Some zip codes within the data only have four digits. Is this an error?

Submitted by AggData Adminis... Tue, 2012-01-03 19:23

Many zip codes in the north eastern part of the United States have zip codes that start with a zero (0). When data is extracted, we do capture this digit, however once imported into a spreadsheet program, that program may not recognize it is a zip code and exclude the zero. If opened in the CSV raw format or in a text editor program (i.e. Notepad), these digits will be evident.

To correct this in Excel, highlight the zip code column, right click and select “Format Cells”. You will see a “Special” category, under which there is a format titled “Zip Code”. Select this format type and click OK.  Click here for a tutorial that walks through the process with screenshots.