Post Office Fun Facts

  • Highest elevation — Leadville, CO — 10,150 feet above sea level
  • Lowest elevation — Mecca, CA — 180 feet below sea level
  • Westernmost in US — Wales, AK
  • Easternmost in US — Lubec, ME
  • Southernmost in US — Key West, FL
  • Northernmost in US — 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 Main Post Office, Ochopee, FL — 61.3 square feet
  • Largest — James A. Farley Post Office — New York, NY —393,000 square feet
  • Oldest in same building — Hinsdale, NH, since 1816
  • 2nd oldest — Castine, ME, since 1833
  • Coldest — North Slope area of Alaska, including Barrow and Wainwright
  • Hottest — Death Valley, CA
  • Most extraordinary — Peach Springs, AZ, Post Office has walk-in freezers for food destined for delivery to the bottom of the Grand Canyon by mule train.
  • Most isolated — Located in the farthest reaches of northern Alaska, the Anaktuvuk Pass Post Office is the only link to the outside world for the 300 residents who live there. There are no roads; everything must be flown in.
  • Dual personality — Sitting on the border between TN and VA, the Post Office here has two different ZIP codes and serves customers in Bristol, TN, and Bristol, VA.
  • Most needing a bridge — The Point Roberts, WA, Post Office can be reached by car only by driving through British Columbia, Canada. Only a boat or float plane can travel directly there.
  • Clinton is the most common Post Office name. Madison is second, and Franklin and Washington are tied for third.
  • The five most common street names in the country are Second, Park, Main, Maple and Oak.

The longest Main Street in America is located in Island Park, ID (83429) — it's 33 miles long.

        The Postal Service:

        1. is the nation's 2nd largest civilian employer
        2. has the nation's largest retail network
        3. has the world's largest civilian fleet of vehicles
        4. has the world's largest alternative fuel-enabled fleet
  • The Postal Service has a larger retail network than McDonald's, Starbucks and Wal-Mart combined (in US).
  • The Postal Service has one of the largest learning management systems in the country.
  • The Postal Service receives 90 percent of its retail revenue from 15,000 of its nearly 32,000 postal-operated retail locations.
  • The Postal Service prints more than 800,000 IRS W-2 forms, 3.3 million payroll checks, 1.8 million non-payroll checks and 15.4 million payroll earnings statements annually.
  • 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 at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, averaging 41,000 pounds per week.
  • Another Unusual Delivery Method — boat in Michigan 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 has its own ZIP Code — 48222.
  • Located in MD, the William F. Bolger Center for Leadership Development is a national training facility for the Postal Service. It is the only hotel in the country featuring an on-site Smithsonian exhibit.
  • There are more than 42,000 ZIP codes in the country.
  • 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.
  • The easiest ZIP Code to remember is 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.
  • The longest regular rural route is Route 2 in Gridley, KS. The carrier travels 182.8 miles daily and delivers to 258 boxes.
  • The shortest rural delivery route is Route 42 in Henderson, NV. The carrier travels 2.9 miles daily and delivers to 952 boxes.

The Postal Service moves mail using planes, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, float planes, hovercrafts, T-3s, street cars, mules, snowmobiles, bicycles and feet