Number of Stamped Cards and Postcards Sent via First-Class Mail Since 1926
(totals are unavailable for prior years)
| Fiscal Year |
Stamped Cards |
Postcards |
Presorted Postcards |
|---|---|---|---|
1926 |
1,323,000,000 |
206,000,000 |
|
1927 |
1,422,000,000 |
184,000,000 |
|
1928 |
1,507,000,000 |
172,000,000 |
|
1929 |
1,417,000,000 |
283,000,000 |
|
1930 |
1,325,000,000 |
298,000,000 |
|
1931 |
1,322,000,000 |
278,000,000 |
|
1932 |
1,188,000,000 |
260,000,000 |
|
1933 |
1,200,000,000 |
253,000,000 |
|
1934 |
1,328,000,000 |
309,000,000 |
|
1935 |
1,495,000,000 |
295,000,000 |
|
1936 |
1,622,000,000 |
367,000,000 |
|
1937 |
1,736,000,000 |
448,000,000 |
|
1938 |
1,877,000,000 |
468,000,000 |
|
1939 |
1,887,000,000 |
464,000,000 |
|
1940 |
1,953,000,000 |
525,000,000 |
|
1941 |
2,107,000,000 |
633,000,000 |
|
1942 |
2,083,000,000 |
595,000,000 |
|
1943 |
-- |
-- |
|
1944 |
1,895,000,000 |
614,000,000 |
|
1945 |
2,093,000,000 |
612,000,000 |
|
1946 |
2,304,000,000 |
685,000,000 |
|
1947 |
2,620,000,000 |
713,000,000 |
|
1948 |
2,828,000,000 |
773,000,000 |
|
1949 |
3,187,000,000 |
866,000,000 |
|
1950 |
3,438,000,000 |
976,000,000 |
|
1951 |
3,434,000,000 |
1,073,000,000 |
|
1952 |
2,898,000,000 |
1,148,000,000 |
|
1953 |
2,206,000,000 |
1,176,000,000 |
|
1954 |
2,077,000,000 |
1,177,000,000 |
|
1955 |
2,120,000,000 |
1,163,000,000 |
|
1956 |
2,049,000,000 |
1,229,000,000 |
|
1957 |
2,080,000,000 |
1,195,000,000 |
|
1958 |
2,101,000,000 |
1,135,000,000 |
|
1959 |
1,746,000,000 |
1,145,000,000 |
|
1960 |
1,502,000,000 |
1,140,000,000 |
|
1961 |
1,356,000,000 |
1,114,000,000 |
|
1962 |
1,324,000,000 |
1,172,000,000 |
|
1963 |
1,307,000,000 |
1,225,000,000 |
|
1964 |
1,226,000,000 |
1,382,000,000 |
|
1965 |
1,095,000,000 |
1,284,000,000 |
|
1966 |
1,058,000,000 |
1,225,000,000 |
|
1967 |
1,078,184,000 |
1,500,514,000 |
|
1968 |
867,491,000 |
1,494,144,000 |
|
1969 |
801,730,000 |
1,589,858,000 |
|
1970 |
798,483,000 |
1,569,263,000 |
|
1971 |
714,304,000 |
1,709,006,000 |
|
1972 |
572,192,000 |
1,646,070,000 |
|
1973 |
605,633,000 |
1,646,825,000 |
|
1974 |
565,994,000 |
1,728,145,000 |
|
1975 |
488,367,000 |
1,627,228,000 |
|
1976 |
495,346,000 |
1,645,133,000 |
|
1977 |
392,390,000 |
1,562,961,000 |
393,581,000 |
1978 |
343,133,000 |
1,525,744,000 |
507,684,000 |
1979 |
333,055,000 |
1,589,868,000 |
397,433,000 |
1980 |
334,384,000 |
1,488,934,000 |
559,131,000 |
1981 |
296,851,000 |
1,563,640,000 |
595,306,000 |
1982 |
348,924,000 |
1,601,073,000 |
568,549,000 |
1983 |
483,440,000 |
1,656,390,000 |
696,777,000 |
1984 |
340,442,000 |
1,799,817,000 |
710,485,000 |
1985 |
347,819,000 |
2,007,984,000 |
607,430,000 |
1986 |
353,710,000 |
2,024,326,000 |
811,496,000 |
1987 |
372,667,000 |
2,119,152,000 |
838,278,000 |
1988 |
506,467,000 |
2,578,765,000 |
1,086,563,000 |
1989 |
539,415,000 |
2,434,535,000 |
1,231,611,000 |
1990 |
482,812,000 |
2,824,264,000 |
1,590,187,000 |
1991 |
497,081,000 |
2,560,724,000 |
2,070,419,000 |
1992 |
609,834,000 |
2,506,719,000 |
1,469,650,000 |
1993 |
535,208,000 |
2,378,412,000 |
1,401,376,000 |
1994 |
437,908,000 |
2,561,614,000 |
1,768,583,000 |
1995 |
440,529,000 |
2,576,651,000 |
1,934,292,000 |
1996 |
454,006,000 |
2,598,099,000 |
1,956,017,000 |
| Fiscal Year |
Stamped Cards and Postcards |
Presorted Postcards |
|---|---|---|
1997 |
3,003,755,000 |
2,353,333,000 |
1998 |
2,971,751,000 |
2,555,124,000 |
1999 |
2,850,770,000 |
2,442,946,000 |
2000 |
2,719,298,000 |
2,761,407,000 |
2001 |
2,653,454,000 |
2,842,078,000 |
2002 |
2,669,202,000 |
2,798,088,000 |
2003 |
2,551,592,000 |
2,661,507,000 |
2004 |
2,525,931,000 |
2,904,901,000 |
2005 |
2,521,714,000 |
3,107,701,000 |
2006 |
2,295,825,000 |
3,386,571,000 |
2007 |
2,141,488,000 |
3,656,291,000 |
2008 |
1,845,860,000 |
3,555,997,000 |
2009 |
1,616,231,000 |
2,944,297,000 |
2010 |
1,447,435,000 |
2,931,565,000 |
2011 |
1,312,911,000 |
2,752,430,000 |
2012 |
1,157,309,000 |
2,588,140,000 |
2013 |
1,049,318,000 |
2,419,290,000 |
2014 |
923,418,000 |
2,198,318,000 |
2015 |
854,796,000 |
2,169,537,000 |
2016 |
796,372,000 |
2,197,374,000 |
2017 |
674,676,000 |
2,125,273,000 |
2018 |
631,737,000 |
2,074,704,000 |
2019 |
563,195,000 | 1,923,399,000 |
2020 |
486,071,000 | 2,079,692,000 |
2021 |
434,530,000 | 2,277,695,000 |
2022 |
414,102,000 | 2,822,236,000 |
2023 |
368,629,000 | 2,437,327,000 |
Note:
Postal Service-issued stamped cards were called “postal cards” prior to 1999; postcards are privately printed mailing cards. Presorted postcards mailed in bulk have been counted separately since 1977. Since 1997, stamped cards and postcards sent individually by mailers have been counted together as “single-piece cards.” Numbers for some years were revised in later years; the most recent figures are shown.
HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
FEBRUARY 2024