Zip Code Database Field Definitions

ZIP Code

5 digit zip code as designated by the United States Postal Service.

U.S. Territories are also included in our data. (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, etc.)

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City

City name as designated by the United States Postal Service.

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Area Code

Telephone area code(s) of the particular postal zone (zip code).

Sorting by this field will give you all the data grouped by area code.

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State Code

U.S. two digit state code.

Sort on this field to get all your data grouped by state.

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State Name

The full U.S. state name.

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City Alias

The alias name for the ZIP Code. This may be a city name, postal entity, community or a municipality name.

The city alias names are the reason why our database has approximately 78,000+ records. There are only about 43,000 U.S. zip codes, but since we list each city alias within a zip code, we end up with almost double the number of records.

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City Alias Abbreviation

Abbreviation of city alias where applicable.

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City Type

Describes the type of postal station in the "City Alias" field:

A Branch or post office branch is a postal facility that is not the main post office and that is outside the corporate limits of the community.

A Community Post Office (CPO) is a contract postal unit providing services in a small community in which other types of post office facilities have been discontinued.

A Area Distribution Center (ASC) or processing and distribution facility (formerly known as a General Mail Facility) is a central mail facility that processes and dispatches incoming and outgoing mail to and from a designated service area.

A Sectional Center Facility (SCF) is a ASC for a designated geographical area defined by one or more three-digit ZIP code prefixes.

A Post Office, formerly known as a general post office or main post office, is the primary postal facility in a community.

A Station or post office station is a postal facility that is not the main post office, but that is within the corporate limits of the community.

An Urbanization is a facility type specific to Puerto Rico.

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County

County or parish where the ZIP Code resides.

As with any of our data fields, you can sort the data by this field and the result will be data grouped by county.

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Latitude

The geographic coordinate of a point measured in degrees north or south of the equator.

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Longitude

The geographic coordinate of a point measured in degrees east or west of the Greenwich (prime) meridian.

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Elevation

The county's average elevation.

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Time Zone

Time zone designation within the U.S. - the numbers 4-11 are assigned to the time zones.

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Daylight Savings

Flag indicating whether a zip code is on daylight savings.

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Population

The population of the ZIP Code based on Census 2000.

The population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Households per ZIP Code

Total estimated amount of households per ZIP Code based on Census 2000.

The households per zip numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Persons per Household

Average number of individuals per household.

The average number of individuals per household are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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White Population

The estimate of White population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The white population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Black Population

The estimate of Black population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The black population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Hispanic Population

The estimate of Hispanic population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The hispanic population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Asian Population

The estimate of Asian population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The Asian population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Population

The estimate of Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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American Indian and Alaska Native Population

The estimate of American Indian and Alaska Native population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The American Indian and Alaska Native population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Other Population

The estimate population for all other races per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The other race population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Male Population

The estimate of Male population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The Male population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Female Population

The estimate of Female population per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The Female population numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Median Age

The Median Age for all people per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The median age numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Male Median Age

The Median Age for all Males per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The median age numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Female Median Age

The Median Age for all Females per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

The median age numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Income Per Household

The average household income per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

Sort by this field to get all the top household incomes by zip code.

The average household income numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Average House Value

The average house value per ZIP code based on Census 2000.

Sort by this field to get the top house values by zip code.

The average house value numbers are not projected to the future, they are actual Census 2000 numbers.

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Primary Record

This column indicates the "primary" city name within a given zip code, as designated by the U.S. Postal Service.

If you want to get only the "unique" U.S. zip codes, sort the data by this field. Your results will be all (approx.) 43,000 unique zip codes and all will be designated with a "p".

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County FIPS

Federal Information Processing Standards code given to counties or parishes.

This code simply identifies each U.S. county by its unique 3 digit code.

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State FIPS

Federal Information Processing Standards code given to each state or US territory.

This code simply identifies each U.S. state or territory by its unique 2 digit code.

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MSA

Metropolitan Statistical Area. (no longer used by government - CBSA is the new standard)

MSA's were replaced by CBSA's in the 90's. We keep the old MSA's in our database because some of our older customers have mapped their data by this information and it makes it easier for them if we leave the data in the database.

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MSA Name

Metropolitan Statistical Area Description Name.

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PMSA

Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area.

This is the area that the Census Bureau designates as the "primary" area within a given MSA.

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CSA

Core Statistical Area.

This area is a group of MSA's combined into a population core area.

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CBSA

Core Based Statistical Area (replaces old MSA's).

A Core Based Statistical Area is the official term for a functional region based around an urban center of at least 10,000 people, based on standards published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2000. These standards are used to replace the definitions of metropolitan areas that were defined in 1990.

A CBSA is broken into two sub categories, Metro and Micro, and are detailed in the CBSA Type Field. These are defined by their population densities. To be considered a Micro area, population must be between 10,000 and 50,000. To be considered a Metro area, population must exceed 50,000.

You can read more on CBSA's here.

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CBSA Name

The name of the Core Based Statistical Area.

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CBSA Division

Core Based Statistical Area Division number.

A metropolitan statistical area containing an urbanized area of at least 2.5 million people can be subdivided into two or more "metropolitan divisions," provided specified criteria are met. Metropolitan divisions are conceptually similar the primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs) defined under previous standards.

This field gives the sub-divided region number.

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CBSA Division Name

Core Based Statistical Area Division Name.

A name of the CBSA Disvision.

This field gives the CBSA's sub-divided region name if it exists.

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CBSA Type (Metro/Micro)

Indication of whether a CBSA is Metro (over 50,000 population) or Micro (10,000 - 50,000 population).

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Census Region

Census Division: A geographic area consisting of several States defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The States are grouped into four regions and nine divisions. See also: Division

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Census Division

Census Division: A geographic area consisting of several States defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The States are grouped into four regions and nine divisions. See also: Region

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Mailing Name

Yes or No (Y/N) flag indicating whether or not the USPS accepts this City Alias Name for mailing purposes.

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Total Number of Establishments

The total number of Business Establishments for this ZIP Code. Data taken from Business Census 2003.

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Total Employment

The total number of employees for this ZIP Code. Data taken from Business Census 2003.

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Total First Quarter Payroll

The total payroll for the frist quarter this ZIP Code. Data taken from Business Census 2003.

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Total Annual Payroll

The total annual payroll for this ZIP Code. Data taken from Business Census 2003.

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Employment Flag

Due to confidentiality, some areas do not have actual figures for employment information. Employment and payroll data are replaced by zeroes with the Employment Flag denoting employment size class.

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Top County Growth Rank

The rank in which this county is growing according to the US Census. Source: Housing Unit Estimates for the 100 Fastest Growing U.S. Counties between July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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2003 Housing Units Estimate

The estimated number of housing units in this county as of July 1, 2003. Source: Housing Unit Estimates for the 100 Fastest Growing U.S. Counties between July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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2004 Housing Units Estimate

The estimated number of housing units in this county as of July 1, 2004. Source: Housing Unit Estimates for the 100 Fastest Growing U.S. Counties between July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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Growth Number

The change in housing units from 2003 to 2004, expressed as a number. Source: Housing Unit Estimates for the 100 Fastest Growing U.S. Counties between July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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Growth Percentage

The change in housing units from 2003 to 2004, expressed as a percentage. Source: Housing Unit Estimates for the 100 Fastest Growing U.S. Counties between July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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2003 Estimated CBSA Population

The estimated population for the selected CBSA in 2003. Source: Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 (CBSA-EST2003-01). Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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2003 Estimated CBSA Division Population

The estimated population for the selected CBSA Divison in 2003. Source: Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003 (CBSA-EST2003-01). Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

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110th Congressional District

The 110th Congressional District comes from the Census 2000 for congressional districts of the 110th Congress. Congressional district boundaries in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Texas changed after the 108th Congress was seated in January of 2003. These changes occurred for the 110th Congress that was seated in January of 2007. This field shows which districts the ZIP Code belongs to.

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110th Congressional Land Area

This field provies the approximate land area covered by the District for which the ZIP Code belongs to.

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# Residential Mailboxes

The number of active residential delivery mailboxes and centralized units for this ZIP Code. This excludes PO Boxes and all other contract box types.

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# Business Mailboxes

The number of active business delivery mailboxes and centralized units for this ZIP Code. This excludes PO Boxes and all other contract box types.

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Total Delivery Receptacles

The total number of delivery receptacles for this ZIP Code. This includes curb side mailboxes, centralized units, PO Boxes, NDCBU, and contract boxes. This count is for Residential and Business combined.

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Preferred Last Line Key

Links this record with other products ZIP-Codes.com offers such as the ZIP+4.

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Classification Code

The classification type of this ZIP Code.

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Multi County Flag

Flag indicating whether this ZIP Code crosses county lines.

IMPORTANT: This does not show which counties this ZIP Code covers, it is simply a flag that indicates whether the zip code falls into more than one county. If you need the actual counties that a particular zip code falls into, you need to purchase the Business version of our database.

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* Multiple County Data in the Business Database

The Zip-Codes.com Business ZIP Code Database now comes with Multi-County Data. ZIP Codes are assigned by the US Postal Service and as such, do not follow State, County, or even City boundaries. Many ZIP Codes even cross county borders (about 25%). With the Business Database, you can now know every county a ZIP Code covers.

The data is provided in a separate file (or separate table for our Access MDB users). This secondary file/table gives you every ZIP Code, as well as the State and County information that it falls into. Each ZIP Code that falls into more than one State/County will be listed in this table for each State and County it covers.

In addition to this, we have added a "Multi County Flag" column in all versions of our ZIP Code Database. This column will give a "Y" indicating flag letting you know this ZIP Code is located in more than one county making it even easier to use.

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Current Population Estimate - Exclusively from Zip-Codes.com

This field gives the estimated household population for this ZIP Code for July, 2008. The estimate is derived from known delivery information, household occupancy rates, household size, and more to come up with an accurate estimation for the current population.

IMPORTANT: This data does not inlcude population counts for persons in nursing homes, correctional facilities, or other institutions. This is an estimation of the household population based on US Postal Service delivery information.

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Land & Water Area

Two fields that show the approximate amount of land area and water area covered by this ZIP Code in Square Miles.

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