Postal Facts - U.S. Postal Service
13 All heart. The Postal Service is the heart of the $1.6 trillion United States mailing industry, which employs more than 7.3 million people.
12 Global. The Postal Service processes and delivers 46 percent of the world’s mail and is constantly innovating to make customer experiences better.
11 Veterans. The Postal Service employs nearly 68,000 military veterans, making it one of the largest employers of veterans in the country. The organization has also issued more than 140 stamps honoring the nation’s military history, including the Service Cross Medals stamps.
10 Social responsibility. 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, educating customers on consumer protection, and delivering holiday magic through USPS Operation Santa.
9 Heroes. Postal employees regularly go beyond the call of duty to protect the lives of the people they serve, including elderly or disabled customers through the Carrier Alert Program. In 2021, the Postal Service recognized 152 heroic employees.
8 Greener than you think. Our Priority Mail boxes meet Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Stewardship Council certification standards. This means the paper for those boxes comes from well-managed forests. In addition, the boxes include at least 30-percent recycled content and as an additional bonus, they’re free!
7 Retail giant. The Postal Service has the nation’s largest retail network (34,223) — larger than Subway (26,932) — larger than Dollar General (17,348) — larger than Starbucks (15,183) — larger than McDonald’s (13,683).
6 Vehicles. The Postal Service has more than 230,000 vehicles, one of the largest civilian fleets in the world. Next generation delivery vehicles will have improved ergonomics, safety features, fuel efficiency and design flexibility.
5 Competition and collaboration. The Postal Service both competes and collaborates with the private sector. UPS and FedEx pay the Postal Service to deliver hundreds of millions of their ground packages, and USPS pays UPS and FedEx for air transportation.
4 Affordability. For 58 cents, anyone can send a letter, regardless of geographic location, to anywhere in the United States and its territories. Learn more
3 Dependable. The Postal Service is the only organization with the resources, network infrastructure and logistical capability to serve every residential and business address in the nation.
2 Security. 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...
1 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.
