Accuracy Matters!

PO Box 1999 Andrews, NC 28901 phone: (828) 321-5300 fax: (888) 617-1595
Free ZIP Code Database File Documentation

Introduction:
We hope you enjoy this Free ZIP Code Database File from GreatData.com!
We would like to explain how this was compiled and how it differs from our regular product,
but first we need to define some terms:
ZIP Code 5-digit number used by the U.S. Postal Service since the 1960s in order
to expedite the delivery of mail. ZIP Codes are basically assigned based on the route
that a mail carrier takes in delivering mail, so they will cross cities, counties and
sometimes even state boundaries. For instance, we are located in a rural area in the
North Carolina Mountains, next to the Tennessee border. Its closer for a carrier in
NC to deliver the mail to some parts of Eastern Tennessee, so that ZIP Code extends
into the two states.
ZCTA (pronounced, Zicta) 5-digit number used by the U.S. Census Bureau to
approximate the area covered by a ZIP Code. It is comprised of Census Blocks and so
it doesnt match up to a ZIP Code, but is as close as it gets. Heres a graphic to give
you an idea of how this works (the red line is a ZIP Codes actual boundary):


As you can see, some blocks extend beyond the ZIP Code boundary and some of the
ZCTA (the sum of the green boundaries) can extend beyond the ZIP Code boundary.
This Free ZIP Code Database File is primarily based on the 2010 Census ZCTA records, but
since there are many ZIP Codes that arent in the Census (such as PO Boxes, since there is no

Accuracy Matters!

PO Box 1999 Andrews, NC 28901 phone: (828) 321-5300 fax: (888) 617-1595
population to count), we added our own ZIP Code info for those records, so this is a
complete file with all active ZIP Codes as of the time it was created!

Recommended Uses:
This file is ideal for use in non-critical systems. Its great for students and it can work with
mapping and simple dealer locator / store locator applications (for small companies where
accuracy isnt crucial). You can use it to generate statistics.

Non-recommended Uses:
This file is not nearly as refined as our professional-grade products, so we dont recommend
it for anything that your business may need to rely on. The place (city and county) names
are primarily from the Census bureau. The names in our regular ZIP Code products will often
differ with these since our names have been manually verified and standardized over the
last 20 years, so even if you dont immediately see major differences with government data
versus our professional-grade data, its there.
Our regular latitude and longitude data is much more precise than what we include here
(we go up to 6 decimal positions). Having accurate latitude and longitude data is vital for
store / dealer locators, marketing and commercial mapping applications. Weve spent
countless hours manually verifying our latitude/longitude coordinates. Not everybody does.
For instance, we looked at a main competitors sample data file that they provide as an
example of what you can expect in their ZIP Code database, and 56% of the coordinates
were over 3 miles off (many were over 10 miles off and some were over 20 miles off!) They
sell their data to Fortune 500 companies and many others who evidently dont check it for
accuracy.

File Layout:
For ease of importing, we include the most often-asked data elements and dont throw a lot
of fields that most will never need. Heres the layout:

Zip Code State City County Latitude Longitude
00501 NY Holtsville Suffolk 40.82 -73.05
00544 NY Holtsville Suffolk 40.81 -73.05
00601 PR Adjuntas Adjuntas 18.17 -66.72
00602 PR Aguada Aguada 18.38 -67.19
00603 PR Aguadilla Aguadilla 18.44 -67.15
00604 PR Aguadilla Aguadilla 18.5 -67.14

Note: Microsoft Excel will truncate the leading zeros by default. On the next page we have
instructions on how to override this.



Accuracy Matters!

PO Box 1999 Andrews, NC 28901 phone: (828) 321-5300 fax: (888) 617-1595

MICROSOFT EXCEL IMPORTING INSTRUCTIONS:
Go into Excel and choose to open a file. Change the 'Files of Type' option to 'Text Files'.
Enter the folder and file name (free-zip-code-database.csv) in the File Name section.
Some versions of Excel may bring up a Text Import Wizard. If so, do the following:
Make sure the options for Delimited and Start Import at row 1 are selected.
Select Next to get to the next screen. Comma should be the delimiter and the
Text Qualifier should be '{none}'. Click on Next to continue.
The Zip Code, Latitude and Longitude columns should be General. The city,
state and county info should be Text. Highlight the gray bar above each field
and then change the Column Data Format.
Click on Finish.
The spreadsheet should now display. Highlight column A (the Zip Code field). For
versions before the 2007 version of Excel, do the following:
Choose Format, Cells from the menu bar.
There should be a Special option and Zip Code selection. Select Zip Code & click
on OK.
The leading zeroes should now display in the Zip Code field.
For Excel 2007 and 2010, do the following:
From the Home tab, in the Cells section, click on the Format down-arrow.
Choose Format Cells.
There should be a Special option and Zip Code in the Type section. Select Zip
Code & click on OK.
The leading zeroes should now display in the Zip Code field.

We hope this Free ZIP Code Database File helps you out. Feel free to contact us with any
questions that you may have about this ZIP Code data file, or any of our products or
services.