# Why use City, State, and Zip Code on envelopes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125 "2013-03-27T19:12:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/41 "2013-03-28T03:07:53Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > I’m pretty sure the Zip Code +4 will narrow down a location to a specific address. If it is a private house you might not even need a name. Try sending yourself an envelope with nothing but the zip+4 and see what happens. Generally not. My zip+4 is shared with all the houses on the same side of the street as me. It can be unique if the recipient receives a lot of mail; back in the 80s Walter Cronkite and Isaac Asimov had their own (which you could find in the NYC zip+4 directory) ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/42 "2013-03-28T13:42:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Generally not. My zip+4 is shared with all the houses on the same side of the street as me. It can be unique if the recipient receives a lot of mail; back in the 80s Walter Cronkite and Isaac Asimov had their own (which you could find in the NYC zip+4 directory) Yes, my zip+4 handles a block of 100 addresses on my street. In reality, there are only like 6 addresess in that block in use. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/43 "2013-03-28T13:44:07Z")
FWIW, I just had a business letter returned because it specified the city and zip code but not the state. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/44 "2013-03-28T14:00:31Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Just a guess, but it’s probably due to ZIP codes being introduced fairly recently, the format had already been established (in addition to the various ambiguities that do arise with zip alone) If you consider 50 years ago recent…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/45 "2013-03-28T14:24:22Z")
In the mid-1990s I called from California and spoke to Sam Baugh in Texas. He’s the “Slingin’ Sammy Baugh” NFL Hall of Famer who played in the 1940s. After a brief chat I asked if he’d autograph a book of mine. He said to mail it to: Sam Baugh Rotan, TX That’s all. He said he’d get it. He did. R.I.P., Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/46 "2013-03-28T14:26:22Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Anyone remember the USPS commercial (I may be misremembering details but not the punchline) with a bunch of envelopes talking about where they were headed, but there was one cocky envelope that had no ZIP code, who got dropped through a trapdoor, and one of the other letters lamented, “There he goes…off to the no-ZIP sorting bin.” > > Anyone? Anyone? I didn’t remember the imagery, but I do remember that punchline. Wow, that was a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/47 "2013-03-28T14:45:12Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > In the mid-1990s I called from California and spoke to Sam Baugh in Texas. He’s the “Slingin’ Sammy Baugh” NFL Hall of Famer who played in the 1940s. After a brief chat I asked if he’d autograph a book of mine. He said to mail it to: > > Sam Baugh > Rotan, TX > > That’s all. He said he’d get it. He did. > R.I.P., Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. Rotan has a population of comfortably under 2,000 even today, so I imagine more than half its mail went to Baugh anyway. It was probably quicker for the local post office to pull out the mail that _wasn’t_ going to him. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/48 "2013-03-28T14:46:29Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Woops! I did misread the OP. > > In your example above I have received mail addressed just like that. My mother grew up in Follett, Tx. Population about 400 people. She left the small town, moved to Oklahoma City, got married, had 4 kids, moved to Shattuck, OK, Population about 1200. A friend sent her a letter addressed to her maiden name, sent to Follett, TX; where she hadn’t lived in 10+ years. The letter was forwarded to Shattuck, OK and she received it. Similarly, just for fun I would send her letters to Shattuck when i was in college; but I would intentionally use her maiden name, or leave out her P.O Box number. She always received it. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/49 "2013-03-28T15:04:27Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Anyone remember the USPS commercial (I may be misremembering details but not the punchline) with a bunch of envelopes talking about where they were headed, but there was one cocky envelope that had no ZIP code, who got dropped through a trapdoor, and one of the other letters lamented, “There he goes…off to the no-ZIP sorting bin.” > > Anyone? Anyone? No. But I found this. [USPS Promo about ZIP Codes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPYMMamaWSQ) It’s 15 minutes long! It has singing and dancing, smoking, true love & romance (seriously!), a Jackie Kennedy look alike, talk about the dead letter office, jokes about illogical men, a song about pre Simpsons’ Springfield USA, talk about space and computers; and finally a message from the Postmaster General (and an actress who could pass for Amy Adam’s sister). That was pretty cool. I’m now officially wasting time at work looking for more ZIP code promo stuff on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/50 "2013-03-28T15:12:01Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > My mother grew up in Follett, Tx. Population about 400 people. > She left the small town, moved to Oklahoma City, got married, had 4 kids, moved to Shattuck, OK, Population about 1200. > > A friend sent her a letter addressed to her maiden name, sent to Follett, TX; where she hadn’t lived in 10+ years. The letter was forwarded to Shattuck, OK and she received it. > > Similarly, just for fun I would send her letters to Shattuck when i was in college; but I would intentionally use her maiden name, or leave out her P.O Box number. She always received it. Somehow I find this story very sweet. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/51 "2013-03-28T15:13:45Z")
I’d bet that the real reason is historical legacy. I’ve seen plenty of old-timey (1950’s era) letters addressed like this: “Mr. John Smith 123 Main St. Sometown, CA” where presumably, the main post office would try to figure out where 123 Main was, and then shunt it to the right branch post office, assuming Sometown is big enough to have more than one post office. Adding the Zip code in the 1960s was a matter of adding a 5 digit number to the end of the address, and gave much more localized information. Like others have said, in the case where zip codes span towns, having the town is very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/52 "2013-03-28T15:21:09Z")
[1969 ZIP Code PSA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOELzhRLkw8) [Put ZIP in your Postal System](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf71PHyOfR0&feature=endscreen&NR=1) [HELP! ZIP Code Video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=ibecurXI17M&NR=1) [Early Postal Technology](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=hi78Q2kvT48&NR=1) [ZIP Code PSA from 1980](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfIEG5QlD7U) [Shop Early! ZIP Code video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTypp2UlS3U) [Silent video from 1903 showing mail sorters tossing mail into various sorting bags!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-fKpbrbTi8) Geez I hate myself right now. I have to get back to work. Sorry whc.03grady, if you feel like I’ve hijacked your thread. That wasn’t my intent. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/53 "2013-03-28T23:19:15Z")
I always use Zip+4. I prefer to keep the postal employees I deal with gruntled. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/54 "2013-03-28T23:58:46Z")
It would be neat to have a short address like (from a TV series) “Wire Paladin San Francisco.” I’m the only septimus served by our post office, and the postal workers know me. Similarly my daughter is unique and well known. (Just that our names are written with the Roman alphabet eliminates over 99% of other customers.) Thus, in principle I can be contacted via Septimus 45212 Thailand (Though, for privacy purpose, neither 45212 nor septimus is actually correct.) The time I tried this, the postcard never arrived. I’ll guess it was discarded before it ever got to the 45212 office. Thanks for reminding me – I’ll try it again. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/55 "2013-03-29T00:11:52Z")
I am amazed at how cheaply and efficiently the U.S. Postal Service gets the overwhelming majority of everything sent through them form one place to another whether it is across the street or even seemingly impossible long and difficult routes all for just the cost of a stamp. I think the utility and efficiency of what they do is under-appreciated in general. I was thinking about moving to Costa Rica in a few years. One of the things I found out that is very different than the U.S. is that they generally don’t have addresses at all. Your address is just a route description using known landmarks. Costa Rica isn’t exactly a 3rd World country or at least it is one of the nicest ones if it is. I hate to think what it is like in some of the truly less developed areas of the world. I don’t mind figuring out a correct zip code for U.S. mailings. Those 5 extra digits just don’t take that long to write and I know they help greatly increase the system’s efficiency overall. If you can’t find the willpower to write those numbers, don’t fret because the U.S.P.S. still get your letter where it is supposed to go with just a made up zip code or even none at all. That is outstanding customer service. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/56 "2013-03-29T15:31:38Z")
What about redundancy? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/57 "2013-03-29T19:24:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > What about redundancy? That’s covered in Rule #2 of Fight Club. Agree with **Shagnasty** that the US Postal Service generally does a great job for a great price. I’m baffled at people who constantly complain about it. I always think that people should ask a stranger to “carry this piece of paper across the country for half a dollar.” ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/58 "2013-03-29T23:13:13Z")
An excerpt from Cliff Stoll’s “The Cuckoo’s Egg,” where Stoll is talking with a CIA agent he knows only as “Teejay:” > [@](#): > > “What’s your address?” > “Just mail it to Teejay, zip 20505. It’ll reach me.” > Now there’s status. No last name, no street, no city, no state. I wondered if he ever got junk mail. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2013, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125/59 "2013-03-30T02:00:08Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > They want to verify that you know the zip code. As a security measure against stolen or found cards. That’s the thing. I already gave them the address and there’s only one zip code for that address. Again, like asking for the time zone. Easily gettable with the house, street, city and state. And the people that ask for the state after I say Chicago… " _…My address…_, Chicago." “May I have your state?” … “Yes, Chicago is in the State of Illinois.” “I ..see. And may I have your zip code?” “Sure, [LMGTFY](http://lmgtfy.com/)” Harumph. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-use-city-state-and-zip-code-on-envelopes/654125.md?page=2)