the lives of the children from coast to coast.
deliveries
The ZIP Code with the most street deliveries is Cathedral Station, NY, 10025, with 46,395!
delivery route
The shortest rural delivery route is in Parker, CO. The carrier travels 2.3 miles and delivers to 869 boxes.
delivery route
The longest rural delivery route is in Clarinda, IA. The carrier travels 181.4 miles daily and delivers to 234 boxes.
dock-to-dock
Dock-to-dock delivery on the Magnolia River in Alabama. A 15-foot contract mail boat delivers to 176 dock-side mailboxes on a 31-mile stretch of the river.
Post Office
The second oldest Post Office location is in Castine, ME, from 1833.
Post Office
The Hinsdale, NH, Post Office (03451) has been located in the same building since 1816.
retail space
The largest U.S. Postal Service retail space is the James A. Farley Post Office in New York, NY (10001), at 33,100 square feet.
POST OFFICE
The smallest Post Office is located in Ochopee, FL (34141) and is 61.3 square feet. The building used to be a storage facility for irrigation pipes of an adjacent tomato farm. It was converted into a Post Office in 1953, after a fire that destroyed a previous Post Office and general store.
There is a sign beside the office that reads:
OCHOPEE POST OFFICE
Considered to be the smallest post office in the United States, this building was formerly an irrigation pipe shed belonging to the J.T. Gaunt Company tomato farm. It was hurriedly pressed into service by postmaster Sidney Brown after a disastrous night fire in 1953 burned Ochopee’s general store and post office. The present structure has been in continuous use ever since – as both a post office and ticket station for Trailway’s bus lines – and still services residents in a three-county area, including deliveries to Seminole and Miccosukee Indians living in the region. Daily business often includes requests from tourists and stamp collectors the world over for the famed Ochopee postmark. The property was acquired by the Wooten Family in 1992.
— Collier County Board of County Commissioners
U.S. Post Office
The highest Post Office in the United States is located in Alma, CO (80420), at 10,578 feet above sea level.
million
Each day, $165.3 million is paid to USPS employees in salaries and benefits.
million mailpieces
The Postal Service processes and delivers 425.3 million mail pieces each day.
FUNDING
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
million
The Postal Service generates, on average, $254.2 million in revenue per day
Trademarks
Trademarks
The Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service: Click-N-Ship®, Deliver The Win®, EDDM®, ePostage®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, First-Class Package International Service®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Label Broker™, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, PostalProud®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Standard Mail®, The Postal Store®, United States Postal Inspection Service®, United States Postal Service®, U.S. Mail®, U.S. Postal Inspector™, U.S. Postal Service®, USPS®, USPS BlueEarth®, USPS Mobile®, USPS Operation Santa®, USPS Tracking®, usps.com®, We are people delivering to people™, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Dollar General®, Forest Stewardship Council®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Subway®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, The Climate Registry®.
Postal Facts 2022 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, and in a business, informational or academic context and the like, and in the body of text discussing factual subject matter relevant to the fact being presented. However, these facts may become outdated after publication and seeking the latest information is advised.
Produced by U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications
© 2022 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
© 2016-2022 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
Trademarks
The Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service: Click-N-Ship®, Deliver The Win®, EDDM®, ePostage®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, First-Class Package International Service®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Label Broker™, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, PostalProud®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Standard Mail®, The Postal Store®, United States Postal Inspection Service®, United States Postal Service®, U.S. Mail®, U.S. Postal Inspector™, U.S. Postal Service®, USPS®, USPS BlueEarth®, USPS Mobile®, USPS Operation Santa®, USPS Tracking®, usps.com®, We are people delivering to people™, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Dollar General®, Forest Stewardship Council®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Subway®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, The Climate Registry®.
Postal Facts 2022 provides the public with information about the U.S. Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, and in a business, informational or academic context and the like, and in the body of text discussing factual subject matter relevant to the fact being presented. However, these facts may become outdated after publication and seeking the latest information is advised.
Produced by U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications
© 2022 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
© 2016-2022 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
