This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A lot of Utahns are perfectly happy to bypass the post office when they want to buy stamps or take other steps to use the mail.

Almost 64 percent of all postal retail sales in the Salt Lake District of the Postal Service now take place other than a post office retail counter, according to the U.S. Postal Service. The Salt Lake District includes all of Utah and southern Idaho.

The percentage puts the district at No. 1 in the U.S., ahead of Santa Ana, Calif.; Los Angeles; the Triboro district of New York City; and Portland, Ore., which round out the top five postal districts in the country. The Salt Lake District is also 23 percentage points above the U.S. average.

Customers are buying stamps where they buy groceries and shipping packages from their homes or offices, using usps.com.

"It shows just how progressive and savvy customers in this area are when it comes to using our products and services," district manager Ken McArthur said.

Excluding the 196 post offices and 67 contract postal locations in Utah, there are 511 places in the state to buy stamps, including grocery stores, banks, office supply stores and big-box retailers like Walmart and Costco.