We make the connection. Friends and families, businesses and customers. The United States Postal Service delivers to every address in America, from the biggest cities to the smallest hamlets. The U.S. Mail is part of the fundamental infrastructure of this nation. It is a basic connection between all of the people and all of their institutions. This is our mandate — binding the nation together. This is our commitment — providing secure, reliable, affordable delivery of mail and packages. Always have, always will. It’s what we do.
million rubber bands
The Postal Service ordered more than 660 million rubber bands during FY 2017.
postal revenue
In 2017, the Postal Service received $418.4 million in revenue from 2,837 postal self-service kiosks.
dollars
Every two weeks, the Postal Service pays $1.9 billion in salaries and benefits.
of the world's mail
Forty-seven percent of the world's mail volume is handled by the Postal Service.
billion
In 2017, the Postal Service processed and delivered 149.5 billion mailpieces.
if private sector
If a private sector company, the Postal Service would rank 37th in the 2017 Fortune 500. In the 2017 Global Fortune 500 list, we ranked 99th.
corporate emails daily
Our corporate email system handles more than 12 million legitimate emails daily to more than 224,000 email accounts.
Staying connected
Our corporate email system handles more than 12 million legitimate emails daily to more than 224,000 email accounts.
Over 128,000 meetings per month are hosted online.
There are 575 remote locations within the postal system that receive network connectivity by satellite.
USPS has 35 petabytes of storage capacity – equivalent to playing more than 88,700 years of songs on an MP3 player with no repeats.
Military Postal Service Agency formed
Each military service managed its own mail program until 1980 when the Military Postal Service Agency was formed.
Military mail in brief
Each military service managed its own mail program until 1980 when the Military Postal Service Agency was formed. The Department of Defense designated the Secretary of the Army as the single military mail manager.
Military members receive virtually the same level of service as if they were at home in the United States. Differences are based on the country in which they’re stationed and the type of military operation in which they’re involved.
Military mail moves within the United States via the USPS transportation network to major mail processing facilities.
If it’s First-Class Mail, Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express, the item moves from major airport gateways in the U.S. to overseas airport gateways on commercial aircraft. It’s then moved by various methods to designated military postal facilities to delivery to individual service members. Mail also moves by military aircraft when necessary.
our communities
Social responsibility. From facilitating the nation's largest one-day food drive to addressing dog bites, educating customers on consumer protection and delivering holiday cheer to those in need, the Postal Service supports communities.
ZIP Codes
There are nearly 42,000 ZIP Codes in the country.
What’s it all mean?
There are nearly 42,000 ZIP Codes in the country. They 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.
The Zone Improvement Plan — ZIP — was introduced in 1963. The first number represents a general geographic area of the nation, such as “0” in the East moving to “9” in the West. The next two numbers are for regional areas and the final two are for specific Post Offices.
Make it a ZIP+4 and mail can be sorted to specific streets and buildings, houses and businesses.
Today, ZIP Codes are important parts of the nation’s 911 emergency system.
billion miles
During FY 2017, USPS traveled 1.5 billion miles to deliver your mail, equivalent to 61,217 laps around Earth, 6,381 trips to the moon or 16 trips to the sun.
military delivery points
The Military Postal Service provides service in 60 countries. There are 201 land-based and 147 onboard ship Post Offices. There are 818 military ZIP Codes around the world, with more than 1.2 million delivery points.
billion operating revenue
$69.6 billion in operating revenue in 2017
billion retail revenue
In 2017, retail revenue totaled $12.9 billion.
career employees
USPS continues to be one of the largest employers in the nation. Over half a million people are employed by the Postal Service, from Hawaii to Maine. There were 503,103 career employees in 2017. The number of non-career employees was 141,021.
million delivery points
The Postal Service prides itself on going the last mile to deliver the mail. We served 157.3 million delivery points nationwide in 2017 with 1.2 million new delivery points added to the network.
address changes
Nearly 37 million address changes were requested in 2017.
To see past years’ address change records, view the Postal Facts – A decade of facts & figures page.
retail post offices
There are 30,825 Postal Service-managed retail post offices in the United States.
You can find yearly records of USPS’s total post offices on the Postal Facts – A decade of facts & figures page.
million customer visits
The Postal Service recorded 857.1 million retail customer visits during 2017.
million people
All heart. The Postal Service is the core of the $1.4 trillion U.S. mailing industry that employs more than 7.5 million people.
tax dollars
Zero tax dollars used. The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
billion
In 2017, the United Postal Service recorded $69.6 billion in operating revenue.
usps.com visits
In 2017, usps.com recorded 1.9 billion visits - averaging 6.3 million visitors each day.
online sales
In 2017, stamp and retail sales at the Postal Store on usps.com - the official online Post Office - totaled nearly $298 million.
Trademarks
The Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following word marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service®:
Certified Mail®, Click-N-Ship®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, gopost®, Intelligent Mail®, Metro Post®, Parcel Select®, PO Box™, Post Office™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, Postal Service™, Premium Forwarding Service® , Priority Mail®, Priority Mail Express®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Return For Good®, 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 Tracking®, USPS.COM®, ZIP + 4®, and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Postal Facts provides the public with information about the Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, and in a business, informational, 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.
Special thanks to the Postal Facts 2018 editors:
Sue Brennan, Ilze Sella, Megan Plummer, Ashley Holmes Mullenix, Tatiana Roy, Carl Walton
Website design by:
Scott Tracy
Visit about.usps.com for more information.
Produced by Corporate Communications
© 2016-2018 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
The Eagle Logo, the trade dress of USPS packaging, the Letter Carrier Uniform and the Postal Truck and the following word marks are among the many trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service®:
Certified Mail®, Click-N-Ship®, Every Door Direct Mail®, Express Mail®, First-Class™, First-Class Mail®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, gopost®, Intelligent Mail®, Metro Post®, Parcel Select®, PO Box™, Post Office™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, Postal Service™, Premium Forwarding Service® , Priority Mail®, Priority Mail Express®, Priority Mail Express International®, Priority Mail Flat Rate®, Priority Mail International®, Priority: You®, Registered Mail™, Return For Good®, 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 Tracking®, USPS.COM®, ZIP + 4®, and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Postal Facts provides the public with information about the Postal Service. The facts in this publication may be reproduced for the purpose of stating the fact itself, and in a business, informational, 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.
Special thanks to the Postal Facts 2018 editors:
Sue Brennan, Ilze Sella, Megan Plummer, Ashley Holmes Mullenix, Tatiana Roy, Carl Walton
Website design by:
Scott Tracy
Visit about.usps.com for more information.
Produced by Corporate Communications
© 2016-2018 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
