USPS zone chart: the zone between two ZIP Codes

Type two ZIP Codes to read their zone in the USPS zone chart. Zones run from 1, local, to 8 across the country, and 9 for some Pacific territories.

Independent site, not the Postal Service: prices read in its own price files.

Where you mail it

Where it is delivered

Example: from 10001 to 90012· change a figure to see yours

Zone between the two ZIP Codes

Zone 8

From prefix 100 to prefix 900

Ground Advantage, 1 lb, Post Office$13.65
Priority Mail, 1 lb, Post Office$17.95
Share of the country in zone 8 or 9 from 10017%
How this is computed

Compiled by Radif Partners · How the prices are built

The USPS zone chart turns two ZIP Codes into a zone from 1 to 9, the distance band that sets the price of Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express. It works from the first three digits of each ZIP Code. The Postal Service publishes one chart per origin prefix; this site read all of them on November 13, 2026 from its official tool, in the version effective November 1, 2026, 914 origin prefixes in all. Zone 1 means the two addresses are close, often in the same network distribution center; zone 8 means across the country. The zone matters: a 1-pound Priority Mail package costs $11.50 at a counter in zone 1 and $17.95 in zone 8, and by Ground Advantage $10.05 and $13.65. The chart is nearly but not fully symmetric, so read it from the sender's ZIP Code. Some destinations have 5-digit exceptions, which the calculator applies.

Reading the USPS zone chart for common trips

The table gives the zone of a few well-known trips in both directions. Short trips inside a region are zones 1 to 3; trips between neighbouring regions are zones 4 to 6; coast to coast is zone 8.

Domestic zone chart effective November 1, 2026, read on November 13, 2026.
TripZoneZone on the way back
New York (10001) to Boston (02108)Zone 3Zone 3
New York (10001) to Chicago (60601)Zone 5Zone 5
New York (10001) to Miami (33130)Zone 6Zone 6
New York (10001) to Los Angeles (90012)Zone 8Zone 8
Chicago (60601) to Atlanta (30303)Zone 4Zone 4
Houston (77002) to Dallas (75201)Zone 3Zone 3
San Francisco (94103) to Seattle (98101)Zone 5Zone 5
Denver (80202) to Salt Lake City (84101)Zone 4Zone 4

How much of the country is far away

From New York, 17% of the destination prefixes in the chart are zone 8 or 9; from Chicago, near the middle of the country, 4%. A seller in the center reaches more of the country in mid zones, which is one reason the same product can cost less to ship from Illinois than from Maine.

Zone of another trip

Example: from 60601 to 30303· change a figure to see yours

Zone between the two ZIP Codes

Zone 4

From prefix 606 to prefix 303

Ground Advantage, 1 lb, Post Office$11.10
Priority Mail, 1 lb, Post Office$12.40
Share of the country in zone 8 or 9 from 6064%
Back to the full calculator at the top →

Where the zones come from

The Postal Service does not publish a formula: it publishes the chart. This site downloaded the chart of every origin prefix from the official Domestic Zone Chart tool and stores it as it was served, with its legend. No zone is guessed from a map or a distance. When the Postal Service issues a new chart, the date on this page tells you which version you see.

Once you have the zone, the shipping cost calculator gives the price of every service, and the flat rate page tells you whether a box that ignores the zone would be cheaper.

Questions people ask before they mail

Tap a question to see the answer.

What does the asterisk mean in the USPS zone chart?

In the official chart, an asterisk next to a zone marks a destination served by the same network distribution center as the origin. A plus sign marks a range with 5-digit exceptions, listed under the chart, where some ZIP Codes have a different zone. The calculator applies both, so you do not need to read the legend yourself.

Is the zone from A to B the same as from B to A?

Almost always, not always. Across the whole chart read on November 13, 2026, the zone matches in both directions in 99.8% of origin and destination pairs. For a return label, check the zone from the customer's ZIP Code to yours rather than assuming it is the same.

Which ZIP Codes are in zone 9?

Zone 9 is used for some Pacific territories served from the mainland, such as Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (prefix 969), from every large origin checked. Hawaii and Alaska are usually zone 8 from the mainland. Priority Mail costs much more in zone 9, while Ground Advantage charges the zone 8 price. Type the ZIP Code to see its zone.

Next steps

Cost to ship a package

Every USPS service for your weight and ZIP Codes, at the counter and online, today and in 2027.

Alaska, Hawaii, territories

Zones 8 and 9, the flat rate box that ignores them, and prices to HI, AK, PR and Guam.

Flat rate box prices

Envelope, small, medium and large box: today, online and in 2027, and when each one wins.

Priority Mail rates

Two to three days, priced by the pound and zone, at the counter and online.

Postal Service price files, manual chapters and filings behind this page (4)

Each price, rule and zone was read in these documents on November 13, 2026.

Compiled by

Independent publisher of US parcel price tables built from the Postal Service's Notice 123 price files and its domestic zone chart. Paid by no carrier: no commission, no affiliate link, no paid placement.

Checked on · Editorial policy · Contact

Prices are read from the Postal Service price files, never estimated. They leave out pickup, special handling, hazardous material and any extra service you add at the counter. The January 17, 2027 prices are proposed and await review by the Postal Regulatory Commission.