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United States Postal Service: Quick Facts

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News •

Georgia postal worker charged with 4 counts of theft in mail investigation • Nov. 11, 2026, 2:56 PM ET (CBS)
USPS contractor in Colorado claims he lost job after raising security concerns at Golden Post Office • Nov. 10, 2026, 1:20 PM ET (CBS)
Pat Summitt, legendary Lady Vols coach, honored with commemorative stamp by USPS • Nov. 9, 2026, 4:55 PM ET (Knoxville News Sentinel)
Postal employee shot 2 co-workers at an Iowa post office before being captured, police say • Nov. 5, 2026, 6:59 PM ET (AP)
The United States Postal Service is a federal agency created by the U.S. Consitution responsible for providing postal service within the United States and its territories.

Facts

Also Known As the Post Office • U.S. Mail • Post Office Department
Areas Of Involvement mail delivery • Today in History—June 8: The Day the USPS Redefined Airmail • Today in History—July 26: The USPS’s Revolutionary Origins • Today in History—July 1: The ZIP Code’s Rocky Introduction
Related People Montgomery Blair • Mary Fields

Top Questions

How large is the USPS?
The USPS consists of more than 40,000 post offices, which deliver more than 210 billion pieces of mail every year inside the United States and its territories. The United States Postal Service handles roughly half of the world’s mail.
How is U.S. mail protected?
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, instituted in 1775 by Benjamin Franklin, is one of the nation’s oldest law enforcement agencies, not only enforcing the more than 200 federal laws which protect U.S. mail but investigating threats and assaults against USPS employees. The Postal Inspection Service made several thousand arrests and seizures related to narcotics in 2019 alone.

Did You Know?

  • George Washington is the most common figure to be depicted on U.S. stamps.
  • More than 5,700 USPS employees were attacked by dogs during 2019.
  • The Postal Inspection Service was one of the first federal law enforcement agencies to hire women as agents.
  • USPS is one of the largest employers of veterans in the United States.

Photos and Videos

United States Postal Service worker
Centennial map of the Pony Express route
United States postage stamp showing a Pony Express rider on horseback, with a dashed route from Sacramento to St. Joseph and text reading 1860-1960 Pony Express and 4 cents.
U.S. postal worker
Old Fremont Post Office
Smokey Bear's ZIP Code
United States Postal Service: mail sorting
A sealed envelope with a red wax stamp is overlaid with lit birthday candles shaped as the numbers 2, 5, and 0, in front of a faded background showing a mailbox and a postal worker in a mail truck.
What are zip codes?
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