Data Layout#
Introduction#
GEO*Data is a geographic database in fixed length (ASCII) format. The GEO*Data database includes every state within the United States. You can use the ZIP file of your desired state (i.e. CA.ZIP) to add geographic data to your mailing list. GEO*Data also contains ZIP Code and county information.
The included databases are:
County Name Database
GeoData Database
Place Name Database
ZIP Database
List of Files#
Root Directory#
- Fixed length (ASCII)
Headers#
- dBase (DBF)
- Access (MDB)
TXT#
Utils#
Layout and Definitions#
County Name Database (CNTY.DAT)#
Column Name |
Type |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
FIPS Code |
varchar(5) |
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is a 5-digit number assigned to each county in the U.S. by the Census Bureau. The first two digits are the state code and the last three digits are the county number. |
County Name |
char(25) |
The name of the county, borough or parish. |
State |
char(2) |
The standard 2-letter abbreviation for the state or province. |
Time Zone |
char(2) |
The number representing the hours past UTC Time Standard. All Melissa Data products express time zones in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). |
County Type |
char(1) |
The letter code assigned to the county by population size. |
County Seat |
char(28) |
The county government capital. Data is not available for all counties. |
County Name Type |
char(1) |
The letter code assigned for the name of the county. |
Elevation |
numeric(18,2) |
The elevation of the county seat in feet above sea level. |
Persons Per Household |
char(4) |
The average number of persons per household. |
Population |
char(8) |
Estimate of the county population. |
Area |
char(6) |
The county area in square miles. |
Households |
char(8) |
The number of households within the county. |
White |
char(8) |
The estimated White population within the county. |
Black |
char(8) |
The estimated Black population within the county. |
Hispanic |
char(8) |
The estimated Hispanic population within the county. |
Average Income |
char(8) |
The average household income earned within the county. |
Average Household Value |
char(8) |
The average value of a home within the county. |
CR + LF |
char(2) |
The carriage return and line feed codes. |
GeoData Database (US.txt)#
Column Name |
Type |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
ZIP Code |
varchar(5) |
ZIP Codes identify a specific geographic delivery area. A ZIP Code can represent an area within a state or a single building. |
Plus 4 |
varchar(4) |
This 4-digit expanded code designates the ZIP Code sector and segment. |
Latitude |
char(10) |
This 10-digit field contains the latitude coordinate. |
Longitude |
char(11) |
This 11-digit field contains the longitude coordinate. |
Census Tract |
varchar(6) |
This field contains the identification code for the Census Tract in which the address is located. |
Block |
varchar(4) |
Census blocks are areas bounded on all sides by visible features, such as streets, roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and by invisible boundaries, such as city, town, township, and county limits, property lines, and short, imaginary extensions of streets and roads. A block may represent an area as small as a city block within a densely populated urban center or a large, sparsely populated urban area. |
FIPS Code |
varchar(5) |
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is a 5-digit number assigned to each county in the U.S. by the Census Bureau. The first two digits are the state code and the last three digits are the county number. |
Place Code |
varchar(7) |
This is a census field designating a physical location of an address. Because the post office does not distinguish city limits very well, this may differ from the city name that a post office designates for an address. |
Congressional District |
varchar(2) |
This field will contain the congressional district number, accurate to the ZIP+4 level. |
Lat Level |
varchar(1) |
This field will indicate the level of accuracy of the latitude and longitude information. |
Place Name Database (PLACENAME.DBF)#
Column Name |
Type |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
Place Code |
varchar(7) |
Matches up with the Place Code field in the GEODATA databases |
Place Name |
char(60) |
The official Census name for the area described by the ZIP + 4 code. This may differ from the city name in the ZIP Code database. |
ZIP Database (ZIP.DAT)#
Column Name |
Type |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
ZIP Code |
varchar(5) |
ZIP Codes identify a specific geographic delivery area. A ZIP Code can represent an area within a state or a single building. |
State |
varchar(2) |
The Postal Service 2-letter state or territory abbreviation. |
City |
char(28) |
The city, community, station or other name by which a 5-digit ZIP area is known. |
Type |
char(1) |
Defines the type of ZIP Code for delivery purposes. |
County FIPS |
char(5) |
The Federal Information Processing Standard number assigned to each county in the U.S. |
Latitude |
decimal(7,4) |
This field contains the latitude coordinate. |
Longitude |
decimal(9,4) |
This field contains the longitude coordinate. |
Area Code |
char(3) |
The 3-digit telephone area code. |
Finance Code |
char(6) |
The code which refers to the main Post Office that serves a city. It is also used with multi-coded cities. All ZIP Codes in a multi-coded city are assigned the same Finance Code by the USPS. |
Last Line |
char(1) |
An “L” in this field indicates that the city name is the official USPS name for the ZIP Code. (Only one record per ZIP Code is coded with an “L”.) |
FAC |
char(1) |
This code refers to the Postal Facility Code associated with a particular ZIP Code. |
MSA |
char(4) |
The Metropolitan Statistical Area code assigned to a ZIP Code. Use this code as a key to find the MSA name in the MSA Database. |
PMSA |
char(4) |
The Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area code assigned to a ZIP code. Use this code as a key to find data in the MSA Database. |
Filler |
char(3) |
This location is reserved for future use. |
CR + LR |
char(2) |
The carriage return and line feed code. |
Code and Definitions#
County Name Database (CNTY.DAT)#
Column Name |
Code |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
Time Zone |
4 |
Atlantic |
5 |
Eastern |
|
6 |
Central |
|
7 |
Mountain |
|
8 |
Pacific |
|
9 |
Alaska |
|
10 |
Hawaii-Aleutian |
|
11 |
Samoa |
|
Country Type |
A |
All counties located within the 25 largest MSA’s |
B |
All counties not included in “A” with a population over 150,000 or located within an MSA having a population over 150,000 |
|
C D |
All counties not included in “A” or “B” with a population over 35,000 or located within an MSA having a population over 35,000 All other counties not included in “A”, “B”, or “C” |
|
Country Name Type |
A |
Census Area |
B |
Borough |
|
C |
County |
|
D |
District |
|
M |
Municipio |
|
P |
Parish |
GeoData Database (US.txt)#
Column Name |
Code |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
Lat Level |
9 |
Latitude and longitude are accurate to the ZIP+4 level |
7 |
Latitude and longitude are accurate to the ZIP+2 level |
|
5 |
Latitude and longitude are accurate to the 5-digital ZIP Code level only |
ZIP Database (ZIP.DAT)#
Column Name |
Code |
Definition |
|---|---|---|
Type |
P |
A ZIP Code used only for Post Office Boxes. Only one record is listed per PO BOX code |
U |
A unique ZIP Code. Unique ZIP Codes are assigned to specific organizations (e.g. Reader’s Digest), educational institutions, and postal facilities |
|
M |
Identifies an APO/FPO ZIP Code. APO’s are Army and Air Force Post Offices and FPO’s are Navy Fleet Post Offices. There is only one record per APO/FPO |
|
FAC |
A |
Airport Mail Facility (AMF) |
B |
Branch |
|
C |
Community Post Office (BMF) |
|
D |
Area Distribution Center |
|
E |
Sectional Center Facility (SCF) |
|
F |
Delivery Distribution Center |
|
G |
General Mail Facility |
|
K |
Bulk Mail Center |
|
M |
Money Order Unit |
|
N |
Community Name, Former Postal Facility or Place Name |
|
P |
Post Office |
|
S |
Station |
|
U |
Urbanization |
|
X |
Unapproved Mailing Name |