Your Survival Guy can’t help but order from Amazon simply because of how easy it is, and when I’m in hard-to-reach places like Key West, FL, or Bartlett, NH, it never ceases to amaze me how fast stuff arrives, maybe not in an hour or two like in Boston, and a little longer than most places, but surprisingly fast nonetheless. Amazon is expanding its reach into rural America to deliver faster in areas where shopping isn’t so easy. Amazon’s Udit Madan announced the effort in April 2025, writing:
One of the Prime benefits that members love most is unlimited fast, free delivery. Over the past couple of years, we’ve innovated to deliver record-breaking delivery speeds to Prime members across a wide selection of products, and we now offer more than 300 million items with free Prime shipping (up from one million when the program launched in 2005).
Our logistics network is at the center of making this incredible convenience available to customers. One area where we’ve continued to innovate to provide the best customer experience possible is in our “last mile” network, which coordinates final deliveries to customers. This network is made up of delivery stations located close to customers, where packages are prepared for delivery, and programs that partner with individuals and small businesses who deliver packages on behalf of Amazon. This includes the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program, which empowers small business entrepreneurs to grow thriving delivery companies; Amazon Flex, which offers individuals the opportunity to earn extra money delivering Amazon packages in their own vehicles; and Hub Delivery, which partners with small businesses, like a local flower shop, to deliver packages in their communities. These programs have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and driving opportunities for people of all backgrounds. For example, the DSP program has empowered 2,600 U.S. business owners to build their businesses across the U.S., creating 210,000 U.S. driving jobs, and generating nearly $50 billion in revenue for their companies. By having these programs and operating our own delivery network, we’ve been able to provide deliveries seven days a week and get packages to customers even faster.
Today, I’m excited to share that we’re investing over $4 billion to expand our rural delivery network, with a focus on small towns across the United States, to bring even faster delivery to our many millions of customers in less densely populated areas. At a time where many logistics providers are backing away from serving rural customers because of cost to serve, we are stepping up our investment to make their lives easier and better. This investment will also grow our rural delivery network’s footprint to over 200 delivery stations, and we estimate it will create over 100,000 new jobs and driving opportunities through a wide range of full-time, part-time and flexible positions in our buildings and on the roads. Once this expansion is complete, our network will be able to deliver over a billion more packages each year to customers living in over 13,000 zip codes spanning 1,200,000 square miles—an area the size of Alaska, California, and Texas combined.
Now Amazon’s rural efforts are taking shape. The Wall Street Journal’s Sean McLain details the differences in Conner, Montana, as an example, writing:
Before Amazon built the 70,000-square-foot warehouse on the Missoula outskirts in 2024, the roughly 200 residents of Conner and the rest of the Bitterroot Valley near the Idaho border waited up to a week for orders.
Today, they can get many items delivered within two days. Unlike many of Amazon’s rural hubs, the Missoula facility also keeps hundreds of items in stock for same-day delivery, such as diapers, dog food and cinnamon roll-flavored protein bread rolls.
Action Line: How fast can Amazon get things to your rural location? Let me know by emailing me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com. And click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.