What Are Usps Shipping Zones In 2022? (Your Full Guide)
The best thing about the United States Postal Service, is their ability to cover every inch of America. If you have a residential address, they will get your mail to you.
You won’t be charged the exact same amount to ship to another state or town. Because of USPS shipping zone restrictions, this is possible.
What Are USPS Shipping Zones In 2022?
United States Postal Service’s “shipping zone” system allows residents to determine the cost of postage as well as the shipping speed. It is highly individual. Based on customer zip codes, there are 9 zones. The closest zone is 1 and the furthest destination is 9.
How does the USPS Zones function?
It is possible to see the United States’ postal zone maps from a completely different perspective if you look at them together.
Because the USPS shipping areas are divided into nine regions but are individualized based on zip codes of origin,
ShippingSchool.com has a comprehensive breakdown of all the zones:
Zone 9: Freely Associated States, U.S. Territories, Guam, Puerto Rico and others
A general rule states that the closer you get to the destination zone where your shipment is, the less expensive it will become.
This shows how shipping to California would be cheaper for an Arizonan than for someone from Georgia.
Once you’ve identified the area in which you live and determined where your mailpiece will arrive, you’ll be able access USPS.com to check its price page.
Some mail does not depend on the destination for shipping prices. USPS Marketing, First-Class, Library, and Media mails all send for the exact same price, regardless if they are sent to different destinations.
Priority Mail, Priority Express and USPS Retail Ground are some of the zoned services.
As an illustration, take a look below at Priority Mail’s price breakdown.
Local shipping will be charged at $7.95 for a one-pound parcel.
Say someone lived in Pittsburgh, zip code 15213 (the majority of which is the University of Pittsburgh’s campus in Oakland).
You could have a 1lb. You can send your parcel anywhere within the zip code of 15213 as well to most of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and as far as Ohio, for just $7.95
These also constitute the fastest shipping times, as well; sent Priority, about half of that area could see a delivery in one day.
Any recipient in other areas of Zone 1 (or 2) would receive the parcel within two business days.
Priority Mail delivery would be free to any member of either Zone 1 or 2 (provided that there weren’t delays).
PirateShip.com’s Zone Map proved to be very useful, and I was able to use it with my Priority Mail Delivery Map.
You may also access the USPS.com Domestic Zone Map.
How are USPS Shipping Zones Calculated
It is not clear how USPS determined the distances to each zone. However, these are calculated as radiuses relative to each specific zip code.
The map shows that you don’t see these areas as perfectly circling the earth.
You can find the breakdown of zones by distance here.
The shipping zone system has one thing that I find fascinating: some zip codes are located in the middle, such as 67460 (McPherson County Kansas).
Because of this central location, they have very few Zone 7 areas – just Maine and a few zip codes in the Pacific Northwest.
This would allow them to save a lot of shipping fees.
How do USPS zones affect your shipping costs?
The distance that a mailpiece must travel from California, D.C. to Washington, D.C. is much greater than that of a letter from California, Texas. Therefore, USPS has increased the cost for some services.
Priority Mail, Priority Express and USPS Retail Ground are some of the zoned services.
You will also receive the First-Class Packet for orders 13 ounces and less.
The bottom line is that the farther a mailpiece must travel, the higher it will cost for these zoned service.
But some services see a sharper rise in price than others, the further your parcel goes.
For example, a 1-oz. The cost of a 1-ounce parcel is just $4.30 in Zones 1 or 2, but it rises to only $4.75 in Area 9.
The cost of a half-pound mailer starts at $23 in Local or Zone 1 and 2. It then rises to $46.90 Zone 9.
See the Pricing for Priority Mail packages at 70 Pounds. The maximum weight. Local + Zone 1 and 2 shipping start at $166.15.
Perhaps you are wondering why the Postal Service is charging so high for certain services. Instead, it uses this zoned approach.
USPS is not funded by taxpayer funds, if you didn’t know. Instead, USPS operates solely on its sales.
Although it is an U.S. agency, it can be independent and exercise more self-regulation power than fully-funded government agencies.
Even if shipping costs are higher, they still need to keep the product functional, something that is becoming more challenging with every quarter.
Where can you find the USPS Postal Zone where you live?
Use the USPS.com Domestic Zone Calculator to determine your zone.
The PirateShip.com Map is great for visual learners. You can get a guide in color to every zone from any zip code.
Keep in mind that there is not one zone per zip code. Instead, each zone has its own time zone. Zones can change based upon each zip code.
What are USPS International Zones, and how do they work?
Use USPS international zone to determine how much mail you can send abroad.
The USPS calls them Price Groups. However, they can be compared to domestic zones.
However, there is one major difference: the shipping service can affect the international price range a country falls in.
Croatia’s price group 4 is if you ship via Global Express Guaranteed. Group 3 for Priority Express International.
Next, it goes in Group 8 to Priority Flat Rate International.
Most of the countries of the world are like this, occupying different groups – and therefore different price points – based on the shipping service.
You could send 5lb. to Croatia to return the package. Global Express Guaranteed is the best option. It will cost $243.40.
Priority Express International is the best option. It would be $97.50.
Priority Flat-Rate International has Croatia as Group 8. The medium Flat-Rate box is for items 4.1lbs to 20 lbs. and would cost $85.
USPS International Groups have a consistency that transcends domestic zones. This means you can use the USPS International Groups regardless of where your location is in the U.S.
To know more about shipping, you can also read our related posts on whether or not USPS ships to Puerto Rico, if USPS ships to Canada, and if USPS delivers to door.
USPS shipping zones are individual to each specific zip code in the U.S., with each one representing a certain distance from the starting point.
A greater number means that the shipping costs for Priority Mail and Priority Express will be higher.
.What Are Usps Shipping Zones In 2022? (Your Full Guide)