ZIP Code Database

What is a ZIP code database and for what purposes are they used?

A ZIP Code Database is an organized collection of records related to zip code data. Common fields included in a ZIP code database are the ZIP code, city, state, county, latitude, longitude, area codes, and time zones. ZIP+4 databases will include much more information, such as street addresses. ZIP code databases should be updated regularly, as the USPS updates its databases monthly.

Companies and organizations use a ZIP code database for many purposes. Some companies will use them to create a store/vendor finder on their company website. For this purpose a ZIP code database would need to include latitude and longitude coordinates to be effective.

ZIP code databases are also used to organize information for research purposes. In this case, organization might use a ZIP code database that includes MSA or CBSA codes, which are codes that group ZIP codes for statistical analysis. In other cases, the ZIP code database will include demographics, such as population, that assist researcher. Usually this information will be taken from census reports.

At time of publication, there are about 43,000 ZIP codes in the United States. The USPS adds and removes ZIP codes from its ZIP code database on a regular basis, so companies looking to purchase ZIP code data should look for a database that has been updated within the last 30 days.

ZIP code databases can be downloaded in many different formats. ZIP code download has databases available in Excel (.xls), Access (.mdb), comma-separated vales (.csv), tab-delimited format, (.txt), and fixed-width format (.txt). These databases can easily be imported into any type of database, such as a SQL database, for custom use.