What Are Usps Shipping Zones
What Are Usps Shipping Zones In 2022? (Your Full Guide)
A great thing about the United States Postal Service (USPS) is the fact that it covers virtually every square mile within the United States. 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. This is because of USPS shipping zones.
How Will the USPS Ship Zones Change in 2022?
United States Postal Service’s Shipping Zone System is an extremely individual method for determining postage costs and shipping times. Based on customers’ zip codes, the zones number 1 through 9, with 1 being the closest and 9 the furthest possible destination.
What is the USPS Zones’ Work Process?
It is possible to see the United States’ postal zone maps from a completely different perspective if you look at them together.
This is because, although USPS shipping territories are broken up into nine areas, the individual regions of USPS are determined based on their zip codes.
ShippingSchool.com has a comprehensive breakdown of all the zones:
Zone 9: Freely Associated States or U.S. Territory, such as Guam, Puerto Rico, and so forth
The general rule is that the further away from the zone to which you are shipping, the more expensive it will be.
It is easy to see how shipping from Arizona to California might cost someone in Arizona less than someone who lives in Georgia.
You can find USPS.com’s price page by knowing your zip code and where your mailpiece is going.
All mail doesn’t depend on postage zones; USPS Marketing, Library, and First-Class mail all ship the same amount regardless of destination.
Priority Mail and Priority Express are all zoned services.
Let’s look at the Priority Mail price breakdown for an example.
Local shipping will be charged at $7.95 for a one-pound parcel.
If someone was born in Pittsburgh, they would use the ZIP code 15213. This is where you will find most of the University of Pittsburgh campus located in Oakland.
You could have a 1lb. They could send a 1-lb. parcel to the 15213 ZIP code as well as parts of West Virginia and most of Western PA as well as into Ohio for $7.95.
Also, these are the fastest shipping options. With Priority delivery, roughly half of this area may receive their order within one working day.
In two days, the parcel will be sent to the recipients of any other part of Zone 1 and 2.
None of the Local area or Zone 1 or 2 would conceivably have to wait three days for Priority Mail (provided there were no outside delays).
PirateShip.com has a really useful Zone Map, which I used with the USPS.com PriorityMail Delivery Map.
You can also make use of 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.
If you look at the map, it is clear that the lines are not perfect circles. However, the approximate distances can still be seen.
Below is the Distance breakdown.
It is interesting to me that the shipping zone system includes zip codes in middle of country. This could be 67460 for 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.
For these lucky residents, the vast majority of their zoned shipping costs would fall under Zone 6 or less.
How can USPS Zones affect shipping costs?
USPS may charge higher for mailpieces that travel from California to Washington, D.C.
Priority Mail, Priority Express and USPS Retail Ground are some of the zoned services.
Additional included: First Class Package for packages of 13 ounces or fewer
These zoned services will generally charge more for mailpieces that are further away.
Some services have a steeper price increase than others.
For example, a 1-oz. Parcels start at $4.30, Zones 1 & 2, while Zone 9 is $4.75.
A half-pound envelope costs $23 for local and zone 1 and 2, and then goes up to $46.90 in Zone 9.
And check out the pricing for a Priority Mail package at 70 lbs. The maximum weight. Shipments to Local + Zone 1 or 2 start at $166.15
You might be wondering why the Postal Service charges so much for some services and uses this zoned approach to do it.
USPS operates independently of taxpayer funding. The Postal Service instead operates entirely on the sales of its products.
Although it is an U.S. agency, it can be independent and exercise more self-regulation power than fully-funded government agencies.
It doesn’t matter if the shipping cost is higher. The goal is to be functional as long as possible. Unfortunately, this becomes increasingly difficult each quarter.
How Do You Know Your USPS Postal Zone?
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.
It’s important to remember: There is no one, set zone for each zip code, the way there are time zones; zones are dynamic, calculated based on each specific zip code.
What is the USPS International Zone?
You can use USPS international areas to calculate the price of mail sent abroad.
They are actually called Price Groups in the US by USPS. But you can still think of them like domestic zones.
There is an important difference though: The international price category a country can be in may vary depending on its shipping carrier.
For example, Croatia is in Price Group 4 if you are mailing via Global Express Guaranteed and Group 3 if you are mailing Priority Express International.
You will find it in Group 8 under Priority Flat Rate International.
Most of the nations in the world can be described as such, they all fall into the same groupings and have different pricing points depending on how the shipping company is handled.
As an example, let’s say you were returning to Croatia and wanted to ship a 5-lb. Global Express Guaranteed is the best option. It will cost $243.40.
Priority Express International would charge $97.50.
Priority Flat-Rate International places Croatia in Group 8. This Flat-Rate medium box can be used for items up to 4.1lbs. The cost would be $85.
USPS International Groups, unlike domestic zones, are the same no matter where in the U.S. You live. However, the Groups for Croatia are the exact same regardless of what zip code you reside at.
Learn more about shipping at our blog posts to see if USPS ships Puerto Rico, Canada or if USPS delivers your package to your doorstep.
USPS shipping zones can be assigned to each individual zip code in the U.S. Each one represents a particular distance from the start point.
The further away the zones are, the more it costs to ship with Priority Mail, Priority Express, or Priority Express.
.What Are Usps Shipping Zones In 2022? (Your Full Guide)