Did You Know - Facts about the United States Postal Service 

Post Office Facts

• Highest Elevation — Leadville, CO — 10,150' above sea level
• Lowest Elevation — Mecca, CA — 180' below sea level
• Westernmost in US — Wales, AK
• Easternmost in US — Lubec, ME
• Southernmost in US — Key West, FL
• Northernmost — Barrow, AK
• Closest to the geographical center of the 50 United States — Belle Fourche, SD
• Closest to geographical center of the 48 contiguous states — Lebanon, KS
• Smallest — Ochopee, FL — 8'4" x 7'3"
• The longest regular rural route is Route 1 in Fordsville, ND. The route travels 176.5 miles daily and delivers to 174 boxes.
• The shortest rural delivery route is Route 42 in Henderson, NV. The route travels 1.9 miles daily and delivers to 640 boxes.
• The Postal Service moves mail using planes, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, float planes, hovercrafts, T-3s, street cars, mules, bicycles and feet.

Some Fun Facts

• The lowest ZIP Code is 00501, a unique ZIP Code for the Internal Revenue Service in Holtsville, NY.
• The highest ZIP Code is 99950 in Ketchikan, AK.
• Clinton is the most common Post Office name in the country. Tied for second place are Franklin, Madison and Washington.
• The top five most common street names in the country are Main, Maple, 2nd, Oak and Park.
• The longest Main Street in America is located in Island Park, ID (83429) — it’s 33 miles long.
• Most Unusual Delivery Method — mule trains in Arizona. Each mule carries about 130 pounds of mail, food, supplies and furniture down the 8-mile trail to the Havasupai Indians, averaging 41,000 pounds per week.
• Another Unusual Delivery Method — the JW Westcott is a 45-foot contract mail boat out of Detroit, MI, that delivers mail to passing ships in the Detroit River. The JW Westcott even has its own ZIP Code — 48222.
• The Postal Service is the nation’s second-largest civilian employer and operates the:
  • Nation’s largest retail network
  • World’s largest civilian fleet of vehicles
  • World’s largest alternative fuel–enabled fleet
• The Postal Service has a larger retail network in this country than McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart combined.

Facts and Figures

• 224.4 million — average revenue received
• 584 million — average number of mail pieces processed and delivered
• 276.5 million — pieces of First Class Mail processed and delivered
• 272.9 million — pieces of Advertising Mail processed and delivered
• 150 million — dollars paid to postal employees in salaries and benefits
• 4.1 million — number of miles driven by letter carriers and truck drivers
• 402,640 — number of gallons of fuel used
• 10,000 — number of letter carriers who deliver mail entirely on foot
• 155,116 — number of address changes processed
• 3,048 — number of addresses added to the delivery network
• 7 million — customers served at more than 36,000 retail locations
• 0 — tax dollars received for operating the Postal Service

For more postal trivia, check out Postal Facts 2010.

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