In response to the ongoing concern about postal services in rural areas, the OIG has published a series of reports on this topic.
We found rural postal customers value and have a greater interest in using the mail compared to urban customers. The relative size of rural areas is important.
Rural areas are geographically dispersed across the country and comprise 88 percent of the area served by the Postal Service. While people living in rural areas account for only 16 percent of the United State’s population, 57 percent of post offices are in rural areas.
Source: The Importance of the Postal Service in Rural Areas | Office of Inspector General OIG
