National ZIP Code Crosswalk (1990-2020)

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
NationalZIPCodeCrosswalk_UserGuide&Codebook.pdf	application/pdf	201.7 KB	10/11/2023 02:08:PM
ZIPClust00-10_Code.do	text/plain	123.2 KB	02/06/2024 09:23:AM
ZIPClust10-20_Code.do	text/plain	23.6 KB	04/25/2023 12:15:PM
ZIPClust90-00_Code.do	text/plain	151.6 KB	02/06/2024 09:26:AM
ZIP_Code_Changes_1990-2000_Documentation.xls	application/vnd.ms-excel	1 MB	10/11/2023 02:05:PM
ZIP_Code_Changes_2000-2010_Documentation.xlsx	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet	316.4 KB	04/25/2023 12:15:PM
ZIP_Code_Changes_2010-2020_Documentation.xlsx	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet	129.5 KB	04/25/2023 12:15:PM
ZIP_xwalk_00-10.dta	application/x-stata-dta	19.6 KB	04/25/2023 12:15:PM
ZIP_xwalk_10-20.dta	application/x-stata-dta	5.5 KB	04/25/2023 12:15:PM
ZIP_xwalk_90-00.dta	application/x-stata-dta	31.7 KB	04/25/2023 12:15:PM

Project Citation:

Bailey, Amy Kate, and Helmuth, Allison Suppan. National ZIP Code Crosswalk (1990-2020). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-02-06. https://doi.org/10.3886/E194404V3

Project Description

Summary: This data set identifies changes in ZIP Code boundaries between 1990 and 2020, and provides numeric codes that cluster the ZIP Codes into the smallest geographic unit, or group of ZIP Codes, that are consistent across a decade: 1990 – 2000, 2000 – 2010, and 2010 – 2020. This “crosswalk” covers the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. Since much administrative data is available with ZIP Code as the smallest identifiable geography, ZIP Codes are often used to embed observations from administrative data (patients, businesses, survey respondents, etc.) within their social, demographic, and economic contexts. However, ZIP Code boundaries change over time, resulting in measurement error (matching observations to the wrong contextual unit) or missing data (due to an observation reporting a ZIP Code that did not exist at the beginning of the observational period). These data were collected, and the crosswalk created, in an attempt to resolve these data quality issues.

Funding Sources: United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2C HD042828); Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology at the University of Washington; University of Illinois at Chicago's Office of Social Science Research; Utah Agricultural Experiment Station (UTA01060)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: ZIP Code; zip code areas; MAUP; modifiable areal unit problem; crosswalk; spatial units

Geographic Coverage: Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; District of Columbia; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming

Time Period(s): 1/1/1990 – 12/31/2020 (1990 to 2020)

Collection Date(s): 9/15/2011 – 11/20/2021 (Researchers who compiled this data tool collected the information from the U.S. Postal Bulletin (a biweekly administrative publication produced by the U.S. Postal Service) and created the crosswalk between 09/15/2011 and 11/20/2021. )

Universe: ZIP Code boundary changes published in the U.S. Postal Bulletin between 1990-2020.

Collection Notes:

The U.S. Postal Bulletin is a biweekly administrative publication produced by the U.S. Postal Service which identifies and publishes ZIP Code administrative changes that are of interest to postal workers. Some of these changes do not affect the shape of ZIP Code boundaries (such as reassigning of a ZIP Code to a new administrative office). In other cases, some changes that do affect boundaries are announced and later retracted, while in other cases a ZIP Code may experience multiple boundary changes over the course of a decade. In this dataset, we only include changes that affect the boundaries of a ZIP Code, and we include what we have identified as a final geographic cluster, accounting for all changes that went into effect. This is meant to allow for researchers to identify the specific geographic area that a ZIP Code may refer to over the course of a decade.

Methodology

Response Rate: Not Applicable

Sampling: These data are a complete census of all ZIP Code boundary changes that were published in the U.S. Postal Bulletin between 1990-2020.

Scales: Not Applicable

Weights: Not Applicable

Unit(s) of Observation: Smallest geographic unit, or group of ZIP Codes, that are consistent across a decade from 1990-2000; 2000-2010; and 2010-2020.

Geographic Unit: ZIP Code

Related Publications

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Published Versions

V3 [2024-02-06]

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DDI 2.5

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