Postal Facts - U.S. Postal Service
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.
The Postal Service provides a vital public service that is a part of the nation's critical infrastructure. The statute that created the Postal Service begins with the following sentence: “The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by an Act of Congress, and supported by the people.” 39 U.S.C. §101(a).
The Postal Service has collective bargaining agreements with seven different unions, representing nearly 500,000 employees.
If the more than 141,900 blue collection boxes currently in use by the Postal Service were placed side-by-side, they would stretch for 58 miles.
The Postal Service purchased nearly 579,000 tires in 2019. If they were stacked end-to-end, they would be 244 miles long -- the distance between Dallas and Houston, TX.
The Postal Service ordered more than 750 million rubber bands in 2019, totaling about 41,096 miles of rubber bands that could wrap around Earth 1.7 times!
Self-service
postal revenue
In 2019, the Postal Service received $291.8 million in revenue from 2,733 postal self-service kiosks.
Every two weeks, the Postal Service pays $2 billion in salaries and benefits.
Forty-eight percent of the world's mail volume is handled by the Postal Service.
Louis DeJoy is the 75th Postmaster General of the United States.
6.6 million
passport applications
More than 6.6 million passport applications were accepted at Post Offices during 2019.
If it were a private sector company, the Postal Service would rank 44th in the 2019 Fortune 500. In the 2019 Global Fortune 500 list, we ranked 136th.
3.5 million
corporate emails daily
With one of the largest corporate email systems, the Postal Service handles more than 3.5 million legitimate emails a day delivered to more than 222,000 email accounts.
The Postal Service has no official motto. 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."
There are nearly 42,000 ZIP Codes in the country.
During FY 2019, USPS employees traveled 1.34 billion miles to deliver your mail, equivalent to 53,640 laps around Earth, 5,305 trips to the moon or about 15 trips to the sun.
*Based on the average moon and sun distance.
The Military Postal Service provides service in 67 countries. Diplomatic Mail service is provided in 113 countries. There are 678 land-based and 389 onboard-ship Military Post Offices. There are 140 Diplomatic Post Offices. There are 1,069 ZIP Codes within the Military and Diplomatic Postal Service around the world.
$71.1
billion operating revenue
The Postal Service had $71.1 billion in operating revenue in 2019
There were 496,934 career employees in 2019. The number of non-career employees was 136,174.
142.6
billion mail volume
Total mail volume in 2019 was 142.6 billion.
160
million delivery points
The Postal Service prides itself on going the last mile to deliver the mail. We served 160 million delivery points nationwide in 2019 with 1.4 million new delivery points added to the network.
35,800,000
address changes
Nearly 36 million address changes were processed in 2019.
31,322
retail Post Offices
There are 31,322 Postal Service-managed retail Post Offices in the United States.
811.8
million customer visits
The Postal Service recorded 811.8 million retail customer visits during 2019.
$12.7
billion retail revenue
In 2019, retail revenue totaled $12.7 billion.
All heart. The Postal Service is at the core of the $1.6 trillion U.S. mailing industry that employs more than 7.3 million people.
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.
2.6 billion
usps.com visits
In 2019, usps.com recorded 2.6 billion visits -- averaging 7.1 million visitors each day. It's one of the most frequently visited government sites.
$301 million
online sales
In 2019, stamp and retail sales at The Postal Store on usps.com -- the official online Post Office -- totaled $301 million.
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®, Forever®, Global Express Guaranteed®, IMb®, Informed Delivery®, Intelligent Mail®, Parcel Select®, P.O. Box™, Post Office®, Pony Express®, Postal Inspection Service™, PostalOne!®, Postal Police®, PostalProud®, 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®, ZIP+4® and ZIP Code™. This is not a comprehensive list of all Postal Service trademarks.
Non-Postal Trademarks
Forest Stewardship Council®, McDonald’s®, National Dog Bite Prevention Week®, Starbucks®, Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, Walmart®
Postal Facts 2020 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.
Visit about.usps.com for more information.
Produced by Corporate Communications
© 2016-2021 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved.
