How long does mail take from Alaska?

A First Class letter mailed in Alaska usually takes 2 to 4 days to reach another address in the state, and 2 days is the most common standard USPS gives it. Letters from Alaska to every other state usually take 5 days, and 5 days is the longest standard First Class Mail has.

Check two ZIP codesSee every state

Updated October 21, 2026

How long does mail take from Alaska to each state?

The map shades each state by the number of days USPS most often gives a First Class letter from Alaska, and the table under it gives the usual range for every state, so you can read off a trip like Alaska to California at a glance.

Alaska to Alabama: usually 5 daysAlaska to Arizona: usually 5 daysAlaska to Arkansas: usually 5 daysAlaska to California: usually 5 daysAlaska to Colorado: usually 5 daysAlaska to Connecticut: usually 5 daysAlaska to Delaware: usually 5 daysAlaska to Washington, DC: usually 5 daysAlaska to Florida: usually 5 daysAlaska to Georgia: usually 5 daysAlaska to Hawaii: usually 5 daysAlaska to Idaho: usually 5 daysAlaska to Illinois: usually 5 daysAlaska to Indiana: usually 5 daysAlaska to Iowa: usually 5 daysAlaska to Kansas: usually 5 daysAlaska to Kentucky: usually 5 daysAlaska to Louisiana: usually 5 daysAlaska to Maine: usually 5 daysAlaska to Maryland: usually 5 daysAlaska to Massachusetts: usually 5 daysAlaska to Michigan: usually 5 daysAlaska to Minnesota: usually 5 daysAlaska to Mississippi: usually 5 daysAlaska to Missouri: usually 5 daysAlaska to Montana: usually 5 daysAlaska to Nebraska: usually 5 daysAlaska to Nevada: usually 5 daysAlaska to New Hampshire: usually 5 daysAlaska to New Jersey: usually 5 daysAlaska to New Mexico: usually 5 daysAlaska to New York: usually 5 daysAlaska to North Carolina: usually 5 daysAlaska to North Dakota: usually 5 daysAlaska to Ohio: usually 5 daysAlaska to Oklahoma: usually 5 daysAlaska to Oregon: usually 5 daysAlaska to Pennsylvania: usually 5 daysAlaska to Rhode Island: usually 5 daysAlaska to South Carolina: usually 5 daysAlaska to South Dakota: usually 5 daysAlaska to Tennessee: usually 5 daysAlaska to Texas: usually 5 daysAlaska to Utah: usually 5 daysAlaska to Vermont: usually 5 daysAlaska to Virginia: usually 5 daysAlaska to Washington: usually 5 daysAlaska to West Virginia: usually 5 daysAlaska to Wisconsin: usually 5 daysAlaska to Wyoming: usually 5 daysWithin Alaska: usually 2 to 4 days
USPS First Class Mail letter standards from Alaska, from USPS's service standard directory effective October 1, 2026. "Usually" covers 8 of every 10 letters, weighted by where people live. Each state name links to the times from that state.
TripUsuallyMost oftenWithin 3 days
Within Alaska2 to 4 days2 days56 percent
Alaska to Alabama5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Arizona5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Arkansas5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to California5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Colorado5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Connecticut5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Delaware5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Washington, DC5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Florida5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Georgia5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Hawaii5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Idaho5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Illinois5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Indiana5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Iowa5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Kansas5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Kentucky5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Louisiana5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Maine5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Maryland5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Massachusetts5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Michigan5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Minnesota5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Mississippi5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Missouri5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Montana5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Nebraska5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Nevada5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to New Hampshire5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to New Jersey5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to New Mexico5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to New York5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to North Carolina5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to North Dakota5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Ohio5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Oklahoma5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Oregon5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Pennsylvania5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Rhode Island5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to South Carolina5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to South Dakota5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Tennessee5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Texas5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Utah5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Vermont5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Virginia5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Washington5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to West Virginia5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Wisconsin5 days5 days0 percent
Alaska to Wyoming5 days5 days0 percent

How long does a letter take within Alaska?

USPS's directory gives 2 days to 56 percent of the letters that start and end in Alaska and 4 days to 44 percent. No ZIP code in Alaska is on USPS's list of origins that get an extra day for being far from their sorting plant, so the 3 digit ZIP area alone sets the days for letters mailed there.

Which states get mail from Alaska fastest?

No other state usually gets a letter from Alaska within 3 days, because USPS most often gives 5 days to a letter from Alaska to any other state. A letter to a nearby address inside Alaska is the only quick trip.

Which states take the longest from Alaska?

USPS gives 5 days to most letters from Alaska going to every other state. A letter on one of these trips that goes out with Monday's pickup is due on Saturday, or a day later when a holiday falls in the week.

How much of the country is within 3 days of Alaska?

If you sent one letter from Alaska to every person in the country, Alaska included, USPS would give 0.1 percent of them a standard of 3 days or less. That ranks Alaska 51st of the 50 states and DC, and the state in the middle of that list is at 22 percent.

How do I find the exact days for one letter?

Each range on this page covers many ZIP codes, and one letter has a single number. For example, USPS gives a letter from ZIP 99654 in Alaska to ZIP 92336 in California 5 days. Our delivery time tool shows that number for any two ZIP codes and counts it out on the calendar, skipping Sundays and holidays.

How were these days worked out?

The days come from USPS's own service standard directory for First Class Mail, effective October 1, 2026, which we download from USPS's Service Standards Files API. It gives the days from every 3 digit ZIP area to every other, plus the 5 digit ZIP codes whose letters get a different number. For Alaska we took each of its 238 populated ZIP codes as a starting point and each 3 digit ZIP area of the destination state as an end point, and weighted every pair by the people who live at both ends, using the Census Bureau's 2023 population counts. "Usually" is the range that covers the middle 8 of every 10 letters, and "most often" is the single most common number.

A service standard is USPS's target for a stamped letter mailed before the day's last pickup, and First Class Mail has no delivery guarantee. Sundays and the 11 federal holidays USPS observes don't count as delivery days.

Sources

  1. USPS, Service Standards Files API, "3D Base Service Standard Directory" and "Supplemental Service Standard Directory FCM", effective October 1, 2026, downloaded October 21, 2026: developers.usps.com
  2. Code of Federal Regulations, 39 CFR 121.1, First Class Mail service standards: ecfr.gov
  3. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5 year estimates, table B01003, population by ZIP Code Tabulation Area: data.census.gov
  4. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file: census.gov
  5. USPS Service Standards API, spot checks on October 21, 2026 that matched the directory: ZIP 77494 to 34787, 3 days; ZIP 92336 to 11368, 5 days; ZIP 11368 to 92336, 5 days; ZIP 60629 to 60629, 2 days; ZIP 59001 to 59901, 4 days; ZIP 590 to 59901, 3 days

Related pages

Follow your letter on its way

PigeonTrail shows every USPS scan on the letters you mail with a stamp and tells you when one falls behind USPS's date. Your first 100 letters each month are free.

Start freeSee pricing