The Postal Service is working hard to put its stamp on a greener tomorrow for the many communities we serve. Postal carriers deliver mail using alternative fuel vehicles, on foot and even on bicycles. Mail is delivered by bicycle on 50 routes in Florida and Arizona and more than 6,450 carriers deliver mail solely on foot.

As one of the few points of human contact for some homebound customers, letter carriers are particularly attuned to signs that could indicate an accident or illness. If carriers notice something unusual, such as uncollected mail at an at-risk customer’s home, the employee will alert emergency personnel. Carrier Alert began in 1982.

USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign. Thousands of carriers deliver to homes with dogs every day. The Postal Service promotes safety initiatives and shares prevention tips to protect employees and customers from dog bites.

Every year, the Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers hold the largest one-day food drive in the nation. The program has collected more than 1.9 billion pounds of food since the campaign began in 1993.

The Postal Service delivers mail by bicycle on 50 routes in Arizona and Florida, reducing emissions and saving fuel.

In 2024, the Postal Service recycled 332,500 gallons of used oil — equivalent to saving more than 14 million gallons of crude oil.

The Postal Service recycled 75,000 pounds of small lead-acid and dry cell batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, which are found in cellphones, laptops, scanners and other small electronics.

Honoring service members. The Postal Service proudly partners with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide burial flags to families of deceased veterans. In 2024, the Postal Service provided 348,285 burial flags.

In 2024, the Postal Service recycled 75,000 pounds of small lead-acid and dry cell batteries, including lithium-ion batteries, which are found in cellphones, laptops, scanners and other small electronics.

Sunny times ahead. The Postal Service has a solar power generation system consisting of more than 25,755 solar panels at its Los Angeles mail processing facility.

USPS Operation Santa. This program is in its 113th year of operation and relies solely on random acts of kindness and the generosity of strangers. In 2024, millions of people visited uspsoperationsanta.com. Generous customers adopted letters written to Santa and fulfilled wishes, helping families and children experience the magic of the season when they might not have otherwise, one letter to Santa at a time.

We're greener than you think. The Postal Service is working hard to put its stamp on a greener tomorrow for the organization and the communities we serve. In 2024, the Postal Service recycled more than 269,000 tons of solid waste.

Approximately 6,450 carriers deliver mail entirely on foot — the USPS fleet of feet. Mail is also delivered by bicycle on select routes in Arizona and Florida, reducing emissions and saving fuel.

The Postal Service operates a fleet of 31,866 alternative-fuel vehicles, including electric, hybrid, ethanol, compressed natural gas and liquid propane gas vehicles.

The Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp has raised nearly $98 million since 1998. More than 1.1 billion Breast Cancer Research stamps have been sold.

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 Postal Service functions. It has never missed a deadline since its inception in 1880.

Mr. ZIP, who has no first name, appeared in many public service announcements and advertisements urging customers to use their five-digit ZIP Code introduced on July 1, 1963. Within four years of his appearance, eight out of 10 Americans knew who Mr. ZIP was and what he stood for. The character has found new life in recent years a USPS-licensed character and even has YouTube series.

On an autumn day in 1888, a shaggy pup took his first steps toward becoming a postal legend when he crept into the Albany, NY, Post Office. Postal employees allowed him to stay and named him Owney.

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.

Heads of industry. Hollywood legends. Sports heroes. Singers. Painters. Writers. And a couple presidents. All were postal employees before they became household names! Sixteen have even had their image or work featured on stamps.

The Postal Service owns 1,958 internet domains.

The Postal Service has 414 domestic and 982 foreign trademark registrations.

Patently the best. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued more than 700 patents to the Postal Service.

The Postal Service is the original social network, but that doesn't mean we aren't represented on the other, newer social networks. You can find the Postal Service on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, X and YouTube. We also have a blog and a podcast.

The Postal Service delivers mail by bicycle on 50 routes in Arizona and Florida, reducing emissions and saving fuel.

No troglodytes here! The Stamp Fulfillment Services facility, located in Kansas City, MO, is housed in a limestone cave 150 feet beneath the ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located underground.

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.

The Postal Service processed and delivered an average of 371.3 million mailpieces daily in 2024.

John Prine, singer and songwriter, was a letter carrier in Maywood, IL, 1964-1969.

One of a kind. There is a 24-hour, unstaffed, self-service Post Office in Vienna, VA, 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 P.O. Boxes, as well as self-service kiosks and an automated package drop.

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.

© is for creative. The Postal Service has more than 500 copyright registrations, many of them to protect artwork on postage stamps.

The largest ZIP Code in the continental U.S. is 99734, Prudhoe Bay, AK, which measures 30,683 square miles.

The largest ZIP Code in the contiguous U.S. is 89049, Tonopah, NV, at 10,821 square miles.

The Postal Service moves mail by planes, hovercraft, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, bicycles, mules and feet.

Coconuts can be mailed without a box. Simply address the coconut and add your return addresses on the husk, have it weighed for appropriate postage, and it is shipped as-is. Photo: Coconuts ready for mailing at the Molokai, HI, Post Office.

It's SPUDTACULAR! As with coconuts, potatoes can be mailed without a box. Simply write the address it's going to and your return addresses on the spud, have it weighed for appropriate postage, and it can be shipped as-is. Let someone know they are special. Send a tater!

Hope in the mail. In 1958, luxury jeweler Harry Winston donated the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution. With his years of experience in shipping jewelry all over the world, Winston sent the diamond via Registered Mail service with the Post Office Department.

Under the watchful security of the Postal Inspection Service, Railway Mail Service clerks transferred some of the $9 billion in gold bullion shipped as Registered Mail from the New York City Assay Office to the depository at Fort Knox, KY, in 1941.

Do not try to ship your kids! In the early days of Parcel Post service, a few parents managed to mail their children to relatives. In 1913, an 8-month-old baby in Ohio was mailed by his parents to his grandmother, who lived a few miles away. The baby was safely delivered! Regulations were quickly established to prevent any additional mailing of children through the U.S. Mail.

Individual bricks can be shipped in the U.S. Mail. Get a permanent marker, write the address and your return address, get it weighed and add the postage. Send that special someone a brick of affection.

The Zoning Improvement Plan (ZIP) Code was launched in 1963 to better process and deliver increasing volumes of U.S. Mail. The first number in the five-digit ZIP Code represents a general geographic area of the nation, “0” in the east, moving to “9” in the west. The next two numbers represent regional areas, and the final two identify specific Post Offices. In 1983, the ZIP+4 Code was introduced.

In Corrales, NM, in 1999, a new Post Office was built with more than 900 bales of straw as insulation. The Post Office is still standing strong and saving energy — a proud testament to the Postal Service’s longstanding history of sustainable practices.

Chicken scratch. The Postal Service has an entire operation dedicated to deciphering poor penmanship.

This Post Office floats! The Halibut Cove Post Office (99603) in Homer, AK, floats. The office is a small houseboat that is permanently tied to a dock.

No high-flying flag here. The B. Free Franklin Post Office in Philadelphia is the only Post Office in the country that doesn’t fly the American flag — because in 1775 when Benjamin Franklin was appointed postmaster general, there was no flag.

Boing! The Postal Service ordered more than 491 million rubber bands in 2024, which totals 27,152 miles of material, or one trip around the world.

Iconically ours. There are approximately 124,000 iconic blue collection boxes in use on street corners across the nation.

The Postal Service added an average of 6,604 addresses to its delivery network every day in 2024.

On average, the Postal Service processed and delivered 146.2 million pieces of First-Class Mail each day in 2024.

On average, the Postal Service processed 15.5 million mailpieces each hour in 2024.

Boing! The Postal Service ordered more than 491.7 million rubber bands in 2024, which totals 27,152 miles of material, or one trip around the world.

A postage stamp was onboard NASA's 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, as noted by Guinness World Records.

The U.S. Postal Service has no official motto. Nope, it’s not this phrase: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But we certainly appreciate the sentiment.

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 inside the Grand Canyon.

Ben, this one’s for you. There are 32 cities named “Franklin,” making it the most common city name. “Arlington,” “Clinton,” Springfield” and “Washington” are tied for second place at 29 locations each, while “Fairfield” and “Madison” tie for seventh place with 28 locations apiece. The most common Post Office name is “Clinton,” with 26 locations, followed by “Madison” at second (25) while “Franklin” and “Washington” are tied for third (24).

The longest Main Street in the country is located in Island Park, ID, and is 33 miles long.

The most common street name in the country is “Main” — 21,688 of them — followed by “Second” with 18,322, “Third” with 16,951 and “First” with 16,197.

There are 41,552 ZIP Codes in the country. They range from 00501, belonging to the Internal Revenue Service in Holtsville, NY, to 99950 in Ketchikan, AK. The easiest ZIP Code to remember? How about 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.

Stellar performance! During 2023, Postal Service employees traveled more than 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.

The Post Office location with the most possible street deliveries is Heritage Station in San Antonio, TX (78245, 78250, 78251, 78253) — with 116,628 deliveries.

Our Post Office in Utqiagvik, North Slope of Alaska — formerly Barrow (99723) — experiences the coldest temperatures.

The shortest delivery route is rural route 012 in Woodinville, WA (98072). On this route, the carrier travels 2.45 miles and delivers to 1,147 boxes.

The longest delivery route is rural route 001 in Sidney, MT (59270) — 195.2 miles daily, delivering to 305 boxes.

The easiest to remember ZIP Code is 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.

The highest numbered ZIP Code is 99950 in Ketchikan, AK.

The lowest ZIP Code number is 00501, unique for the Internal Revenue Service in Holtsville, NY.

The Postal Service’s only dock-to-dock delivery route is 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.

The Post Office in most need of a bridge is in Point Roberts, WA. It can be reached by car only by driving through British Columbia, Canada. Only a boat or float plane can travel directly there.

The second oldest Post Office location in operations is in Castine, ME, and opened in 1833.

The Hinsdale, NH, Post Office (03451) has been located in the same building since 1816.

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.

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.

The highest Post Office in the United States is located in Alma, CO (80420), at 10,578 feet above sea level.

The Postal Service receives, on average, $262.5 million in revenue each day.

The official name for the Pony Express was the Central Overland California & Pike’s Peak Express Co. Before they were hired, riders had to swear on a Bible not to curse, fight or abuse their animals. The service was in operation only from April 3, 1860, to Oct. 26, 1861. It was never part of the U.S. Postal Service but operated as a contract U.S. Mail route during its final months.

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 Postal Service functions. It has never missed a deadline since its inception in 1880.

The first U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847.

Mr. ZIP, who has no first name, appeared in many public service announcements and advertisements urging customers to use their five-digit ZIP Code introduced on July 1, 1963. Within four years of his appearance, eight out of 10 Americans knew who Mr. ZIP was and what he stood for. The character has found new life in recent years a USPS-licensed character and even has YouTube series.

Before 1863, postage paid only for the delivery of mail from Post Office to Post Office. Citizens picked up their mail, although in some cities they could pay an extra two-cent fee for letter delivery or use private delivery firms. An Act of Congress of March 3, 1863, effective July 1, 1863, provided that free city delivery be established at Post Offices where income from local postage was more than sufficient to pay all expenses of the service.

On an autumn day in 1888, a shaggy pup took his first steps toward becoming a postal legend when he crept into the Albany, NY, Post Office. Postal employees allowed him to stay and named him Owney.

Post Offices were first required to display the American flag in 1885 to comply with Treasury Department instructions. As of Nov. 7, 2019, Post Offices are required to fly the Prisoner of War (POW)-Missing in Action (MIA) flag on the same days that the American flag is flown.

On May 7, 1833, 24-year-old Abraham Lincoln was appointed postmaster of New Salem, IL. Lincoln served until the office was closed May 30, 1836.

Women served as postmasters in this country more than a century before they won the right to vote.

African Americans worked as postmasters, clerks and carriers beginning in the 1860s — 100 years before the Civil Rights Movement brought about wider opportunity in the American workplace.

The United States Postal Service has a storied history, familiar to many. Our history is the history of America. Detailed information about the Postal Service and its history can be found in "The United States Postal Service: An American History" at https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/.

The first known female postmaster in the United Colonies was Mary Katharine Goddard in Baltimore in 1775.

The first known female mail carrier was Sarah Black, who worked as a mail messenger in Charlestown, MD, in 1845.

The first known African American postmaster was James W. Mason in Sunny Side, AR, in 1867.

The first known African American mail carrier was James B. Christian in Richmond, VA, in 1869.

The first American woman on a U.S. postage stamp was Martha Washington in 1902.

The first known African American postal inspector was Isaac Myers in Baltimore in 1870.

The first Hispanic American on a stamp was U.S. Navy Adm. David Farragut in 1903.

The first Native American on a stamp was Pocahontas in 1907.

The first African American on a stamp was educator, author and orator Booker T. Washington in 1940.

The first female postmaster general was Megan J. Brennan, Washington, DC, 2015. Brennan's tenure was Feb. 1, 2015 – June 15, 2020.

Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general by the Continental Congress in 1775.

The Postal Service launched usps.com in 1994.

The U.S. Postal Service Headquarters building is located in Washington, DC, just a few blocks south of the National Mall.

Located in Maryland, the William F. Bolger Center is a premier leadership development and conference center servicing both Postal Service and external clients. It is the only hotel in the country featuring an on-site Smithsonian Institution exhibit.

In 1993, the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum opened. This museum is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history and philately.

The first Post Office in America was established in a tavern in Boston in 1639.

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.

Honoring service members. The Postal Service proudly partners with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide burial flags to families of deceased veterans. In 2024, the Postal Service provided 348,285 burial flags.

The U.S. Postal Service upholds its promise to deliver the nation’s Election Mail securely and on time, consistent with the organization’s non-partisan public service mission.

It’s not just any letter or package. It’s a picture of the kids. It’s a handmade scarf. It’s a favorite candy bar. It’s a pair of socks. It’s a piece of home. The Postal Service helps make sure these very special letters and packages make it to those who serve in the military — and their families with them — wherever they are around the globe.

The history of the Postal Service is a large story set on a broad canvas. It is intertwined with the history of America, and it provides a lens from which to observe the evolution of the United States. This story is told beautifully in "The United States Postal Service: An American History" (also known as Pub. 100).

More than 1,400 USPS-owned buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1971, the Postal Inspection Service became one of the first federal law enforcement organizations to hire female agents.

The U.S. Postal Service has no official motto. Nope, it’s not this phrase: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But we certainly appreciate the sentiment.

The Postal Service traces its origin to 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first postmaster general of the United Colonies. His annual salary was $1,000. From 1872 to 1971, the postmaster general was a presidential Cabinet member.

USPS Operation Santa. This program is in its 113th year of operation and relies solely on random acts of kindness and the generosity of strangers. In 2024, millions of people visited uspsoperationsanta.com. Generous customers adopted letters written to Santa and fulfilled wishes, helping families and children experience the magic of the season when they might not have otherwise, one letter to Santa at a time.

The Postal Service owns 1,958 internet domains.

The Postal Service has 414 domestic and 982 foreign trademark registrations.

Patently the best. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued more than 700 patents to the Postal Service.

The Postal Service uses data not only to ensure its operations run smoothly, but also to help businesses make better use of the mail. Its mission is to provide the right information to the right people in real time using advanced technology.

The Postal Service has 188 petabytes of storage capacity — equivalent to 2.9 million smartphones with 64GB of space.

In 2024, the Postal Service email system delivered 1.6 billion external email messages per month, with 70 percent of the volume comprising Informed Delivery Daily Digest emails.

To move mail using surface transportation, the Postal Service drove more than 1.9 billion miles in 2024 — more than 22.6 million trips.

The Postal Service used 150 domestic airports to fly 3.7 million pounds of mail each day in 2024.

The Lable Broker service solves the ever-increasing problem of online customers not being able to print shipping labels.

The Automated Delivery Unit Sorter sorts packages and bundles of mail at a rate of 3,400 pieces per hour with a sort accuracy of 99.95 percent.

Informed Greetings blends the traditional “mail moment” with a modern digital experience by integrating a personalized digital message into the recipient’s USPS Informed Delivery email when they receive a physical greeting card.

Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) operations include more than 12,000 uniformed motor vehicle and tractor-trailer operators. The PVS fleet includes 98 sprinter vans, 2,202 cargo vans, 2,364 tractors and nearly 7,351 trailers. Commuting within a 170-mile radius of their facility, PVS drivers traveled more than 184 million miles last year.

The Seamless Acceptance program automates the payment verification of commercial mailings by leveraging electronic documentation, Intelligent Mail barcodes and information collected from both handheld sampling devices and mail processing equipment scans. In 2024, the Seamless Acceptance program accepted 77.5 billion mailpieces from 2,734 mailers.

The eInduction process simplifies mail induction by using electronic documentation, Intelligent Mail container barcodes and handheld scanner technologies to verify the payment and preparation of commercial mail containers. In 2024, 1,102 mailers took advantage of eInduction.

The Enterprise Payment System (EPS). EPS allows customers to pay for and manage their use of Postal Service products and services online, using an integrated single payment account. In 2024, EPS collected $46.6 billion in revenue, which is a 5.9 percent increase over 2023.

The Electronic Verification System (eVS) allows high-volume package mailers and package consolidators to document and pay for postage, including extra service fees, using electronic manifest files. In 2024, eVS processed 4.7 billion packages and collected $16.2 billion in revenue.

The Automated Package Verification program automates the detection and collection of postage due for mailpieces with insufficient postage using automated package processing equipment. The APV program collected $140.9 million in short-paid revenue in 2024.

The daily operations performed by the Postal Service depend on an astonishing network of people and technologies that collect, transport, process and deliver the nation’s mail.

Tray sorting machines sort more than 10 million trays per day through conveyor systems.

The Postal Service operates more than 9,000 pieces of automated equipment that processes and sorts nearly half the world’s mail.

Mobile Delivery Devices (MDDs) provide real-time scanning for daily delivery operations. There are more than 285,000 MDDs in use nationwide.

There are 48,000 retail point-of-sale systems installed in 20,400 locations that provide services at windows, military sites, business partners and self-service kiosk systems.

A postage stamp was onboard NASA's 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, as noted by Guinness World Records.

Postal customer councils are Postal Service-affiliated networks connect business mailers with local Post Office leadership to develop more effective and profitable mailings through training and information sharing. Since the 1960s, these councils have been the go-to local resource for helping mailers learn, innovate and build their business. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/pcc.

The Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive their advice and recommendations on matters concerning mail-related products and services. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/mtac.

The Advanced Facer Canceller System positions letter mail and postmarks stamps at 36,000 pieces per hour.

The Postal Service is one of the largest material-handling systems in the world for moving mail. There are more than 200 miles of conveyors within postal facilities.

The Postal Service is the world leader in optical character recognition technology, with machines reading nearly 98 percent of all hand-addressed letters and 99.5 percent of machine-printed mail.

A unique Intelligent Mail barcode identifies individual pieces of mail, trays, sacks and containers to track them through the postal processing system from induction to delivery.

Every Door Direct Mail began in 2011 and is designed to help business mailers direct their Marketing Mail pieces to customers in a select neighborhood, city or ZIP Code. Since 2011, more than 33 billion pieces of Every Door Direct Mail pieces have been sent, resulting in $5 billion in revenue. Nearly 3 billion pieces were sent in 2024, totaling $588 million in revenue.

With Informed Delivery, you can digitally preview your incoming mail and manage your packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. More than 67 million customers have enrolled since it was launched in 2017.

The Postal Service communications network supports and maintains 157,681 workstations, 31,252 server computers, 52,689 printers, 31,092 smartphones, 838 tablets and more than 430,000 handheld scanners.

The Postal Service has the largest gantry robotic fleet in the world with 165 robotics systems moving 300,000 mail trays per day.

In 2024, the Inspection Service reported 2,038 arrests related to illegal narcotics cases.

The Postal Inspection Service is committed to using the most advanced technology to stop fentanyl traffickers. Postal inspectors use data, forensics and citizens’ tips to protect Americans and apprehend opioid dealers who send illegal drugs through the mail.

Defending the frontier. Enforcing the law. Established Aug. 7, 1775. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service enforces federal laws, prevents crimes, and keeps customers, employees and the mail safe. It’s one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Postal inspectors remain on the heels of the criminals — targeting theft, disrupting drug traffickers, warning about fraud scams and more.

The first known African American postal inspector was Isaac Myers in Baltimore in 1870.

In 2024, the Inspection Service continued its partnership with AARP through Operation Protect Veterans to raise awareness of scams that target military veterans.

In 2024, the Inspection Service seized 5,011 assets worth more than $54 million.

In 1971, the Postal Inspection Service became one of the first federal law enforcement organizations to hire female agents.

In 2024, forensic scientists and specialists in the Postal Inspection Service’s Forensic Laboratory Services examined more than 1 million items, including 378 terabytes of data. Inspectors identified 2,262 suspects based on the evidence gathered by the lab.

The Inspection Service uses various media platforms to educate the American public about scams and how to avoid them. A weekly TV series, "The Inspectors," was based on real-life Postal Inspection Service cases. 104 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning scripted drama ran for four seasons on network television, reaching more than 200 million viewers.

During National Consumer Protection Week, the Federal Trade Commission’s annual awareness campaign, USPS and the Inspection Service provide customers with education, tools and information to combat identity theft and mail fraud.

The Postal Inspection Service works aggressively and takes all practicable measures to ensure the sanctity and security of the U.S. Mail.

Postal inspectors responded to and investigated approximately 1,700 suspicious mail incidents in 2024.

In 2024, the Inspection Service recovered approximately $750,000 in misappropriated or stolen mail transport equipment.

The U.S. Mail is protected by more than 200 federal laws enforced by the Postal Inspection Service, one of the nation's oldest law enforcement agencies.

In 2024, the Inspection Service made 4,754 arrests and secured 4,228 convictions related primarily to crimes involving mail theft, assaults and robberies of employees, mail fraud and prohibited mailings.

On May 7, 1833, 24-year-old Abraham Lincoln was appointed postmaster of New Salem, IL. Lincoln served until the office was closed May 30, 1836.

No troglodytes here! The Stamp Fulfillment Services facility, located in Kansas City, MO, is housed in a limestone cave 150 feet beneath the ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located underground.

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.

The U.S. Postal Service Headquarters building is located in Washington, DC, just a few blocks south of the National Mall.

The largest ZIP Code in the continental U.S. is 99734, Prudhoe Bay, AK, which measures 30,683 square miles.

The largest ZIP Code in the contiguous U.S. is 89049, Tonopah, NV, at 10,821 square miles.

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 inside the Grand Canyon.

Ben, this one’s for you. There are 32 cities named “Franklin,” making it the most common city name. “Arlington,” “Clinton,” Springfield” and “Washington” are tied for second place at 29 locations each, while “Fairfield” and “Madison” tie for seventh place with 28 locations apiece. The most common Post Office name is “Clinton,” with 26 locations, followed by “Madison” at second (25) while “Franklin” and “Washington” are tied for third (24).

The longest Main Street in the country is located in Island Park, ID, and is 33 miles long.

The most common street name in the country is “Main” — 21,688 of them — followed by “Second” with 18,322, “Third” with 16,951 and “First” with 16,197.

The Post Office location with the most possible street deliveries is Heritage Station in San Antonio, TX (78245, 78250, 78251, 78253) — with 116,628 deliveries.

Our Post Office in Utqiagvik, North Slope of Alaska — formerly Barrow (99723) — experiences the coldest temperatures.

The shortest delivery route is rural route 012 in Woodinville, WA (98072). On this route, the carrier travels 2.45 miles and delivers to 1,147 boxes.

The longest delivery route is rural route 001 in Sidney, MT (59270) — 195.2 miles daily, delivering to 305 boxes.

The easiest to remember ZIP Code is 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.

The highest numbered ZIP Code is 99950 in Ketchikan, AK.

The lowest ZIP Code number is 00501, unique for the Internal Revenue Service in Holtsville, NY.

The Postal Service’s only dock-to-dock delivery route is 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.

The Post Office in most need of a bridge is in Point Roberts, WA. It can be reached by car only by driving through British Columbia, Canada. Only a boat or float plane can travel directly there.

The second oldest Post Office location in operations is in Castine, ME, and opened in 1833.

The Hinsdale, NH, Post Office (03451) has been located in the same building since 1816.

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.

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.

The most centered Post Office within the 48 contiguous states is located in Lebanon, KS.

The most centered Post Office within all 50 states is located in Belle Fourche, SD.

The northernmost Post Office location within the 50 states is in Utqiagvik, AK (formerly Barrow).

The northernmost Post Office location within the 48 contiguous states is in Angle Inlet, MN.

The southernmost Post Office location within the 50 states is located in Naalehu, HI.

The southernmost Post Office location within the 48 contiguous states is located in Key West, FL.

The easternmost Post Office location in the 50 states is in Lubec, ME.

The westernmost Post Office location in the 50 states is in Gambell, AK.

The westernmost Post Office location in the 48 contiguous states is in La Push, WA.

The wettest Post Office is the Kapaa Post Office in Hawaii near Mt. Waialeale.

The lowest U.S. Post Office is located in Death Valley, CA (92328), at 282 feet below sea level. This is also the driest and hottest Post Office location.

The highest Post Office in the United States is located in Alma, CO (80420), at 10,578 feet above sea level.

International Mail is a $1.41 billion business within the Postal Service.

The price of a First-Class postage stamp is a global bargain.

In December 2022, USPS announced plans to acquire 106,000 new vehicles, including at least 66,000 battery electric delivery vehicles. This includes 21,000 commercial off-the-shelf battery electric vehicles and 45,000 battery electric Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDV). The NGDVs provide better visibility, ergonomic seating, air conditioning, safety improvements and user-friendly operations.

The Power, MT (59468) Post Office, built in 2019, is the first Post Office built using a shipping container.

The Postal Service used 150 domestic airports to fly 3.7 million pounds of mail each day in 2024.

The Postal Service is a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a United Nations' organization.

The Postal Service is one of 26 members of the International Post Corporation (IPC). The IPC is a cooperative association of posts in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The Postal Service is one of 10 members of the Kahala Post Group (KPG).

The Postal Service is a member of the Express Mail Service (EMS) Cooperative. The EMS Cooperative was created by the UPU in 1999 and consists of 176 postal operators. It allows access to more than 180-member countries to provide EMS — the UPU’s fastest cross-border international postal product.

The Postal Service is one of 36 members of the .POST Group. The UPU’s .POST Group, created in 2013, is a trusted internet domain, established exclusively for the global postal sector and sponsored by the UPU.

The Lable Broker service solves the ever-increasing problem of online customers not being able to print shipping labels.

The Postal Service moves mail by planes, hovercraft, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, bicycles, mules and feet.

The Postal Service works closely with posts around the world to improve service and increase its annual share of the international shipping market.

The Automated Package Verification program automates the detection and collection of postage due for mailpieces with insufficient postage using automated package processing equipment. The APV program collected $140.9 million in short-paid revenue in 2024.

The top five destinations on usps.com in 2024, in order of popularity, were USPS Tracking, Informed Delivery, ZIP Code Lookup, USPS FAQs and The Postal Store.

Our Sunday best. The Postal Service operates Sunday package delivery to meet the shipping needs of customers.

Priority: YOU! The Postal Service priority is and always will be serving you. With free shipping supplies, flat-rate options, $100 worth of free insurance for most shipments, improved tracking and easy online tools, Priority Mail shipping offers one of the best values in the shipping business.

The Click-N-Ship app allows customers to print shipping labels with postage for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail Next Day, Priority Mail International, Priority Mail Express International and First-Class Package International Service. Click-N-Ship customers created more than 32 million labels, which generated nearly $385 million in sales in 2024.

The USPS Mobile app was downloaded more than 6.7 million times from the Apple App and Google Play stores.  In 2024, there were more than 3.7 billion visits to usps.com from a mobile device.

There's a Post Office on your phone. In 2024, the Postal Service app — USPS Mobile — was downloaded more than 6.7 million times from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

There are 48,000 retail point-of-sale systems installed in 20,400 locations that provide services at windows, military sites, business partners and self-service kiosk systems.

In 2024, the Postal Service received $243.6 million in revenue from 2,800 postal self-service kiosks (SSK).

The Postal Service accepted 7.9 million passport applications in 2024.

More than 1,400 USPS-owned buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

If it were a private sector company, the Postal Service would rank 52nd in the 2024 Fortune 500.

The Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive their advice and recommendations on matters concerning mail-related products and services. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/mtac.

National Postal Forum (NPF). The annual mailing industry conference provides educational and networking opportunities for thousands of business customers. Attendees learn about the latest mail trends and innovations through more than 100 workshops and seminars. More information can be found at npf.org.

The Postal Service offers a Military Care Kit to ship directly to Army/Air Post Office, Fleet Post Office and Diplomatic Post Office locations. The kit contains Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, address labels, tape and customs forms. It can be ordered at no charge at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-610- 8734.

With picture permit indicia, commercial mailers can modify the permit imprint indicia on First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail with a corporate logo, brand image or trademark to raise their brand awareness and market products and services.

Every Door Direct Mail began in 2011 and is designed to help business mailers direct their Marketing Mail pieces to customers in a select neighborhood, city or ZIP Code. Since 2011, more than 33 billion pieces of Every Door Direct Mail pieces have been sent, resulting in $5 billion in revenue. Nearly 3 billion pieces were sent in 2024, totaling $588 million in revenue.

The Postal Service had 33,780 retail offices across the United States in 2024. This number includes contract locations. The Postal Service has 31,063 postal-managed retail offices.

There are 31,063 Postal Service-managed retail offices in the United States. Including contract offices, there are 33,780 offices.

The Postal Service had 655.2 million customer visits in 2024.

With Informed Delivery, you can digitally preview your incoming mail and manage your packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. More than 67 million customers have enrolled since it was launched in 2017.

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.

We’re a retail giant. The Postal Service has the nation’s largest retail network (33,780) — larger than Subway (20,484), Dollar General (20,376), Starbucks (15,270) and McDonald’s (13,598).

In 2024, the Postal Service issued 58.5 million money orders, which equates to roughly 160,274 money orders each day.

In 2024, stamp and retail sales at The Postal Store, the official online Post Office, totaled $419 million.

usps.com is one of the most frequently visited government sites with 4.7 billion visits in 2024 — averaging more than 12.6 million visitors each day.

With Package Pickup, you can go online to request Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail packages be picked up at your home or offices as part of your mail carrier’s regular route — for free.

In 2024, stamp and retail sales at The Postal Store, the official online Post Office, totaled $419 million.

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.

The Postal Service used 150 domestic airports to fly 3.7 million pounds of mail each day in 2024.

The Postal Service processed and delivered an average of 371.3 million mailpieces daily in 2024.

The Postal Service processed an average of 257,813 pieces of mail each minute in 2024.

On average, the Postal Service processed 4,297 pieces of mail each second in 2024.

The Postal Service processed and delivered an average of 23.9 million packages a day in 2024.

There are 6,450 carriers who deliver mail entirely on foot. These carriers are our fleet of feet.

On average, the Postal Service processed 27,201 address changes each day of 2024.

On average, 12 million people visit usps.com each day.

The Postal Service added an average of 6,604 addresses to its delivery network every day in 2024.

On average, the Postal Service processed and delivered 146.2 million pieces of First-Class Mail each day in 2024.

On average, the Postal Service processed 15.5 million mailpieces each hour in 2024.

In 2024, the Postal Service paid $2.1 billion in salaries and benefits every two weeks.

The Postal Service receives, on average, $262.5 million in revenue each day.

David Steiner is the 76th Postmaster General of the United States and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Postal Service. He began his tenure July 15, 2025.

The strength of the Postal Service lies in its amazing diversity. Our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve.

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.

Heads of industry. Hollywood legends. Sports heroes. Singers. Painters. Writers. And a couple presidents. All were postal employees before they became household names! Sixteen have even had their image or work featured on stamps.

We're patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

Women served as postmasters in this country more than a century before they won the right to vote.

African Americans worked as postmasters, clerks and carriers beginning in the 1860s — 100 years before the Civil Rights Movement brought about wider opportunity in the American workplace.

The first known female postmaster in the United Colonies was Mary Katharine Goddard in Baltimore in 1775.

The first known female mail carrier was Sarah Black, who worked as a mail messenger in Charlestown, MD, in 1845.

The first known African American postmaster was James W. Mason in Sunny Side, AR, in 1867.

The first known African American mail carrier was James B. Christian in Richmond, VA, in 1869.

The first American woman on a U.S. postage stamp was Martha Washington in 1902.

The first known African American postal inspector was Isaac Myers in Baltimore in 1870.

The first Hispanic American on a stamp was U.S. Navy Adm. David Farragut in 1903.

The first Native American on a stamp was Pocahontas in 1907.

The first African American on a stamp was educator, author and orator Booker T. Washington in 1940.

The first female postmaster general was Megan J. Brennan, Washington, DC, 2015. Brennan's tenure was Feb. 1, 2015 – June 15, 2020.

John Prine, singer and songwriter, was a letter carrier in Maywood, IL, 1964-1969.

It’s not just any letter or package. It’s a picture of the kids. It’s a handmade scarf. It’s a favorite candy bar. It’s a pair of socks. It’s a piece of home. The Postal Service helps make sure these very special letters and packages make it to those who serve in the military — and their families with them — wherever they are around the globe.

Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) operations include more than 12,000 uniformed motor vehicle and tractor-trailer operators. The PVS fleet includes 98 sprinter vans, 2,202 cargo vans, 2,364 tractors and nearly 7,351 trailers. Commuting within a 170-mile radius of their facility, PVS drivers traveled more than 184 million miles last year.

The strength of the Postal Service lies in its amazing diversity. Our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve.

The Postal Service supports communities nationwide. These efforts include facilitating the nation’s largest one-day food drive, working with customers to prevent dog bites to mail carriers, educating customers on consumer protection and delivering holiday magic through USPS Operation Santa.

In 2024, the Postal Service paid $2.1 billion every two weeks in salaries and benefits.

The Postal Service's Judicial Officer Department is a court system that conducts hearings and neutrally resolves a wide variety of disputes involving postal matters. Its independent decisions involve contract disputes, employee debt disputes, mail disputes and mail fraud, among many other areas.

Postal customer councils are Postal Service-affiliated networks connect business mailers with local Post Office leadership to develop more effective and profitable mailings through training and information sharing. Since the 1960s, these councils have been the go-to local resource for helping mailers learn, innovate and build their business. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/pcc.

The Postmaster General’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive their advice and recommendations on matters concerning mail-related products and services. More information can be found at postalpro.usps.com/mtac.

The U.S. Postal Service has no official motto. Nope, it’s not this phrase: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But we certainly appreciate the sentiment.

The Postal Service traces its origin to 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first postmaster general of the United Colonies. His annual salary was $1,000. From 1872 to 1971, the postmaster general was a presidential Cabinet member.

The Military Postal Service was formed in 1980, consolidating the postal operations of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The Department of Defense designated the Secretary of the Army as the single military mail manager.

The Postal Service offers a Military Care Kit to ship directly to Army/Air Post Office, Fleet Post Office and Diplomatic Post Office locations. The kit contains Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, address labels, tape and customs forms. It can be ordered at no charge at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-610- 8734.

During National Consumer Protection Week, the Federal Trade Commission’s annual awareness campaign, USPS and the Inspection Service provide customers with education, tools and information to combat identity theft and mail fraud.

We’re patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

The U.S. Postal Service is the core of the nation’s $1.9 trillion mailing industry, which employs more than 7.9 million people.

We have heroes among us. Postal employees regularly go above and beyond to protect the lives of the people they serve, including elderly or disabled customers, through the Carrier Alert Program. In 2024, the Postal Service recognized 109 heroic employees through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program.

Approximately 6,450 carriers deliver mail entirely on foot — the USPS fleet of feet. Mail is also delivered by bicycle on select routes in Arizona and Florida, reducing emissions and saving fuel.

The Postal Service owns 8,515 properties around the country.

The Postal Service has 22,798 leased properties.

In 2024, 2 million new delivery points were added in the country.

In 2024, the Postal Service delivered to 156 million residential addresses.

In 2024, the Postal Service delivered to 12.6 million business addresses.

In 2024, the Postal Service received $243.6 million in revenue from 2,800 postal self-service kiosks (SSK).

In 2024, the Postal Service paid $2.1 billion every two weeks in salaries and benefits.

Forty-four percent of the world's mail volume is processed and delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service accepted 7.9 million passport applications in 2024.

The Postal Service had $79.5 billion in operating revenue in 2024.

There were 533,000 career employees in 2024. The number of non-career employees was 106,000.

Total mail volume in 2024 was 112.5 billion.

In 2024, the Postal Service recorded 10.7 billion in First-Class single piece mail volume. First-Class single piece mail is mail bearing postage stamps — bill payments, personal correspondence, cards and letters, etc.

The Postal Service prides itself on going the last mile to deliver the US Mail. In 2024, the Postal Service delivered mail and packages to 168.6 million delivery points nationwide.

There are 31,063 Postal Service-managed retail offices in the United States. Including contract offices, there are 33,780 offices.

The Postal Service had 655.2 million customer visits in 2024.

In 2024, Postal Service retail revenue totaled $11.2 billion.

The U.S. Postal Service is the core of the nation’s $1.9 trillion mailing industry, which employs more than 7.9 million people.

The Postal Service has 257,894 vehicles, one of the largest civilian fleets in the world.

In 2024, the Postal Service issued 58.5 million money orders, which equates to roughly 160,274 money orders each day.

In 2024, stamp and retail sales at The Postal Store, the official online Post Office, totaled $419 million.

The first American woman on a U.S. postage stamp was Martha Washington in 1902.

The first Hispanic American on a stamp was U.S. Navy Adm. David Farragut in 1903.

The first Native American on a stamp was Pocahontas in 1907.

The first African American on a stamp was educator, author and orator Booker T. Washington in 1940.

No troglodytes here! The Stamp Fulfillment Services facility, located in Kansas City, MO, is housed in a limestone cave 150 feet beneath the ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located underground.

All 50 states have been commemorated on postage stamps. They are each honored in 50-year increments from their founding date.

In 1992, pressure-sensitive, self-adhesive stamps rolled out nationally. By 2005, 98 percent of all stamps were this type. Today, all stamps are sticky.

The Postal Service’s first Forever stamp featured an image of the Liberty Bell and was issued on April 12, 2007, at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.

Semipostal stamps are First-Class Mail stamps sold at a price above the cost of a regular stamp to raise funds for designated causes. The dollar amounts below represent the funds we have transferred to the causes listed.

In 2024, 13.82 billion U.S. postage stamps were printed, and USPS received $4.01 billion in revenue from stamps and stamp product orders received by mail, telephone at 1-800-STAMP-24 and online at usps.com/stamps.

A postage stamp was onboard NASA's 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, as noted by Guinness World Records.

We’re patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

For 78 cents, anyone can send a letter, regardless of geographic location, to anywhere in the United States and its territories. (Stamp price effective July 14, 2025.)

The Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp has raised nearly $98 million since 1998. More than 1.1 billion Breast Cancer Research stamps have been sold.

David Steiner is the 76th Postmaster General of the United States and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Postal Service. He began his tenure July 15, 2025.

The Postal Service provides a vital public service, is a part of the nation’s critical infrastructure and was created by an act of Congress.

We’re universal. Everyone living in the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands) has access to postal products and services and pays the same for a First-Class Mail postage stamp regardless of the sender’s location.

We’re customer-focused. The Postal Service is committed to providing a positive customer experience.

The Postal Service has a long and storied history of creating new technologies for the American people, enabling faster, more efficient communication and safer, more secure delivery of correspondence and merchandise. For 250 years, it has adapted to meet the evolving needs of its customers.

We're patriotic. The Postal Service employs nearly 70,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.

We're global. The Postal Service processes and delivers 44 percent of the world’s mail and is constantly innovating to make customer experiences better.

We're all heart. The Postal Service is the heart of the $1.9 trillion United States mailing industry, which employs more than 7.9 million people.

In 2024, the Postal Service delivered to 12.6 million business addresses.

The Postal Service is the original social network, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t active on the other, newer social networks.

The Postal Service uses a vast network of people and advanced technologies to collect, process, transport and accurately deliver the nation's mail and packages in an increasingly digital world.

The strength of the Postal Service lies in its amazing diversity. Our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve.

The Postal Service supports communities nationwide. These efforts include facilitating the nation’s largest one-day food drive, working with customers to prevent dog bites to mail carriers, educating customers on consumer protection and delivering holiday magic through USPS Operation Santa.

We have heroes among us. Postal employees regularly go above and beyond to protect the lives of the people they serve, including elderly or disabled customers, through the Carrier Alert Program. In 2024, the Postal Service recognized 109 heroic employees through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program.

We're greener than you think. The Postal Service is working hard to put its stamp on a greener tomorrow for the organization and the communities we serve. In 2024, the Postal Service recycled more than 269,000 tons of solid waste.

We’re a retail giant. The Postal Service has the nation’s largest retail network (33,780) — larger than Subway (20,484), Dollar General (20,376), Starbucks (15,270) and McDonald’s (13,598).

The Postal Service both competes and collaborates with the private sector. UPS and FedEx pay the Postal Service to deliver their ground packages, and the Postal Service pays UPS and FedEx for air transportation.

The U.S. Mail is protected by more than 200 federal laws enforced by the Postal Inspection Service, one of the nation's oldest law enforcement agencies.

And most importantly...

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.