Stockton dog attacks on mail carriers among highest in U.S. Here’s the list

Dogs may be best friends for many, but not necessarily for on-the-job mail carriers.

The most recent data from the U.S. Postal Service shows California is the No. 1 state in the U.S. for dog-biting incidents.

And Stockton is among the six cities in California on the list.

The 2024 study ranks the top 20 cities with the highest number of dog attacks against mail carriers. Because many locations are tied, there are 38 cities on the list. Stockton is tied with Oakland for 18th place, each with 18 bites recorded last year.

Los Angeles had the most bites or attacks — 77 — in 2024, the Postal Service reported. And while Stockton and Oakland had far fewer recorded bites than that, the dogs in those two cities were involved in more attacks against mail carriers than in other more populous cities, such as Miami, Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City.

The Postal Service says it published the list as part of a monthlong campaign to urge dog owners to make sure their pets don’t try to take a nip out of a mail carrier.

“All dogs — regardless of breed, size or age — have the potential to bite,” Leeann Theriault, USPS’ employee safety and health awareness manager, said in a statement. “Dog bite attacks on postal employees are preventable.”

Theriault said the best way to prevent bites is to make sure a dog is secured at the time of day when the mail is being delivered. Responsible pet owners should also teach their dogs to obey, exhibit proper behavior and not roam freely where they could potentially bite someone, postal officials say.

Here’s the ranked list of cities from the Postal Service and the number of dog bites reported in each in 2024.