Re: Zip Code lookup

Aron,

Yes, this seems to be a common request.

The resulting data can be displayed as a point or a polygon, depending
on what you want to do. The point is usually a centroid, or center of
the polygon, while the polygon shows an outline of the area served by
the zip code. Zip codes, according to the USPS, do not have actual
areas, but are instead "routes" however the Census bureau figured out
approximate area called Zip Code Tabulation Areas, or ZCTA's and they
can be displayed.

Centroids can be found here:

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html

Polygons can be found here:

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/bdy_files.html

An example of the polygon display program can be found here: (my map)

http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm

-John

http://maps.huge.info