Land Area
The total dry-land surface area of a ZIP code or ZCTA, measured in square miles or square kilometers, excluding inland water bodies.
Land area is a fundamental geographic measurement for ZIP codes and ZCTAs. The Census Bureau calculates land area by subtracting water features (lakes, rivers, reservoirs) from the total area within the ZCTA boundary. Land area is reported in both square miles and square meters in Census data products.
ZIP code land areas vary enormously. Urban ZIP codes in Manhattan may cover less than 0.2 square miles, while rural ZIP codes in Alaska can span thousands of square miles. The largest ZCTA in the lower 48 states covers over 10,000 square miles in remote Nevada.
Land area is essential for calculating population density and other per-area metrics. It is also used in logistics for estimating delivery route distances and in environmental analysis for assessing land use patterns.