How long does mail take from Washington?

A First Class letter mailed in Washington usually takes 2 to 3 days to reach another address in the state, and 2 days is the most common standard USPS gives it. Letters to neighboring Oregon and Idaho usually take 2 to 4 days, while the farthest states, such as Texas and Florida, usually get 5 days.

Updated October 21, 2026

How long does mail take from Washington to each state?

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

Washington to Alabama: usually 5 daysWashington to Alaska: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Arizona: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Arkansas: usually 5 daysWashington to California: usually 3 to 5 daysWashington to Colorado: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Connecticut: usually 5 daysWashington to Delaware: usually 5 daysWashington to Washington, DC: usually 5 daysWashington to Florida: usually 5 daysWashington to Georgia: usually 5 daysWashington to Hawaii: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Idaho: usually 2 to 4 daysWashington to Illinois: usually 5 daysWashington to Indiana: usually 5 daysWashington to Iowa: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Kansas: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Kentucky: usually 5 daysWashington to Louisiana: usually 5 daysWashington to Maine: usually 5 daysWashington to Maryland: usually 5 daysWashington to Massachusetts: usually 5 daysWashington to Michigan: usually 5 daysWashington to Minnesota: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Mississippi: usually 5 daysWashington to Missouri: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Montana: usually 3 to 4 daysWashington to Nebraska: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Nevada: usually 3 to 5 daysWashington to New Hampshire: usually 5 daysWashington to New Jersey: usually 5 daysWashington to New Mexico: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to New York: usually 5 daysWashington to North Carolina: usually 5 daysWashington to North Dakota: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Ohio: usually 5 daysWashington to Oklahoma: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Oregon: usually 2 to 4 daysWashington to Pennsylvania: usually 5 daysWashington to Rhode Island: usually 5 daysWashington to South Carolina: usually 5 daysWashington to South Dakota: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Tennessee: usually 5 daysWashington to Texas: usually 5 daysWashington to Utah: usually 3 to 4 daysWashington to Vermont: usually 5 daysWashington to Virginia: usually 5 daysWashington to West Virginia: usually 5 daysWashington to Wisconsin: usually 4 to 5 daysWashington to Wyoming: usually 3 to 5 daysWithin Washington: usually 2 to 3 days
USPS First Class Mail letter standards from Washington, 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 Washington2 to 3 days2 days97 percent
Washington to Alabama5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Alaska4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Arizona4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to Arkansas5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to California3 to 5 days4 days31 percent
Washington to Colorado4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to Connecticut5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Delaware5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Washington, DC5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Florida5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Georgia5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Hawaii4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Idaho2 to 4 days3 days69 percent
Washington to Illinois5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Indiana5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Iowa4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to Kansas4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Kentucky5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Louisiana5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Maine5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Maryland5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Massachusetts5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Michigan5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Minnesota4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to Mississippi5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Missouri4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Montana3 to 4 days3 days65 percent
Washington to Nebraska4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to Nevada3 to 5 days4 days15 percent
Washington to New Hampshire5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to New Jersey5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to New Mexico4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to New York5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to North Carolina5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to North Dakota4 to 5 days4 days0 percent
Washington to Ohio5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Oklahoma4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Oregon2 to 4 days2 days84 percent
Washington to Pennsylvania5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Rhode Island5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to South Carolina5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to South Dakota4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Tennessee5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Texas5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Utah3 to 4 days3 days56 percent
Washington to Vermont5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Virginia5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to West Virginia5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Wisconsin4 to 5 days5 days0 percent
Washington to Wyoming3 to 5 days4 days11 percent

How long does a letter take within Washington?

USPS's directory gives 2 days to 56 percent of the letters that start and end in Washington, 3 days to 41 percent and 4 days to 3 percent. About 13 percent of the people in Washington 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 Washington fastest?

USPS most often gives 3 days or fewer to letters from Washington bound for 4 other states, which are Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. To Oregon, 84 percent of letters have a standard of 3 days or less.

Which states take the longest from Washington?

USPS gives 5 days to most letters from Washington going to 36 states, including Texas and Florida. 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 Washington?

If you sent one letter from Washington to every person in the country, Washington included, USPS would give 8 percent of them a standard of 3 days or less. That ranks Washington 44th 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 99301 in Washington to ZIP 77494 in Texas 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 Washington we took each of its 596 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

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.