All glossary terms

ZCTA (ZIP Code Tabulation Area)

Definition

A ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) is the Census Bureau’s statistical approximation of a USPS ZIP code, built from census blocks. Because ZIP codes are mail-delivery routes rather than areas, ZCTAs provide the stable geographic boundaries needed to attach demographic and housing data to a ZIP.

How to interpret it

When you see ZIP-level statistics in Reatlas or the Census, they are almost always reported at the ZCTA level. ZCTAs closely track their namesake ZIP codes but are not identical, and a small number of ZIP codes have no corresponding ZCTA.

See zcta (zip code tabulation area) for any state, metro, county, or ZIP code in the Reatlas Market Explorer.

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Related terms

Source: Reatlas analysis of U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS), Realtor.com, and Zillow market data.