The geographic center of the lower 48 sits in Kansas, and the pricing shows it: nearly symmetric from both coasts, with the ground tiers packed close.
Two coasts, one box, one day: 2026-07-27. The symmetry in these tables is real, not rounded.
Wichita's tables come from one repeated experiment: a 12 × 10 × 6 in, 5 lb box of household goods, quoted live through the SMKlog calculator from Newark, then from Los Angeles. Below, the results with nothing changed. The printed rate is the full checkout amount and SMKlog's charge is inside it.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Quoted transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $15.12 | 4-5 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $15.49 | 5 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $15.67 | 3-4 business days |
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $16.22 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | 2nd Day Air | $23.99 | 2-3 business days |
| Carrier | Service | Price | Quoted transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $15.12 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $15.49 | 6 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $15.67 | 6-7 business days |
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $16.22 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | 2nd Day Air | $23.99 | 2-3 business days |
Kansas produced the page's oddity on 2026-07-27: an identical $15.12 USPS Ground Advantage floor from both Newark and Los Angeles, mid-country symmetry in action. Wichita and the Kansas City metro quote alike from far origins. Symmetry won't protect the numbers from time, though; carriers refile rates continually, so the table is a snapshot and your live quote is the fact.
Kansas sits near the middle of the zone map from either coast, and this page catches both origins landing in the same band: $15.12 twice. Zone position, not carrier preference, is what did that. Your origin shifts the band and the bill.
SMKlog can attach shipping protection to any label. The sober test: what would replacement cost, and how much would you mind. High on either count, add it; low on both, the standard label already fits the risk.
The carrier doesn't care that the box once held something else, only that old barcodes are hidden and the walls are solid. Care about the size yourself: every extra inch of box is potential billable volume once dimensional pricing wakes up.
Our benchmark landed on the same figure from both coasts, unusually: $15.12 via USPS Ground Advantage from Newark and from Los Angeles alike, quoted 2026-07-27 for a 12 × 10 × 6 in, 5 lb box, SMKlog's charge included. Your parcel and ZIPs will break the tie one way or another; quote live.
From Newark on 2026-07-27: 3-4 business days on UPS Ground, 4-5 on Ground Advantage, 2-3 on 2nd Day Air. From Los Angeles most tiers quoted 6-7 with 2nd Day Air again at 2-3. Row-by-row windows are in the tables, exactly as the carriers stated them.
USPS Ground Advantage, both directions, both at $15.12 on quote day, with UPS Ground Saver next at $15.49. A near-tie like that is one rate filing from flipping, which is exactly why the buy-day comparison matters more than this table.
No signup anywhere in the flow. Describe or measure, compare live rates, pay as a guest, print a label that already has its tracking number.