What are USPS shipping zones?

USPS divides the country into nine zones measured from the origin ZIP code. Zone 1 is local, Zones 2 to 8 cover increasing distance bands across the contiguous states, and Zone 9 covers Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories. The farther the parcel travels, the higher the zone and the higher the rate.

How do I find the USPS zone for a ZIP code?

Enter the first three digits of your origin ZIP code (902 for 90210, 086 for 08601). The tool returns the zone for every destination three-digit prefix in the US, with the approximate city, state and population share for each. View it on screen or download the CSV.

Which USPS services use zones?

Weight-based services: Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. Flat-rate boxes and envelopes, First-Class letters and Media Mail are priced without zones, so a zone chart only changes the cost of the weight-based services.

Why does the CSV list one row per prefix instead of ranges?

The official USPS chart publishes ranges such as prefixes 900 to 921 in Zone 8, which is fine to read and useless to compute with. This tool flattens every range into one row per destination prefix so the file drops straight into Excel, a database or a rate calculator with nothing to expand or clean.

How do I work out my average shipping zone?

Download the CSV for your origin, then weight each row's zone by the population share column (or by your own order history by destination prefix) and sum. The result is the average zone your orders ship into, which is the number to compare when you evaluate a second warehouse or a 3PL in another region.

Do UPS and FedEx use the same zones?

They use the same idea, zones 2 through 8 by distance from origin, but each carrier publishes its own zone tables and they do not always match USPS by prefix. Use this chart for USPS rating; for UPS and FedEx pull the carrier's zone chart for your origin ZIP.

Free lookup, no signup

USPS zones by ZIP code: every destination zone from your origin

Type the first three digits of the ZIP you ship from and get the USPS zone for every destination prefix in the country, with the city, state and population share behind each one. Read it on screen or download the CSV, one row per prefix, ready for Excel, a rate card or your own shipping calculator.

Look up my zones The nine zones

9USPS zones, 1 local to 9 off-mainland
900+destination prefixes per chart
CSVone row per prefix, no ranges
Freeno account, no email gate

The lookup

Your zone chart, from any origin

Three digits in, a full zone chart out. The download button turns on once the chart has loaded.

How it works

Three digits, one chart, one file

Enter your origin prefixThe first three digits of the ZIP you ship from: 902 for 90210, 086 for 08601. USPS assigns zones by three-digit prefix, so that is all the tool needs.
Read the chartOne row per destination prefix with its zone, approximate city, state, population and share of the US population. Sort by zone to see how much of the country sits in Zones 7 and 8 from your dock.
Download the CSVThe same rows as a flat file: one destination prefix per line, no ranges to expand. Drop it into Excel, a database or a rate calculator and weight it by population to get your average zone.

Why this beats the official chart. USPS publishes zones as prefix ranges, such as 900 to 921 in Zone 8, which reads fine and computes badly. Every range here is flattened to one row per destination prefix, so the CSV works in a spreadsheet or a script with nothing to expand.

Quick reference

The nine USPS zones

Typical distance bands from the origin. The official assignment is by three-digit prefix and can stray from the mileage, which is what the chart above resolves.

Zone1LocalWithin about 50 miles
Zone2Up to 150 miSame state or a neighbor
Zone3Up to 300 miRegional
Zone4Up to 600 miMulti-state
Zone5Up to 1,000 miCross-region
Zone6Up to 1,400 miMid-continent
Zone7Up to 1,800 miCoast to region
Zone81,800+ miCoast to coast
Zone9AK, HI, territoriesOff the mainland

Why it matters

Why zones decide your postage bill

Same box, very different rateUSPS prices Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select by weight and zone. A 5 lb Ground Advantage parcel runs roughly $8 to Zone 2 and $14 to Zone 8, a 75 percent spread on an identical package.
Warehouse location sets your average zoneShip from California to customers who mostly live on the East Coast and the typical order lands in Zone 7 or 8. A second node in the east, or a multi-node 3PL, drops the average by one or two zones and takes a meaningful cut out of postage.
Zones are the negotiation tableCarrier rate cards and 3PL shipping quotes are zone matrices. Knowing what share of your orders falls in each zone tells you which cells to negotiate and lets you compare a quote from a New Jersey warehouse against one from Nevada on your own volume.

Questions

USPS zones FAQ

What are USPS shipping zones?: USPS divides the country into nine zones measured from the origin ZIP code. Zone 1 is local, Zones 2 to 8 cover increasing distance bands across the contiguous states, and Zone 9 covers Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories. The farther the parcel travels, the higher the zone and the higher the rate.
How do I find the USPS zone for a ZIP code?: Enter the first three digits of your origin ZIP code (902 for 90210, 086 for 08601). The tool returns the zone for every destination three-digit prefix in the US, with the approximate city, state and population share for each. View it on screen or download the CSV.
Which USPS services use zones?: Weight-based services: Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. Flat-rate boxes and envelopes, First-Class letters and Media Mail are priced without zones, so a zone chart only changes the cost of the weight-based services.
Why does the CSV list one row per prefix instead of ranges?: The official USPS chart publishes ranges such as prefixes 900 to 921 in Zone 8, which is fine to read and useless to compute with. This tool flattens every range into one row per destination prefix so the file drops straight into Excel, a database or a rate calculator with nothing to expand or clean.
How do I work out my average shipping zone?: Download the CSV for your origin, then weight each row's zone by the population share column (or by your own order history by destination prefix) and sum. The result is the average zone your orders ship into, which is the number to compare when you evaluate a second warehouse or a 3PL in another region.
Do UPS and FedEx use the same zones?: They use the same idea, zones 2 through 8 by distance from origin, but each carrier publishes its own zone tables and they do not always match USPS by prefix. Use this chart for USPS rating; for UPS and FedEx pull the carrier's zone chart for your origin ZIP.

Shipping into Zone 7 and 8 too often

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USPS zones by ZIP code: every destination zone from your origin

Your zone chart, from any origin

Three digits, one chart, one file

The nine USPS zones

Why zones decide your postage bill

USPS zones FAQ

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USPS zones by ZIP code: every destination zone from your origin

Your zone chart, from any origin

Three digits, one chart, one file

The nine USPS zones

Why zones decide your postage bill

USPS zones FAQ

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Get closer to your customers

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