How long does mail take from Virginia to each state?
The map shades each state by the number of days USPS most often gives a First Class letter from Virginia, and the table under it gives the usual range for every state, so you can read off a trip like Virginia to California at a glance.
| Trip | Usually | Most often | Within 3 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within Virginia | 2 to 3 days | 3 days | 91 percent |
| Virginia to Alabama | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to Alaska | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Arizona | 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Arkansas | 3 to 5 days | 4 days | 28 percent |
| Virginia to California | 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Colorado | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Connecticut | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 45 percent |
| Virginia to Delaware | 2 to 4 days | 4 days | 53 percent |
| Virginia to Washington, DC | 2 to 4 days | 3 days | 85 percent |
| Virginia to Florida | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 40 percent |
| Virginia to Georgia | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 44 percent |
| Virginia to Hawaii | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Idaho | 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Illinois | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to Indiana | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 43 percent |
| Virginia to Iowa | 3 to 5 days | 4 days | 22 percent |
| Virginia to Kansas | 3 to 5 days | 4 days | 24 percent |
| Virginia to Kentucky | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 43 percent |
| Virginia to Louisiana | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Maine | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to Maryland | 2 to 4 days | 3 days | 88 percent |
| Virginia to Massachusetts | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to Michigan | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 43 percent |
| Virginia to Minnesota | 3 to 5 days | 4 days | 18 percent |
| Virginia to Mississippi | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 37 percent |
| Virginia to Missouri | 3 to 5 days | 4 days | 30 percent |
| Virginia to Montana | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Nebraska | 3 to 5 days | 5 days | 14 percent |
| Virginia to Nevada | 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to New Hampshire | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to New Jersey | 2 to 4 days | 4 days | 65 percent |
| Virginia to New Mexico | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to New York | 2 to 4 days | 4 days | 49 percent |
| Virginia to North Carolina | 2 to 4 days | 3 days | 85 percent |
| Virginia to North Dakota | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Ohio | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 43 percent |
| Virginia to Oklahoma | 4 to 5 days | 4 days | 0.1 percent |
| Virginia to Oregon | 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Pennsylvania | 2 to 4 days | 3 days | 72 percent |
| Virginia to Rhode Island | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to South Carolina | 3 to 4 days | 3 days | 59 percent |
| Virginia to South Dakota | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Tennessee | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 43 percent |
| Virginia to Texas | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Utah | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to Vermont | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 42 percent |
| Virginia to Washington | 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
| Virginia to West Virginia | 2 to 4 days | 4 days | 52 percent |
| Virginia to Wisconsin | 3 to 4 days | 4 days | 38 percent |
| Virginia to Wyoming | 4 to 5 days | 5 days | 0 percent |
How long does a letter take within Virginia?
USPS's directory gives 2 days to 38 percent of the letters that start and end in Virginia, 3 days to 53 percent and 4 days to 9 percent. About 27 percent of the people in Virginia live in ZIP codes whose letters get a day more than the rest of their 3 digit ZIP area, which is the 2025 rule for post offices more than 50 miles' drive from the plant that sorts their mail. If you mail from one of those towns, expect the slower end of each range on this page.
Which states get mail from Virginia fastest?
USPS most often gives 3 days or fewer to letters from Virginia bound for 5 other states, which are Maryland, North Carolina, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. To Maryland, 88 percent of letters have a standard of 3 days or less.
Which states take the longest from Virginia?
USPS gives 5 days to most letters from Virginia going to 18 states, including California and Texas. 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 Virginia?
If you sent one letter from Virginia to every person in the country, Virginia included, USPS would give 32 percent of them a standard of 3 days or less. That ranks Virginia 12th 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 22193 in Virginia 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 Virginia we took each of its 883 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
- 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
- Code of Federal Regulations, 39 CFR 121.1, First Class Mail service standards: ecfr.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5 year estimates, table B01003, population by ZIP Code Tabulation Area: data.census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Area to county relationship file: census.gov
- 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