The U.S. Postal Service is facing what could become an existential threat in the coming years. It typically operates at a loss in the era of electronic communications.
The situation worsened after 2006, when a Republican-controlled Congress passed a law requiring the semi-independent government agency to prefund future retiree health benefits. The move cost the agency as much as $5.8 billion annually through 2016, reported educational site ThoughtCo.
Though the USPS generates enough revenue to cover its operating expenses, its pension and health care liability pushed the agency in the red every year since 2007, according to Washington D.C. think tank Brookings. The USPS has lost nearly over $70 billion in this period of time. (Postal services are among the industries that will shrink the most over the next decade.)
The institution in charge of a time-honored public service that is older than the country itself — the first post office was established in Philadelphia in 1775 — is now planning to shed 50,000 positions, under the direction of controversial Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The USPS plans other steep cuts and reductions to services in an effort to trim $160 billion in predicted losses over the next decade. The cuts include closing many locations.
To find the states with the most post offices per capita, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed USPS post offices by states. States are ranked by the number of post offices per 100,000 people. State population data came from the Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.
Access to postal service varies widely among the 50 states, from between 2 post offices per 100,000 residents in Florida, the country’s third most-populous state, to 43 offices per 100,000 people in Vermont, the country’s second-smallest state by population. (On a somewhat different note, here are cities where postal workers get attacked by dogs most often.)
Smaller, rural states like Maine and the Dakotas tend to have more post offices for every 100,000 residents because their populations are more spread out, requiring more postal access points. Two exceptions to this are Rhode Island and Delaware, whose residents are served by fewer post offices than seven of the 10 most populous states. Rhode Island has nearly 5 post offices per 100,000 residents, while New York has nearly 8 per 100,000.
Here are the states with the most post offices.
Source: THEPALMER / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
50. Florida
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 2.14
> Total PO locations: 455 — 25th lowest
> Population: 21,216,924 — 3rd highest
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49. California
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 2.66
> Total PO locations: 1,048 — 5th highest
> Population: 39,346,023 — 1st highest
Source: travelview / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
48. Arizona
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 2.70
> Total PO locations: 194 — 8th lowest
> Population: 7,174,064 — 14th highest
47. Nevada
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 2.77
> Total PO locations: 84 — 4th lowest
> Population: 3,030,281 — 19th lowest
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46. Rhode Island
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 4.73
> Total PO locations: 50 — 1st lowest
> Population: 1,057,798 — 7th lowest
45. Texas
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 4.91
> Total PO locations: 1,406 — 3rd highest
> Population: 28,635,442 — 2nd highest
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Source: anouchka / Getty Images
44. Hawaii
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.14
> Total PO locations: 73 — 3rd lowest
> Population: 1,420,074 — 11th lowest
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Source: postoffices / Flickr
43. Utah
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.62
> Total PO locations: 177 — 7th lowest
> Population: 3,151,239 — 21st lowest
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
42. Delaware
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.68
> Total PO locations: 55 — 2nd lowest
> Population: 967,679 — 6th lowest
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Source: JENNIFER E. WOLF / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
41. Georgia
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.75
> Total PO locations: 605 — 17th highest
> Population: 10,516,579 — 8th highest
Source: William Thomas Cain / Getty Images News via Getty Images
40. New Jersey
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.82
> Total PO locations: 517 — 23rd highest
> Population: 8,885,418 — 11th highest
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Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia Commons
39. Massachusetts
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.82
> Total PO locations: 400 — 21st lowest
> Population: 6,873,003 — 15th highest
38. Washington
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 5.91
> Total PO locations: 444 — 24th lowest
> Population: 7,512,465 — 13th highest
Source: CLK Hatcher / Flickr
37. Connecticut
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 6.39
> Total PO locations: 228 — 10th lowest
> Population: 3,570,549 — 22nd lowest
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Source: aimintang / E+ via Getty Images
36. Maryland
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 6.44
> Total PO locations: 389 — 20th lowest
> Population: 6,037,624 — 19th highest
35. Colorado
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 6.75
> Total PO locations: 384 — 19th lowest
> Population: 5,684,926 — 21st highest
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34. North Carolina
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 7.03
> Total PO locations: 730 — 11th highest
> Population: 10,386,227 — 9th highest
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33. South Carolina
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 7.11
> Total PO locations: 362 — 18th lowest
> Population: 5,091,517 — 23rd highest
32. New York
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 7.64
> Total PO locations: 1,491 — 2nd highest
> Population: 19,514,849 — 4th highest
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Source: doe-oakridge / Flickr
31. Tennessee
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 7.71
> Total PO locations: 522 — 22nd highest
> Population: 6,772,268 — 16th highest
30. Oregon
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 7.76
> Total PO locations: 324 — 17th lowest
> Population: 4,176,346 — 24th lowest
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Source: RiverNorthPhotography / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
29. Michigan
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 8.07
> Total PO locations: 805 — 9th highest
> Population: 9,973,907 — 10th highest
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28. Ohio
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 8.26
> Total PO locations: 964 — 6th highest
> Population: 11,675,275 — 7th highest
27. Virginia
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 9.08
> Total PO locations: 773 — 10th highest
> Population: 8,509,358 — 12th highest
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26. Illinois
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 9.31
> Total PO locations: 1,184 — 4th highest
> Population: 12,716,164 — 6th highest
Source: BDphoto / iStock via Getty Images
25. Louisiana
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 9.86
> Total PO locations: 460 — 25th highest
> Population: 4,664,616 — 25th highest
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Source: jetcityimage / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
24. Indiana
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 10.06
> Total PO locations: 674 — 16th highest
> Population: 6,696,893 — 17th highest
23. Alabama
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 11.02
> Total PO locations: 539 — 21st highest
> Population: 4,893,186 — 24th highest
22. Wisconsin
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 12.21
> Total PO locations: 709 — 13th highest
> Population: 5,806,975 — 20th highest
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21. Pennsylvania
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 12.97
> Total PO locations: 1,659 — 1st highest
> Population: 12,794,885 — 5th highest
20. Minnesota
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 13.02
> Total PO locations: 729 — 12th highest
> Population: 5,600,166 — 22nd highest
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Source: Mary Martin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
19. Idaho
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 13.05
> Total PO locations: 229 — 11th lowest
> Population: 1,754,367 — 12th lowest
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Source: Raisa Nastukova / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
18. New Mexico
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 13.21
> Total PO locations: 277 — 13th lowest
> Population: 2,097,021 — 15th lowest
17. Mississippi
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 13.88
> Total PO locations: 414 — 22nd lowest
> Population: 2,981,835 — 17th lowest
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16. Missouri
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 13.93
> Total PO locations: 853 — 7th highest
> Population: 6,124,160 — 18th highest
15. Oklahoma
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 14.00
> Total PO locations: 553 — 20th highest
> Population: 3,949,342 — 23rd lowest
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14. Kentucky
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 15.49
> Total PO locations: 691 — 14th highest
> Population: 4,461,952 — 25th lowest
13. New Hampshire
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 16.45
> Total PO locations: 223 — 9th lowest
> Population: 1,355,244 — 10th lowest
Source: BergmannD / iStock via Getty Images
12. Arkansas
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 19.12
> Total PO locations: 576 — 19th highest
> Population: 3,011,873 — 18th lowest
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Source: ablokhin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
11. Kansas
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 19.88
> Total PO locations: 579 — 18th highest
> Population: 2,912,619 — 16th lowest
Source: lippyjr / Getty Images
10. Alaska
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 23.47
> Total PO locations: 173 — 6th lowest
> Population: 736,990 — 3rd lowest
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9. Wyoming
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 24.77
> Total PO locations: 144 — 5th lowest
> Population: 581,348 — 1st lowest
Source: iip-photo-archive / Flickr
8. Nebraska
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 24.90
> Total PO locations: 479 — 24th highest
> Population: 1,923,826 — 14th lowest
Source: dustin77a / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
7. Iowa
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 26.41
> Total PO locations: 832 — 8th highest
> Population: 3,150,011 — 20th lowest
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6. Montana
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 29.29
> Total PO locations: 311 — 15th lowest
> Population: 1,061,705 — 8th lowest
Source: KenWiedemann / iStock via Getty Images
5. Maine
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 32.29
> Total PO locations: 433 — 23rd lowest
> Population: 1,340,825 — 9th lowest
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4. South Dakota
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 36.05
> Total PO locations: 317 — 16th lowest
> Population: 879,336 — 5th lowest
Source: krblokhin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
3. West Virginia
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 37.51
> Total PO locations: 678 — 15th highest
> Population: 1,807,426 — 13th lowest
2. North Dakota
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 39.32
> Total PO locations: 299 — 14th lowest
> Population: 760,394 — 4th lowest
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Source: hstiver / Getty Images
1. Vermont
> Post offices per 100,000 people: 43.41
> Total PO locations: 271 — 12th lowest
> Population: 624,340 — 2nd lowest
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