Remote Rural Zip Codes
Summary: soh.maryl inquired about the definition of a 'remote rural ZIP code' and whether the USPS provides this information. valueaddedresource suggested using an interactive map to understand USPS's definition of 'rural', while powell-collectibles provided a link discussing urban and rural classifications by USPS. mudshark61369 and others noted that there is no specific public designation for 'remote rural ZIP codes', and discussions explored distinctions in ZIP code classifications. Participants also shared experiences and resources related to rural delivery classifications, emphasizing population density in USPS's methodology.
Can someone please exactly define what a REMOTE RURAL ZIP CODE is? Do I need to ask USPS?
18 comments
christworks
·2 weeks ago · Edited@soh.maryl
I can give you the methodology.
Zip codes were placed into three baskets. Urban and rural were defined. Anything that did not go into either of those baskets went into the suburban basket.
I had to dig around, but I was able to find a page from a report done prior to 2024, when the rural surcharge took effect. I'll attach a screen shot of that report which goes into more details. Here, they explain how they divided areas into various densities. That terminology was used for practical purposes. I do not do audits anymore, but as far as I know, this is what USPS adopted. This should all be re-evaluated after the next census.
ryry-jj
·2 weeks agoWho has a rural 9 digit zip code? When I input my zip code it comes up on USPS.com as "C" carrier route...I thin a rural 9 dgit zip will be a RR route.
Interestingly, I just read, some of these route are based off of historical routes, not any current today by population or anything else. In other words, if your route years ago was rural, and the city/town then grew to be right next door or even encircle your route...your address may still be considered rural
wri-8727
·2 weeks ago · EditedExcuse me madam but I don't think there are any rural zip-codes in Ohio. Oregon, on the other hand...Granite Oregon 97877
https://wheninyourstate.com/oregon/gold-rush-buildings-still-stand-in-granite-oregon-a-blue-mountains-town-that-wont-quit/
Hope this helps :)
iamalwaysright
·3 weeks ago · EditedI found this interesting when I read this on AI.
"About 30% of United States Postal Service (USPS) delivery points are considered rural. The USPS delivers to more than 163 million total addresses nationwide, with roughly 49 million of those serviced via rural routes. [1]
Key Facts About Rural Postal Infrastructure
Land Coverage: Rural areas encompass 88% of the total land area served by the postal network.
Post Office Concentration: 57% of all physical Post Offices are located in rural communities.
Population Serving: While they make up nearly a third of delivery points, these areas home only about 16% of the U.S. population due to lower density."
So if I'm understanding this correctly, it says that 16% of people in the US live in a rural area. And these 16% account for about 30% of USPS' deliveries? If so, my guess is that they have less options to buy locally so they have to have more things shipped to them than "urban people". Can we expect to have to pay the increased rural pricing for about 30% of our items sold?
So far I think I'm hovering between 10-15% of the time I'm hit with the rural pricing.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 weeks ago@iamalwaysright funny; 2 days ago it said 10% (about 4500 of the 40000+ zip codes).
I just google the pop of a city if I see an higher-than-normal price and so far, all have been a pop of 'under 5k'
For those only selling under 1 lb are surely feeling it more.
For me, with the 'new' (temp?) 2lb + pricing, I'm still ahead.
iamalwaysright
·2 weeks agoPretty much 90% of my stuff is 8oz. 😢
soh.maryl
OP3 weeks agoOK, pardon me if I still find this puzzling. Example: I live in a town of about 23K people. We have city water, city sewer and any other amenities of a town. A relative lives some distance out in the "country", has a well and septic tank and a significant greater acreage than I do; however, this relative and I share the very same zip code. If there is such a thing as a "rural zip code", then why is mine not in that category if hers is?
powell-collectibles
·3 weeks ago · EditedIf you are not in a rural ZIP Code and your relative is then you don’t share the same ZIP Code.
soh.maryl
OP3 weeks agoActually, my relative and I DO share the same zip. That was the reason I asked my question. Thank you for your reply.
powell-collectibles
·3 weeks agoif you do share the same ZIP Code, then either both of you are in a rural ZIP Code or both of you are not.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 weeks ago@soh.maryl is the 'other' relative considered 'rural' by USPS? If you have 1 zip with a pop of 23k, then neither of you should be rural, from what I've seen as everytime (5x past week) I see bigger $ for shipping I google the pop of the city, and sure enough, 2.4k, 4.1k etc.
Rural is typical pop of 5k or less. I live in a township (county area, not even a town/city with no mayor etc, but we have a pop of 9k and are not considered rural. We also have a post office, just 1, within 2 miles of almost everyone in this city, although there are about 100 people that live on the 'outskirts'.
nyr134
·3 weeks agoDon't be swayed by the characteristics of an individual's residence, e.g., acreage or public services available. The post office determined the designation by the overall density of the residents living in that zip code - and then made some exceptions to that reckoning.
ryry-jj
·2 weeks agoit probably takes into account the entire 9 digit code. The first 5 digits give us the post office, the last 4 gives us the route/street...I think it even tell us what side of the street too
stuff4divas
·3 weeks ago@soh.maryl the simple answer is > rural = suburbs
gosimus
·3 weeks ago · Edited@soh.maryl
< define what a REMOTE RURAL ZIP CODE is? >
You've already got a couple of excellent answers, but I'm going to throw in my thoughts, which are only thoughts and not substantiated.
A zip code covers a very large area. For example, the town in which I live in (I know. It's a shout out to Paul McCartney.) has a single zip code for the entire city, pop about 25,000. But each four-digit extension to the zip code indicates a smaller, localized area. Maybe a rural area is designated by the particular four-digit extension.
mudshark61369
·3 weeks ago@soh.maryl ,
If you do an online search for "Does the USPS have a "remote rural zip code" designation for some locations?"
The A.I. article explains that there is not a public "Remote rural zip code" designation, but there are others such as Rural surcharge zip codes, and Rural Route zip codes...
powell-collectibles
·3 weeks agohttps://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2023-01/RISC-WP-20-008.pdf
What Constitutes Urban or Rural? To study package delivery in different environments, the OIG needed to segment the country into urban, suburban, and rural areas. Unfortunately, there are no widely accepted definitions of these terms. Different academic institutions and government agencies use their own definitions, while media sources often have no exact definitions. Commonly used criteria include population, commuting 8 USPS identifies a total of five different types of routes. In addition to City and Rural Routes, Highway Contract Routes sometimes include delivery to homes, especially in very remote areas. Box and General Delivery routes involve the delivery of mail to P.O. Boxes and post office counters, respectively. The package data described here excludes Box and General Delivery routes and routes with no delivery points. Taken together, excluded routes account for about 5 percent of all package deliveries. 9 This excludes uninhabited land not covered by ZIP Codes, such as National Parks. patterns, or self-reports from survey respondents. The OIG created its own framework based on Postal Service operational considerations, such as the prevalence of large buildings, the availability of parking, and the distance between homes and their mailboxes. A detailed explanation of our methodology is in Appendix B. Using multiple criteria, we defined most ZIP Codes as either High, Medium, or Low Density. The High Density category captures busy urban cores like those in Los Angeles or New York City. The Low Density category captures parts of the country where the houses are far apart and most of the land is farmland or undeveloped. We categorized everything that did not qualify as High or Low Density as Medium Density. Medium Density—by far the largest category by delivery points—includes not only most suburbs but also the portion of cities outside of the urban core. It also includes many small cities and larger towns where there may be some apartment complexes and townhomes.
valueaddedresource
·3 weeks agoYou can download files from USPS showing lists of affected zip codes, but honestly, this interactive map is the best resource I've found to make it easy to understand what USPS means by "rural".
This is from 2024, so the specific rates may be out of date, but the affected zip codes are still the same as far as I know.
Scroll to the bottom (and give it a minute for images to load) to see the maps.
https://www.savethepostoffice.com/postal-service-puts-zip-code-to-use-with-rural-surcharge/