Postal zip numbers

We have found the zip code you are likely in using your general area. To get your exact zipcode please share your location. You can also find the zipcode of any address or point clicked on the map. Searching for a city may not give you a result as there are many zip codes within a city.

If you are in a country other then the United States you will receive the postal code of that location.

In the United States of America a zipcode is five or nine numbers that are added to a postal address to assist the sorting of mail. There are currently about 43, zipcode.

This tool can also find the postal code of many other countries. Typically, a ZIP Code is tied to a post office; by that we mean, every one of the latter has one of the former. You might think of ZIP Codes as a mailing address for a particular post office.

Some do handle more than one ZIP Code, but a one-on-one game plan is the norm. It's very important to note that ZIP Codes aren't "boundaries. They don't follow geographic or administrative boundary lines; they can cross city, county, or even state lines.

They follow where the delivery trucks go. Some ZIP Codes are special cases. Among them are "military" ZIP Codes, which include everything from military bases domestic or otherwise to battleships at sea. Then there are "unique" codes. Businesses and organizations sometimes get their own ZIP Codes, due to the volume of mail they send and receive. These are frequently benefiting from bulk mailing discounts, since the organization usually has a mail department that 1 presorts mail before giving it to the USPS, and 2 distributes mail internally so the USPS doesn't have to.

Using full ZIP Codes ensure the fastest, most accurate mailing possible. They're only provided for an address once the address has been standardized , validated and proven real. These codes indicate a specific delivery route , meaning the actual path the mail truck would travel in a single drop-off. Usually this comprises ten to twenty homes or locations. ZIP codes rarely do because that would require two postal workers delivering mail to that street - one for each side of the street.

In the example, one mail carrier may deliver to 3 sides of the block via one ZIP code while another mail carrier delivers mail on the other street in a different ZIP code.

When this happens, the Census Bureau will assign the entire block to a single ZCTA in this case, because the census block is the area that is precisely measured. If you are getting very precise usually a matter of meters, not miles , census block boundaries near the edge of a ZIP code almost always split ZIP codes. The statistics provided by the Census Bureau can give insight into the demographics within the ZIP code.

For instance, see our ZIP code rankings. Remember that ZIP codes were made to make mail delivery easier. They weren't made to correspond to existing boundaries such as cities, counties, or even states. If it is more efficient for a mail carrier to drive across a state line to deliver mail, the ZIP code "boundary" will cross the state lines. ZIP codes don't usually cross state lines, but some do , , and are good examples. The edges of the boundaries commonly overlap.

For the purposes of our free zip code database by county downloads, we will commonly list either the most common region for the ZIP code or list multiple regions if several exist in the ZIP code. For cities, the assignment is somewhat more complicated. The assignment of cities to ZIP codes is more general. The city is usually the name of the main post office. For instance, almost all ZIP codes in St. Louis County in Missouri have a city of Saint Louis when they may be more accurately described as the name of a smaller city where they are located.

Click here to learn more about matching ZIPs to cities and counties.