Changing Zip Codes and why they change

The USPS is busy constantly adding and deleting Zip Codes according to the needs of growing or diminishing city populations throughout America. For example, a press release announced that in April 2018, the USPS released 16 new Zip Codes and retired 1 Zip Code. A whopping 17 changes occurred in a single month, and higher numbers of changes have been known to occur within a month’s time.

If you haven’t updated your Zip Code database recently, chances are you have incorrect data about your customers. The USPS releases press announcements with every Zip Code change, so checking your local USPS press release every few months can help you stay on top of any changes going on around you. If you have customers across the nation, manually fixing the dozens of Zip Code changes that occur each month nation-wide may become a burden.

The easiest way to fix this problem is with a monthly Zip Code database subscription that gives you instant access to all zip code changes that have occurred within the past month. Large and small companies find this to be useful in allowing them to maintain accurate data with ease.

Questions about changes to ZIP code databases

We receive many questions about our ZIP Code Databases that pertain to the changes that occur to them. See below:

• How often is your database updated?
• What type of ZIP code information is updated?
• How many changes are made to the database every month?
• Do the changes in ZIP codes affect my business?
• What ZIP code database subscription is right for me?

While the last two questions vary from business to business, many of these can be answered.

Our ZIP code databases come directly from the USPS every month. This data contains fresh, updated information that is up to date when compared with the USPS website’s own ZIP code lookup.

The number of changes from month to month typically vary between 1,000 to 2,000. From February to March, there were 1,327 differences found in the 5-digit ZIP code database, Commercial Edition! And even more changes occur in the ZIP+4 databases.  These changes vary on all aspects of our data from ZIP codes to city names. Many ZIP codes are added and subtracted every month.

These changes can significantly affect your business. Maillings and customer lookups can become complex and troublesome if you do not have an accurate, current ZIP code database.

Depending on your type of business, the cheapest solution would be to purchase the 1-year subscription. This entitles you to either quarterly or monthly updates for the next year. If your company requires 100% accurate ZIP codes, we recommend buying the monthly downloads. That way your CRM databases will help you maintain your customers and give you a competitive edge.