How much is a us postage stamp 2022

The anticipated USPS postal stamp increase is going ahead and comes into effect from the 10th of July 2022. The standard Forever stamp price is increasing from 58 cents to 60 cents. The Forever stamp as its name suggests means that it is valid forever, so even if you bought a stamp 10 years ago at a cheaper price, you could still use it today or in a couple of weeks when the new price comes into play.

This means that if you use a lot of stamps and can stomach a significant upfront stamp investment you could purchase a bunch of Forever stamps at the current price before the 2 cents increase on the 10th of July.

Whilst the price hike may feel significant, especially considering the price increased less than a year ago from 55 cents to 58 cents, USPS is keen to point out that this price increase is 6.5% and still lower than the current high inflation rates.

Customers Should Prepare For More USPS Stamp Price Increases

Purchasing Forever stamps at the current price could be a shrewd move for not just businesses but for regular users too as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that Americans should get used to ‘uncomfortable’ postage rate increases over the coming years. This is down to his Delivering for America plan as he tries to bring the postal service into a self-sustaining environment.

“I believe we have been severely damaged by at least 10 years of a defective pricing model which cannot be satisfied by one or two annual price increases, especially in this inflationary environment,”

Louis Dejoy, Postmaster General

Stamps are not the only USPS product getting hit with a price increase. You can check out some of the other price increases taking place in the table below:

USPS Product Current cost Cost after July 10
Letters (1 oz.) 58 cents 60 cents
Letters (metered 1 oz.) 53 cents 57 cents
Letters (additional ounces) 20 cents 24 cents
Domestic postcards 40 cents 44 cents
International letters (1 oz.) $1.30 $1.40

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New York CNN Business  — 

Maybe this counts as good news in a time of painful price increases for necessities such as food, fuel and housing: The cost of a US postage stamp just increased by a mere 2 cents.

That raises the cost of mailing a first-class letter by 3.4%, to 60 cents — unless you still have a bunch of “forever stamps” that you bought at a lower price. A price hike that modest seems almost quaint given that overall consumer prices are up 9.1% year over year, the fastest pace in 40 years.

First-Class mail prices are up about 6.5% overall following the latest hikes. Metered mail went up 4 cents, or 7.5%; sending a postcard (remember those?) now costs 44 cents, a 10-cent hike; and overweight First-Class mail will increase 20%, to 24 cents per additional ounce.

“As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan,” the USPS said in a statement, referring to its plan to invest $40 billion in upgrading its infrastructure. “With the new prices, the Postal Service will continue to provide the lowest letter-mail postage rates in the industrialized world and offer a great value in shipping.”

But the 2-cent hike won’t bring in much more money for the USPS for one reason: Americans aren’t sending nearly as much mail as they used to. As a result, First-Class mail in general — and individual letters in particular — are far less important to the Postal Services’ revenue stream now than in years past.

Last year 13.5 billion letters were mailed out. But that comes to only about two pieces of mail per US household per week.

People have found other ways to communicate — and to pay their bills — than putting a stamp and an envelope and dropping it in a mailbox. The number of individual letters mailed last year fell 8.4% from the year prior, and is down 45% from where it was just a decade ago, in fiscal year 2011.

The number of individual First-Class letters doesn’t count most of the other mail jamming your mailbox, such as bank statements and other direct mail from businesses. There were 35.6 billion of those last year, or more than five per household per week.

Then there were another 41 million pieces of what the USPS generously calls “marketing mail,” and most consumers know as junk mail.

Even though senders of that marketing mail pay a much lower rate, the sector brought in $9 billion last year, compared to only $7.4 billion for individual First-Class letters, and $13.5 billion for presorted First-Class mail.

All in, First-Class mail accounted for only 30% of Postal Service revenue last year, with individual letters tallying less than 10%. As recently as 2011, about half of postal revenue came from First-Class mail, with 17% from individual letters.

Parcels and packages are where the Postal Service is really making its money today. The USPS handles final delivery of many packages shipped by Amazon (AMZN) and other online retailers, with items delivered in bulk to the post office nearest to the buyer’s home.

How much does it cost to mail a letter in the US 2022?

WASHINGTON, DC — Today the United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes to take effect July 10, 2022. The new prices, if favorably reviewed, include a two-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 58 cents to 60 cents.

Is Forever stamp still good in 2022?

Increase in Postage Stamps and Metered Mail The good news is that Forever stamps are good for, well, forever. This means that any Forever stamps you currently have will still be good next year, no matter how much you purchased them for, so stock up now if you cannot stand any more increases.

Do I need to use 2 Forever stamps?

For any domestic mail piece that weighs more than one ounce, you must include additional postage along with your Forever Stamp to ensure USPS delivery. Also, you may purchase higher denomination postage stamps for heavier postage at the Post Office™. Avoid placing two Forever Stamps on a mail piece for heavier mail.

Is the price of Forever stamps going up in 2022?

Pending approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission, first-class Forever stamps will increase by three cents, from 60 cents to 63 cents, starting in late January 2023.