U.S. Postal Rates Historical Chart

Postage Rates

U.S. Postal Rates Historical Chart

Here is a table showing how the cost to mail a letter in the United States has grown over the years.

This chart lists every standard postage stamp increase for the past century. The cents-per-decade column has been added for clarity, to show the acceleration of postage stamp prices in recent decades.

US Postal Rates Over Time - Historical Cost to Mail A Letter
	Year	Postal Rate/ Postage Stamp Denomination	Increase in Cents	Cents Increase per Decade
One-half Ounce Rates
Up to 3,000 miles per 1/2 oz.	1855	3 ¢
Over 3,000 miles per 1/2 oz.	1855	10 ¢
Drop letters	1855	1 ¢
All U.S., per 1/2 oz.	1863	3 ¢
One Ounce Rates
All U.S., per 1 oz.	1885	2 ¢	-1	-1¢
	1890's			0¢
	1900's			0¢
(W.W.1 Emergency increase)	1917	3 ¢	1	0¢
(restoration of pre-war rate)	1919	2 ¢	-1	0¢
All U.S., 1st oz.	1920's			0¢
	1932	3 ¢	1	1¢
	1940's			0¢
	1958	4 ¢	1	1¢
	1963	5 ¢	1	2¢
	1968	6 ¢	1	2¢
	1971	8 ¢	2	9¢
	1974	10 ¢	2
	1975	13 ¢	3
	1978	15 ¢	2
	1981	18 ¢	3	10¢
	1981	20 ¢	2
	1985	22 ¢	2
	1988	25 ¢	3
	1991	29 ¢	4	8¢
	1995	32 ¢	3
	1999	33 ¢	1
	2000	34 ¢	1	11¢
	2002	37¢	3
	Jan. 7, 2006	39¢	2
	May 14, 2007	41¢	2
	May 12, 2008	42¢	1
	May 11, 2009	44¢	2
	-
The "forever stamp" went on sale on April 12, 2007, at 41 cents each. These stamps can be used forever, and will still be good to mail a first-class letter in the future, even though the rates go up. You can still buy "forever stamps", but they will now cost you 44 cents each. There you have it.

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This Vaughns U.S. Postal Rates History Chart webpage was last updated on 2009-05-14.