Talk:List of ZIP Codes in the United States

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This article is silly. Why reproduce a huge book published by the postal service? We also seem to be missing about 35 states.RickK 06:17, 4 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Shouldn't this be moved to ZIP codes? It stands for "Zone Improvement Plan" so I would think all three letters should be capitalized in the title.Ark30inf 17:22, 4 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Yes. Also, it should really match the USPS usage and be "List of ZIP Codes in the United States". Unfortunately the error seems to be repeated throughout Wikipedia, and A) If I started changing it everywhere, people might complain, and B) I don't feel like putting in the time to change every instance. Niteowlneils 23:18, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC)
While B) is indeed a problem, A) is not. This is wiki. If you do the changes to the better, nobody is supposed to complain. --Ezhiki 01:23, Apr 25, 2004 (UTC)
I guess you're right. I just tried to hit "List of ZIP Codes in the United States" and ended up on the Google/Yahoo Search WP page. I should at least move this article before someone puts a redir there. (and there aren't many double-redirs that I'll have to fix) Niteowlneils 01:30, 25 Apr 2004 (UTC)

It may not be productive to keep the strict range ordering. For instance, Maryland ZIP codes occupy the range 20600-21999, but you've got Virginia down as occupying all of 20000-24699 when in fact it should be split. Why not list the states alphabetically and the range(s) they occupy next to them?

It appears that the suggestion to list the states alphabetically and the range(s) they occupy next to them was taken. It also seems that as a consequence there no longer is an overlap between Maryland and Virginia. 18.18.3.16 23:29, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I note that the description of the ranges for Virginia reads "20100-20199 and 22000-24699 ranges, also some taken from 20000-20099 DC range". However, I don't see any Virginia zip codes in the 20000-20099 (DC) range. Can someone clarify? 18.18.3.16 23:29, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Also, is this supposed to cover only deliverable ZIPs (places that you can actually mail something to) or do you want to include the "internal" ZIPs that identify different mail centers? --Rpresser 01:21, 2004 Aug 27 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Towns without ZIP Codes

I'm just curious, if a town does not have a zip code registered with USPS, how do they know what town to deliver it to?

Such towns are usually assigned to a post office in a different town. Such ZIPs are considered shared and have multiple town names assigned to them (so-called "alternative" town names). E.g., ZIP code 50060 is assigned to Corydon, Iowa, but you can also send mail to Sewal, which has the same ZIP.—Ëzhiki (erinaceus europeaus) 18:00, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)
Is that where the Zip+4 helps? Because if you go onto USPS.com and look up a Zip Code, not every town has one (not even a shared one). For example, Iona, TX does not have an assigned zip code. Benbrook and Aledo are the nearest towns with zip codes registered by USPS. I just wonder what happens in instances like that (e.g. if I want to send something to Iona). Do you write down the town's name anyways, even though no Zip Code applies?
Hmm, interesting example. I honestly do not know, but I'll try to dig something up. ZIP+4 would be of no help here, since there is no regular ZIP in the first place. The "+4" part only shows the range of addresses within a ZIP.
I would think that Iona residents (as well as the residents of other ZIPless towns) probably have to use PO Boxes through the post offices located in neighboring communities (and use the ZIP codes assigned to those communities). I'll still have to check if this is the only way for them to receive mail.—Ëzhiki (erinaceus europeaus) 21:23, Jan 21, 2005 (UTC)
There are many US towns that are not assigned their own zip code yet still get carrier mail delivery service. For example, Haddon Township, NJ, is definitely a suburban town, of approximately the same size as its neighboring towns Haddonfield and Collingswood. Mail destined for Haddon Township gets the 08108 ZIP code which is used for Collingswood.
Official USPS databases have a column which assigns an official last line name to each ZIP+4 segment. Rpresser 18:06, July 19, 2005 (UTC)
That's a perfect example of where all the towns you mentioned (and a couple more) are listed under that particular zip code in the USPS database. It seems to me that PO boxes are the the most likely answer where a town is not listed in the USPS database for a given zip code.
All right, so where is Iona, TX? I can't find any evidence of it on the web at all. Not even in phone directories. Or can you give a different example? --Rpresser 13:18, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
It's a tiny little place south of Fort Worth. Who knows, it may be abandoned. Another example I can give is Webb City, Arkansas. It's a small town near Ozark. It is not listed in the USPS database. I would assume they get their mail via PO Boxes in Ozark (ZIP 72949), or perhaps as part of a Census Designated Place.

[edit] VfD result

This page was voted on for deletion at Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/List of ZIP Codes in the United States. The final result was Keep. --Deathphoenix 04:52, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

See also the much older discussion at Wikipedia talk:Do lists of postal codes belong on Wikipedia? which failed to reach a clear concensus. Rossami (talk) 20:21, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Complete list?

Does anyone have a complete list available for download? It seems that all of the lists are only available for-pay, or with an encrypted/passworded .ZIP file. This really surprises me since a database cannot be copyrighted. Thanks. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 15:11, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I have a (slightly outdated) database for Iowa (which I used to compile the List of ZIP codes in Iowa article), which I am willing to share if you have any use for it. I've ran into same difficulties finding databases for other states. It looks that while the actual database cannot be copyrighted, the products that contain such a database can be, and the product does not have to offer open access to an underlying database. Plus, the ZIP codes are amended by the USPS on a regular basis, so whatever database you can lay your hands on will be obsolete in about six months or so. That's why they sell subscriptions. Still, it surprises me a great deal, too, that a fairly fresh database is not available anywhere.—Ëzhiki (erinaceus amurensis) 18:00, Jun 1, 2005 (UTC)
I have thought of starting an open-source website for this purpose, all user-generated content. The first question is, where do these commercial software programs get their data from?

[edit] Subset / Sublist

All the linked state pages say that they are subsets - is this correct? The list are ordered - therefore they are lists, not sets. Something grates on me about "this list is a subset"... I would suggest "this list is a sublist," but maybe i'm just being overly picky. 72.49.123.67 14:02, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

If you feel something can be changed to sound better, be bold and change it. If someone has a problem with your edit, you can be sure they will let you know :)—Ëzhiki (ërinacëus amurënsis) • (yo?); 14:14, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] How to get an up-to-date list of military zip codes

If you go to the URL <http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm> and click on the "HTML" link directly below the picture of the current edition of the Postal Bulletin, you are brought to a Table of Contents page. One of the sections near the end of the Table of Contents is "Other Information". In the Other Information section, there is a link named "Overseas Military Mail". The Overseas Military Mail link takes you to a list of the currently valid military zip codes. I was told that military zip codes are added and deleted almost daily and that they are published in the Postal Bulletin twice a month. I was warned not to link any more deeply than the link given above, because a deeper link would be to the then current and very soon out-of-date information.

[edit] Where did those useful links go?

Someone removed some valuable links, identifying them as linkspam. However, I found several of those quite useful (not teh commercial stuff at least). There still remains links to other sites that fall under the same umbrella--please people, register an account if you are going to edit here. I also realized that a certain editor removed a bunch of very useful external links to sites with free resources. This person did so in apparent retailiation for having his own links removed to commercial products (2). Perhaps we should break up the external links into two categories: Free and Paid tools. What do you all think? If needed, we can have a vote.

  • Wikipedia isn't a link directory. I've left government sources for the ZIP Codes. I don't believe Wikipedia should link to non-government sources displaying this information because 1.) We can't verify that the information is being updated reguarly (the government updates its data monthly). 2.) The "free" websites are pushing products & advertising. Also, the only relation the websites had to the topic was that they were about ZIP Codes. There is a topic for ZIP Codes, and I don't know that they'd even be relevant there. - 216.194.126.78 16:31, 13 December 2006 (UTC)
  • If someone can explain why these links are superior to every other website on the internet dealing with "Lists of ZIP Codes" and should be included, I'm more than willing to listen. I've removed the following links for the following reasons:
    • www.myzipcodemap.com - contains an objectional amount of advertising (per Wikipedia "Links to be avioded" #5)
    • veracart.com/shopping-cart-software/zip_to_state.php - site exists primarily to sell products & services (per Wikipedia "Links to be avoided" #4)
    • www.code322.com - same as above. The site exists to sell products & services.

From Wikipedia's External Link Guidelines (Links to be avoided): "Sites that are only indirectly related to the article's subject: it should be a simple exercise to show how the link is directly and symmetrically related to the articles subject. This means that there is both a relation from the website to the subject of the article, and a relation from the subject of the article to the website. For example, the officially sanctioned online site of a rock band has a direct and symmetric relationship to that rock band, and thus should be linked to from the rock band's Wikipedia article. An alternative site run by fans is not symmetrically related to the rock band, as the rock band has only indirect connections with that site."

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