What is a ZIP Code?
A ZIP code is an eight-character string that indicates a geographic area. The United States Postal Service uses the first six digits to locate addresses. The last four digits are known as an extension, or ZIP+4 Code. It is not specific to a city or town, but rather a street or post office box. There are a number of reasons why this information is important to businesses and consumers. Here are a few of them: A ZIP code designates a delivery area and is made up of three digits that are assigned from east to west. The 0 is closer to white and the nine is brighter. These numbers are used to make it easy for mail carriers to follow a postal code from one zone to the next. The number 39XXX, for example, indicates the southwest tip of Georgia, and a four-digit number in central Mississippi. The USPS created ZIP codes during the post-World War II boom, which was followed by rapid population growth. In addition to this, postal services began relying on the ZIP code as an indicator of a loc