What to Know

• Zip codes: Use the USPS Zip Code Lookup tool, or search Google or Bing.
• Find area codes: Type the city and state name, along witharea code, into Google, Bing, Yahoo, or Wolfram Alpha.
• Or, use a specialized website like Area Codes, Country Codes, LincMad, or AllAreaCodes.com.

This article explains how to find and verify zip codes and area codes online. Zip codes and postal codes are numerical codes used to facilitate mail delivery, and area codes are used for specifying a geographical region when calling a phone number.

How to Find a Zip Code Online

You can use several websites and search engines to find a zip code.

Find Zip Codes at USPS.com

If you have an address or partial address, you can find the zip code through USPS Zip Code Lookup, a tool on the U.S. postal service's website. You can also search by city or state, or find all cities that are part of a particular zip code.

Find Zip Codes With Google

You can also use various search engines to find zip codes. With Google, for example, to do a zip code search by address, type what you know of the address to see a map of the location with the zip code included.

You can even type something likeSouth Laurel MD zip codeto see all of them for that area (and to find links that show a full list of zip codes for that region). You can also enter a zip code to see the geographic location it belongs to as well as a map and other related web results, such as cities that use that zip code.

If you don't appendzip codeto the end of the search, Google might show unrelated information. For example, a search for90210reveals information about the TV series, whereas90210 zip codeshows information on the zip code.

Look Up Zip Codes With Bing

A zip code lookup on Bing brings back what city/locale it pertains to, maps, and local attractions, such as grocery stores, hotels, and movie theaters. If you type a partial address, Bing completes it for you and reveals the zip code.

How to Find an Area Code

Much like with a zip code, you can use a search engine to find an area code by searching for the city. To do the reverse and figure out what part of the country an area code is related to, just enter the area code instead.

Find an Area Code With Google

To find an area code with Google, type the name of the city and state you're looking for, followed by the wordsarea code. You'll usually find what you need.

For international listings, search for a phrase such asKenya calling code, and you'll receive an informative answer with the numbers you'll need to make a call into that nation.

Find an Area Code With Bing

Enter the city and state in a new Bing search and you'll more than likely see Google-like results that show you the area code at the very top of the results. The same is true for international calling codes.

Find an Area Code With Wolfram Alpha

Another way to find an area code online is with Wolfram Alpha, which bills itself as "Computational Intelligence."

This data-based search engine doesn't display results like the others mentioned on this page, but with a little digging, you can find some unique information about cities and states that you might not find on another search engine.

Find an Area Code With Yahoo

Using Yahoo to find an area code is much like using Google; enter the city and state name followed byarea code, and you'll get an instant result.

Finding international codes isn't as easy with Yahoo as it is with Google, but you can, of course, still use Yahoo to find other websites that can give you that information.

Specialized Websites for Zip Codes

Quite a few sites specialize in finding area codes that a simple search engine query might not reveal. You can use these free resources to find nearly any area code and/or country calling code in the world:

• Area Codes: Features area codes from mostly the United States, though other countries are scattered through here as well.
• BT Phonebook: Use this site to find area codes in the U.K.
• Country Codes: This site asks you what country you're calling from and to in order to assign the correct country code, area code, or both.
• LincMad: A zip code map that offers a visual representation of area codes in the United States and Canada.
• AllAreaCodes.com: Similar to LincMad, you get a full area code map of the US and Canada, but also links to region-specific area code lists, details about the area codes (e.g., wireless or landline, carrier, when it was introduced), search tools, and printable area code lists.