How Many Homes Can You Reach with EDDM?
Each EDDM carrier route covers roughly 300–600 delivery points. A single ZIP code typically has 10–40 routes, reaching 5,000–20,000 households.
How Many Homes Can EDDM Reach?
The number of homes you can reach with EDDM depends on how many carrier routes you select. Each route covers approximately 300–600 delivery points (households, apartments, and businesses on that route). A single ZIP code typically contains 10–40 routes, giving you access to 5,000–20,000 households per ZIP code.
EDDM Reach by Campaign Type
| Campaign Type | Routes Selected | Est. Households Reached | Typical Business Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test/micro campaign | 3–5 | 1,500–2,500 | New businesses, testing a new offer |
| Neighborhood campaign | 10–20 | 5,000–10,000 | Restaurants, dentists, gyms |
| Multi-ZIP campaign | 30–80 | 15,000–40,000 | Home services, real estate, insurance |
| City-wide campaign | 100–500 | 50,000–250,000 | Franchise brands, political campaigns, large retailers |
| Metro/regional campaign | 500–2,000+ | 250,000–1,000,000+ | National brands, multi-location chains |
How Route Density Varies by Market
- Urban markets (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles) — Dense route coverage with many small routes. A single urban ZIP code can have 40–60+ routes covering 15,000–25,000 households.
- Suburban markets — The most common target for EDDM campaigns. Routes typically cover 400–550 households each, and ZIP codes have 15–30 routes with 7,000–15,000 total households.
- Rural markets — Fewer, larger routes with fewer delivery points. A rural ZIP code may have only 5–15 routes covering 1,500–5,000 households spread over a wider geographic area.
Does EDDM Reach Apartments?
Yes — EDDM delivers to all delivery points on a route, including apartment complexes. Each individual apartment unit is counted as a separate delivery point. If you want to exclude apartment addresses, you can filter for residential routes in the USPS EDDM tool, but this won't exclude all apartments — only routes that are predominantly single-family residential.
EDDM vs. Social Media: Reach Comparison
- Facebook/Instagram ads at $5 CPM: 1,000 impressions per $5 — but impressions can be from outside your service area, and each impression is just a glance at a feed.
- EDDM at $0.25/piece: 1,000 physical mailpieces delivered to verified local addresses for $250 — and each piece arrives in the home, not in a scrollable feed.
For highly local businesses (within a 5-mile radius), EDDM often delivers more qualified reach per dollar than digital channels.
Calculate how many homes your EDDM campaign can reach → | Instant price calculator →
How to Estimate Your EDDM Campaign Reach
Before finalizing your route selection, estimate total reach with this straightforward process:
- Open the USPS EDDM route selection tool and enter your ZIP code or business address. The map displays carrier routes within your area, each color-coded.
- Click each route to view delivery count. Routes show the number of residential, business, and total delivery points. Sum the delivery counts for all routes you plan to mail.
- Multiply by your planned frequency. If you plan to mail 4×/year to 3,500 households, your annual total is 14,000 pieces — which determines your full-year budget.
- Use our calculator for instant pricing. Our cost calculator auto-sums delivery counts across selected routes and shows you total cost for any size and service level combination.
Typical reach for different campaign strategies: single-neighborhood saturation runs 2,000–5,000 homes; city-wide blanketing runs 20,000–100,000+ homes. Most first-time EDDM campaigns start at 3,000–7,500 pieces to test a neighborhood before scaling volume. The USPS EDDM tool displays exact delivery point counts for each route, so your print quantity matches your actual reach precisely. See our route selection guide for step-by-step instructions on picking the right routes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum number of homes I can reach with EDDM?
The EDDM program requires a minimum of 200 pieces per mailing. Most campaigns target at least one full route (300–600 pieces) for practical coverage.
Can I reach every home in a city with EDDM?
Yes — by selecting all carrier routes in a city or metro area, you can achieve 100% saturation coverage. Large campaigns covering entire cities are common for franchise brands and political mailings.
Are business addresses included in the household count?
By default, EDDM delivers to all delivery points — households and businesses. You can filter for residential-only delivery in the USPS route selection tool, which reduces your total count to just residential addresses.
What is the average carrier route size?
The average USPS carrier route contains approximately 400–500 delivery points, though this varies from ~250 in dense urban areas to ~600+ in lower-density suburban areas.
How do I find out exactly how many homes are on a specific route?
The USPS EDDM online tool (eddm.usps.com) shows the exact delivery count for every route in the country. Your full-service EDDM provider can also pull this data for you when you specify your target area.
Can I split a campaign across multiple ZIP codes?
Yes — you can include routes from any number of ZIP codes in a single EDDM campaign. With Full Service, your provider handles delivery to each destination post office across all selected ZIP codes. With Print Only, you'd need to make separate trips to each destination post office.