These 10 Postal Price Hikes Start Next Week

Some letters and packages soon will be more expensive to mail.

Starting on Jan. 24, rates are increasing for 10 types of deliveries the U.S. Postal Service makes.

Let’s start with some good news, though. The price of mailing a 1-ounce letter with a first-class Forever stamp is not budging, at least for now. That will remain 55 cents.

Many other services will become more expensive, however. Following are the new rates for mail services, with the old 2020 rate in parentheses.

• Letters weighing more than 1 ounce — 20 cents per additional ounce (up from 15 cents in 2020)
• Metered 1-ounce letters — 51 cents (50 cents)
• Domestic postcards — 36 cents (35 cents)

Following are the new rates for Priority Mail shipping services.

• Small flat-rate box — $8.45 ($8.30)
• Medium flat-rate box — $15.50 ($15.05)
• Large flat-rate box — $21.90 ($21.10)
• APO/FPO large flat-rate box — $20.40 ($19.60)
• Regular flat-rate envelope — $7.95 ($7.75)
• Legal flat-rate envelope — $8.25 ($8.05)
• Padded flat-rate envelope — $8.55 ($8.40)

Overall, the proposed price increases are approximately 1.8% for first-class mail products and 1.5% for other mailing services product categories.

Meanwhile, the cost of Priority Mail service is rising by about 3.5% overall, while the cost of Priority Mail Express service is ticking up 1.2%.

You can view all USPS prices on the organization’s Jan. 24 price list.

While some mail is most welcome — such as a note from a loved one or a check — other mail is less likely to leave you warm and fuzzy. If you want to stop unwelcome mail, check out “5 Ways to Put an End to Junk Mail.”