ZIP Codes - Why do we have them?

ZIP Codes are a fairly recent addition to the United States Postal Service. The rapid growth of America’s mail volume in the early 1960’s, along with the costs associated to deliver the mail required a better mail delivery system. In order to sort mail faster and get it to its destination the ZIP Code, a five digit code, was added to every address.

What does ZIP stand for?

Not many Americans know what ZIP stands for even though they use the term all the time. ZIP stands for Zoning Improvement Plan.

When did ZIP Codes begin?

July 1, 1963 was the date the postal service began the ZIP Code system. At that time only a few regions were assigned ZIP Codes, but a year later almost one third to one half of the regions in the U.S. had a ZIP Code.

How do ZIP Codes work?

What do the five digits stand for in a ZIP Code? The first number stands for a geographic area of the country. The eastern area of the U.S. has ZIP Codes beginning with ‘0’ and as the codes move across the county to the west the first number changes progressively until it reaches the number ‘9’. The second and third numbers stand for regional areas and the last two digits indicate postal zones.

What is ZIP +4?

In 1983 ZIP+4 was introduced. This further defined the destination of a piece of U.S. mail by adding a hyphen along with four additional digits to each original ZIP Code. Digits six and seven designate a delivery sector such as a group of P.O. boxes, a building, or a small geographic area. The last two digits stand for a delivery segment, which could be as small as a floor of a large building or as large as one side of a street. Zip +4 meant less handling of a piece of mail and reduced the time a mailman spent sorting mail to get it ready for his route.