PROVIDENCE − Rhode Island and Massachusetts, grouped together, have some of the poorest rates of mail delivery in the country.
For the current fiscal year, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which are combined for the United States Postal Service reports on deliveries, ranked in the bottom 10 for two-day delivery standards.
Mail is being delivered on time 84% of the time, compared to the top score, one of California's six districts, where it is being delivered on time 94% of the time.
Conversely, the worst place to get mail on time in two days was Georgia, where it arrived on time 64% of the time.
Mail that should be delivered within three to five days fared even worse:
- 67% of the time mail in Rhode Island and Massachusetts is delivered on time, so far this year.
- That was good enough to stay out of the bottom 10 rankings, which started at a 66% on-time delivery rate.
Providence is home to the regional sorting hub for all of the state and much of southeastern Massachusetts, at its sprawling facility on Corliss Street.
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In May, federal prosecutors charged seven people for a sprawling alleged conspiracy to steal gift cards, cash and checks from mail coming through the sorting facility. On the day one person was arrested, he had a backpack filled with $1.3 million worth of checks.
Pre-pandemic delivery rates
Before the pandemic, Rhode Island was lumped together with parts of western Massachusetts and Connecticut:
- The two-day delivery was on time 94%
- Three to five-day service was on time 94%
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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter
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