How Long Does Mail Take? ZIP-to-ZIP USPS Calculator

How many days does First-Class Mail take?

2 to 5 delivery days, depending on how far apart the two ZIP codes are. Most pairs of areas are 3 to 5 days apart; USPS delivers about 9 in 10 pieces within the standard.

Shares are of the 914 × 929 pairs of 3-digit ZIP areas in USPS's directory, each pair counted once, not weighted by how much mail travels it. On-time figures are USPS's national results for single-piece First-Class Mail. How the split differs from one state to the next: mail delivery times by state.

How long does Priority Mail take?

2 to 3 delivery days in the lower 48 under USPS's standards, and up to 6 to or from Alaska, Hawaii and the territories. About 2 in 10 pairs of ZIP areas are 2 days apart. Pick Priority Mail above for your route.

USPS lists many ZIP codes separately for Priority Mail, one day slower to some destinations. Where that list is too long to check, the calculator shows a one-day range, such as 2 to 3 days, rather than guess. The date isn't guaranteed: USPS says its expected delivery date “does not come with a money-back guarantee” (USPS Priority Mail). That guarantee is Priority Mail Express's.

How long does USPS Ground Advantage take?

2 to 5 delivery days in the lower 48, and up to 60 to or from Alaska, Hawaii and the territories. Weight doesn't change it.

USPS sets one Ground Advantage standard for packages under 1 lb and 1 lb or more. To and from Alaska, Hawaii and the territories it sets many of them ZIP code by ZIP code, and the calculator reads those too.

How long does Media Mail take?

4 to 7 delivery days in the lower 48, and up to 26 to or from Alaska, Hawaii and the territories. Media Mail is part of USPS's Package Services, whose standards the calculator reads.

Why does USPS sometimes say 1 to 5 days?

The 1-day standard is for presorted business mail. A card or letter you drop in a mailbox is single-piece First-Class Mail, and its standard starts at 2 days.

In the same USPS directory, the presort column has 5,845 overnight pairs of areas. The single-piece column, which this calculator reads, has none.

Why does a card mailed on Friday seem slower?

Because Sunday doesn't count. The day you mail it is day 0, and each Monday-to-Saturday delivery day after it counts one, so a 3-day card mailed on a Friday arrives on Tuesday, and one mailed on a Monday arrives on Thursday.

Which days are USPS holidays?

USPS doesn't deliver ordinary mail on the eleven federal holidays. When one falls on a Sunday, the Monday after is the day off; when one falls on a Saturday, that Saturday is, and the Friday before has normal delivery.

Why do two ZIP codes in the same area give different answers?

USPS sets most standards by 3-digit ZIP area, but it lists 13,297 individual ZIP codes separately, each slower than its area to some destinations, almost always by one day.

A small number of ZIP codes are two days slower to some nearby areas. The calculator reads the 5-digit listing first, as USPS's directory specifies, so two neighbours can get different answers.

When should I mail a card so it arrives on time?

Count back from the day it has to arrive: the route's standard in delivery days, skipping Sundays and USPS holidays, then one delivery day more for margin. Switch the calculator above to Arrive by and it counts back for your route and mail type.

The extra day is worth it. On 3-to-5-day routes USPS delivers about 9 in 10 First-Class pieces on time, and about 95 in 100 within one day of the standard (96 in 100 on 2-day routes). For Christmas Eve 2026, a card on a 5-day cross-country route has to be mailed by Friday, December 18, or by Thursday, December 17 for the extra day.

December is the busiest month. For Christmas, USPS recommends mailing First-Class by December 17 (USPS 2026 holiday dates). USPS's own on-time figures dip in the weeks around Christmas (holiday mail delays, season by season). Mailing a stack yourself? The stamp calculator works out the postage for any card format and quantity.

Is a USPS service standard a guarantee?

No. It's the target USPS sets itself. In April to June 2026, it delivered 88.7% of single-piece First-Class Mail on 3-to-5-day routes on time, and 98.4% within three days of the standard.

How this calculator works

It reads USPS's service standard directories, effective October 1, 2026, from USPS PostalPro, for First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage (under 1 lb and 1 lb or more) and Package Services, which is the class Media Mail belongs to. Each is a table of 914 origin areas by 929 destination areas, plus the individual ZIP codes USPS lists separately. The on-time odds are USPS's national quarterly results for single-piece First-Class Mail, April to June 2026, so only First-Class answers show them. It counts delivery days from the mailing date, or back from the day it must arrive, skipping Sundays and USPS holidays.

What it can't know: your collection box's last pickup, whether a particular 5-digit ZIP code exists within a valid area (it answers from the area), weather, and mail sent from military addresses, which USPS's table doesn't cover. The page downloads the part of USPS's table that your first ZIP code's first digit points to; the ZIP codes you type aren't sent anywhere.

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