Sometimes, several PO Box numbers are grouped into It is also common for each PO Box number to correspond to a unique ZIP+4 code. A ZIP+4 code may correspond to a city block, group of apartments, orĪn individual high-volume receiver. The ZIP+4 code is not required, but it aids the post office in additional sorting of mail. It's easy to follow the gradient across each of the zonesĮven though there are a few exceptions (such as the southwest tip of Georgia which uses 39XXX like central Mississippi). In the map, 0 is closer to white and 9 is much more vivid. Map of the first 3 digits of zip codes, the digits after the first are also The sec centers are not open to the public and usually do most sorting overnight. All mail with the same first 3 digits is first delivered to the same sec center where it is sorted according to the last 2 digits and distributed to The first 3 digits of a ZIP code determine the central mail processing facility, also called sectional center facility or "sec center", that is used to process and They are assigned in order from the north east to the west coast. The map of the first digit of zip codes above shows The first digit of a USA ZIP code generally represents a group of U.S. 22313 for the PO Boxes of Alexandria, VA)
Sorting packages and calculating the time and cost of shipping a package (the shipping rate). Though ZIP codes were originally developedįor USPS, many other shipping companies such as United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), DHL, and others make use of ZIP codes for The additional 4 digits help USPS more precisely group mail for delivery. The basic 5-digit format was first introduced in 1963 and laterĮxtended to add an additional 4 digits after a dash to form a The term ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan. Some still refer to ZIP codes as US postal codes. ZIP codes near me are shown on the map above. The report, entitled “The Untold Story of the ZIP Code”, recommends linking the USPS address database with GIS to create a more efficient ZIP Code system.US ZIP codes are a type of postal code used within the United States to help the United States Postal Service (USPS) route mail more efficiently. With the fiftieth anniversary of the ZIP Code, the Office of the Inspector General at the USPS has release a paper exploring ways to improve the ZIP code. He found that some ZIP codes did adhere to state boundaries and others did not. He connected all the ZIP code point locations in ascending order and color coded the map to see if the ZIP codes adhered to state boundaries. Robert Kosara took this idea a step further and created the US ZIPScribble Map.
#US ZIP CODE DATABASE MANUAL#
Highlighting through the entire set of nine numbers sequentially (1, 2, 3 etc.) provides an interesting manual animation of how the ZIP codes are laid out across the country. For example the number “9” highlights California, Oregon and Washington. If you hold down the shift key and type the first number of the ZIP code, the region of the United States is highlighted. You can type in a ZIP code and the location and name of that location will show up on the map. Ben Fry created an basic application called zipdecode that shows the location of all the ZIP codes in the United States. Some have looked at the numbering scheme used for ZIP Codes. The databases include geographic coordinates. The ZIP Code Database Project offers public domain data based on the 200 census for ZIP Codes in either CSV or MySQL dump format. The downloable 2010 ZIP Code file contains the five digit ZIP code, 2010 Census population and housing counts, and latitude/longitude values. There is a boundary file for the 2000 Census but the 2010 Census data for ZIP Codes is offered as an ASCII file via the Gazetter page. The US Census Bureau offers what is known as ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) which is a shapefile format polygon file of the generalized ZIP Code service areas.
#US ZIP CODE DATABASE FREE#
There are some free sources for downloading ZIP Code data. ZIP Codes may consist of 5, 7, 9, or 11 digits, and may refer to a street section, a collection of streets, an establishment, a structure, or a group of post office boxes. Postal Service to designate a local area or entity for the delivery of mail. Standing for “Zone Improvement Plant”, the Census Bureau defines ZIP code as:Ī Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) Code is the numerical code assigned by the U.S. The city or community that you list is not as important as long as the ZIP code is correct. If you live or frequently send mail to the United States, then you probably understand that one of the most important components of the address is getting the ZIP code correct in order to have your mail successfully arrive at the intended address.