ZIP Code Statistics

Statistics about people, households, personal income, labor force, housing:

• Census 2000 data may be retrieved at http://factfinder.census.gov. See the step-by-step example below. Data are also available via FTP.
• Data from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing are also available in http://factfinder.census.gov, although the steps are a little different.

• 2002 Economic Census ZIP Code Statistics -- counts of establishments by detailed NAICS industry by receipt size--are available on American FactFinder and on 2002 Economic Census DVD-ROM Volume 2. 2002 ZIP code data include only 8 of the 18 sectors covered by the Economic Census.
• 1997 Economic Census ZIP Code Statistics include a simple display on-line. More extensive statistics--counts of establishments by detailed NAICS industry by employment size and receipt size--are available on 1997 Economic Census CD-ROM Volume 3. 1997 ZIP code data include only 9 of the 18 sectors covered by the Economic Census.
• 1992 Economic Census ZIP Code Statistics are available only on 1992 Economic Census CD-ROM, Volume 2, but, since they are classified by SIC, they are not entirely comparable to the 1997 NAICS-based data.
• ZIP Business Patterns (ZBP) provides counts of establishments by industry by employment size for a broader range of industries than are included in the Economic Census ZIP Code Statistics. ZBP is published generally 2 to 3 years after the end of the reference year, starting 1994. Data are available in an on-line lookup system at http://censtats.census.gov/cbpnaic/cbpnaic.shtml. Starting in 1998, the data are classified by NAICS. 1994 to 1997 data were classified by SIC.

General issues:

ZIP codes in the Economic Census and ZBP are those reported by the businesses or on administrative address lists. ZIP Code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in Census 2000 are statistical geographic entities that approximates the delivery area for a U.S. Postal Service five-digit and three-digit ZIP Codes. ZCTAs are aggregations of census blocks that had the same predominant ZIP Code associated wth the residential mailing addresses in the Census Bureau's master address file for Census 2000.

Maps: To obtain a map of a single ZIP Code tabulation area, follow steps 1 through 4.3. below, then select a single 5-digit code and click the "Map It" button. Census 2000 ZCTA maps are also accessible from the 1997 Economic Census ZIP Code Statistics.

There are two different paths to 2000 Census ZIP Code data. The simplest, but least flexible, is to

1. At www.census.gov, select "American FactFinder" in the left column.
2. In the lefthand column, select the "People" button and pick a topic.
3. Enter a 5-digit code in the ZIP code field and press the "Go" button.
4. Select one of the detailed tables or maps presented there.

1. At www.census.gov, select "American FactFinder" in the left column.
2. In the lefthand column, select the "Data Sets" button, then "Decennial Census".
3. On the Decennial Census page
   1. Select the data set: Click the radio button next to one of the following:
      • "2000 Summary File 1" (to select age, race and hispanic origin, household relationship, owners and renters, etc) or
      • "2000 Summary File 3" (to select migration, education, employment, income, housing characteristics).
   2. In the righthand column select "Detailed Tables"
4. On the Select Geography page,
   1. In the "select a geographic type" box, pick "5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Area" at the bottom of the menu.
   2. Select the first 3 digits of the ZIP code
   3. Select one or more 5-digit ZIP codes and click "Add".
   4. Click on "Next" (If you don't see the "Next" button, scroll right until you do.)
5. On the Select Tables page
   1. Select one or more of the tables from the list. Search "by keyword" or "by subject" if necessary.
   2. Click "Add"
   3. Click "Show Result"

Notes:

• To obtain a map of a single ZIP Code tabulation area, follow steps 1 through 4.b., then select a single 5-digit code and click the "Map It" button.
• When selecting ZIP Code data in 1990 Census Summary Tape File 3, you must click on "Show all geography types" on the Select Geography page to see ZIP codes as an option under "Select a geographic type".

1. At www.census.gov, select "American FactFinder" in the left column.
2. In the lefthand column, select the "Data Sets" button, then "Decennial Census"
3. On the Decennial Census page
   1. In the righthand column select "Detailed Tables"
4. On the Select Geography page,
   1. Select the "geo within geo" tab
   2. In the "Show me all" box, pick "5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Areas"
   3. Under "That are", either leave at "fully or partially contained" or change to "fully contained" and specify "county" after "within".
   4. Select the state
   5. Select the county
   6. Select "All 5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Areas" and click the "Add" button, but make a list for yourself of the specific ZIP Codes shown in red with an asterisk in the selection boxe. If you want to differentiate that part of each ZCTA that is really in a particular county, you will need to take the following steps.
      1. Click the "List" tab at the top
      2. Select "Show all geographic types"
      3. Select ".... .... .... County (or part)" under "5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Area (or part)"
      4. Select the state
      5. Select a 3-digit ZCTA corresponding to the first asterisked ZCTA on your list
      6. Select the 5-digit ZCTA
      7. Select the desired county part
      8. Click "Add"
      9. Repeat steps 5 to 8 for each of the partial ZCTAs on your list. The county parts of ZIPs will appear at the end of the list in the "Current geography selected" box.
   7. Click on "Show Result"
5. On the Select Tables page
   1. Select table P1 for the total population, or any others you want, and click "Add"
   2. Click "Show Result"
6. Only 10 ZCTAs are shown on the screen. To work with them all at once, you will need to download the data.
   1. Under "Print/Download" at the top, click on "Download"/li>
   2. Select "Comma delimited (.csv) (transpose rows and columns)" if you want to load the results into your spreadsheet, or select "Rich Text Format (.rtf) (transpose rows and columns)" if you want to display the result in your word processor.
   3. Click "OK" down at the bottom of the page
   4. Save the file to disc or open it in your application.

To access 1990 Census ZIP Code data in American FactFinder, use the following steps: Questions?

1. At www.census.gov, select "American FactFinder" in the left column.
2. In the lefthand column, select the "Data Sets" button, then "Decennial Census".
3. On the Decennial Census page
1. Click on the tab for 1990 Census
2. Select the data set: Click the radio button next to "1990 Summary Tape File 3"
3. In the righthand column select "Detailed Tables"
4. On the Select Geography page,
1. Click the link "Show all geographic types"
2. In the "select a geographic type" box, under State...County, pick "ZIP Code (or part)"
3. Select a state
4. Select a county
5. Select one or more 5-digit ZIP codes, or "All ZIP Codes (or parts)", and click "Add".
6. Click on "Next" (If you don't see the "Next" button, scroll right until you do.)
5. On the Select Tables page
1. Select one or more of the tables from the list. Search "by keyword" or "by subject" if necessary.
2. Click "Add"
3. Click "Show Result"

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Page Last Modified: June 12, 2008