Why are postage rates up 13% from a year ago?
Postage stamps: +12.7% in the 12 months to September 2026 (U.S. Consumer Price Index), versus +3.7% for prices overall. 1-month 0.0%, 3-month +0.0%, 5-year +33.9%.
Inflation check: Rising faster than inflation. +12.7% in a year, versus +3.7% for prices overall (3.4× the overall rate).
The short answer
- U.S. postage rates rose 12.7 percent over the past 12 months—far outpacing 3.7 percent overall inflation—because the Postal Service enacted consecutive above-inflation rate hikes to cover high fixed operating costs amid structural declines in mail volume. [1] [2] [3]
- Under its Delivering for America modernization plan, the Postal Service utilized expanded regulatory pricing authorities granted by the Postal Regulatory Commission to lift First-Class Forever stamp prices to 78 cents in July 2025 and 82 cents in July 2026. [1] [3]
What's driving the price
Political, regulatory and trade factors
- Expanded ratemaking and density authority rules (Sep 2023 to Sep 2026), Postal Regulatory Commission: A ratemaking framework established by the Postal Regulatory Commission allows the Postal Service to exceed traditional Consumer Price Index caps by adding rate authority adjustments for declining mail density and retirement amortization costs. [pushed prices up] [4] [5]
- Delivering for America transformation rate strategy (Sep 2023 to Sep 2026), United States Postal Service: USPS leadership aggressively used its administrative pricing authority to stem multi-billion-dollar operating deficits, including a 9 billion dollar net loss in fiscal 2025, lifting First-Class Forever stamp prices from 66 cents in 2023 to 82 cents by mid-2026. [pushed prices up] [2] [6]
- July 2026 market-dominant rate increase approval (Apr 2026 to Sep 2026), Postal Regulatory Commission: The Postal Regulatory Commission approved USPS Docket R2026-1, implementing an average 4.8 percent increase on mailing services on July 12, 2026, which raised First-Class stamps from 78 cents to 82 cents and domestic postcards from 61 cents to 65 cents. [pushed prices up] [1] [7]
- July 2025 mailing services price increase (Jul 2025 to Jul 2026), Postal Regulatory Commission: Regulators approved a 7.4 percent average price adjustment that took effect July 13, 2025, which raised single-piece First-Class stamps by 5 cents from 73 cents to 78 cents to cover widening operating cash shortfalls. [pushed prices up] [2] [3]
Macro factors: supply, weather, disease, energy
- Electronic diversion and declining mail density (Sep 2023 to Sep 2026): Accelerating consumer and corporate shifts toward electronic payments and digital communications reduced First-Class mail volumes by roughly 50 percent over two decades, driving up the fixed cost per remaining piece of mail across an expanding national delivery network. [pushed prices up] [8] [9]
- Operational, labor, and transportation cost inflation (Sep 2023 to Sep 2026): Rising vehicle operating expenses, carrier compensation, facility expenses, and statutory benefit obligations increased total operational outlays for a self-funded universal delivery service. [pushed prices up] [1] [10]
Supply chain right now
- Collection and retail acceptance (stable): Local post offices and collection boxes maintain fixed operational schedules while digital metering and self-service kiosks manage routine intake. [11] [12]
- Processing and facility automation (moderate): Regional sorting facilities are undergoing network consolidation and technology modernizations to improve package capacity despite falling letter volumes. [13] [14]
- Transportation and logistics (moderate): Fuel and contracted highway transit expenses remain elevated as the Postal Service rationalizes routes to shift long-distance mail from air cargo to surface transport. [14] [15]
- Last-mile delivery (critical): Maintaining six-day delivery to every American address while average pieces delivered per stop continue to decline drives steep per-unit delivery expenses. [5] [9]
Researched 2026-10-18 with Google Search. Every point links to its sources; unsourced claims were removed.
Postage stamps prices, last 12 months
| Month | Change from a year earlier |
|---|---|
| September 2026 | +12.7% |
| August 2026 | +12.7% |
| July 2026 | +13.3% |
| June 2026 | +14.5% |
| May 2026 | +14.5% |
| April 2026 | +9.1% |
| March 2026 | +6.0% |
| February 2026 | +6.0% |
| January 2026 | +5.1% |
| December 2025 | +4.6% |
| November 2025 | +4.6% |
| October 2025 | +4.6% |
| September 2025 | +4.9% |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), series CUUR0000SEEC01.
Sources
- U.S. Postal Service Recommends New Prices for July (about.usps.com)
- When Does the Price of Postage Stamps Go Up? (stamps.com)
- U.S. Postal Service Recommends New Prices for July 2025 - Newsroom - About.usps.com (about.usps.com)
- savethepostoffice.com (savethepostoffice.com)
- System for Regulating Market Dominant Rates and Classifications (federalregister.gov)
- USPS to raise the price of a Forever stamp to 82 cents on Sunday. Here (cbsnews.com)
- USPS to raise stamp prices: Here's what mailing a letter will cost (foxbusiness.com)
- uspsoig.gov (uspsoig.gov)
- thestreet.com (thestreet.com)
- Scott Stamp LLC | Stamp Catalogs, Publications & Digital Tools (linns.com)
- USPS® postage rate change overview | Pitney Bowes (pitneybowes.com)
- USPS.com FAQs (faq.usps.com)
- Stamp prices increase to 78 cents (empower.com)
- U.S. Postal Service Announces Refined Service Standards and Cost Reductions (about.usps.com)
- 2026 USPS Rate and Service Changes (stamps.com)