Addresses
Why valid addresses matter
Consistent formatting of valid addresses is important for accurately mapping and referencing geographic information
A poorly formed address could end up mapping to the wrong geographic reference or not at all, reducing the usefulness of the data
Poorly formed addresses can make cleanup of data labor intensive and result in reporting errors where geography (neighborhoods, census, etc.) is concerned
Poorly formed addresses could also result in additional costs because of things like:
Undeliverable/returned mail
Failure to apply benefits to recipients appropriately based on geography
Poor routing of vehicles or people in the field
Address formatting
Addresses should be output with the level of detail relevant to the data
e.g. permits applied down to the sub-address level
If providing addresses in a complete string, make sure the addresses are well formed and consistent for easy parsing, for example:
741 Ellis Street, Unit 5, San Francisco, CA 94109
901 Bayshore Boulevard, Unit 209, San Francisco, CA 94124
When providing multiple addresses within a dataset, prepend your column names with the type of address
e.g. address vs. mailing_address
Address elements
Below are some common elements of an address (but not all)
Not all addresses will have all elements
Address granularity will be driven by the business need, so not all systems will collect every element
Note: systems can be designed to validate or lookup addresses on entry, minimizing error
Make sure the individual elements of an address line up with the guidance below
You can publish addresses as either single strings or break into separate fields
Note: this guidance is provided to promote consistency across the bulk of shared tabular datasets and not as a comprehensive guide to address standards. For a comprehensive standard on addressing, see the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) United States Thoroughfare, Landmark, and Postal Address Data Standard
Element | Data Type | Definition |
---|---|---|
From Address Number | Numeric | First part of a range: 1000-1100 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
To Address Number | Numeric | Second part of a range: 1000-1500 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Address Number Prefix | Numeric | The portion of the Complete Address Number that precedes the Address Number itself: B315 Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Address Number | Numeric | The numeric identifier for a land parcel, house, building, or other location along a thoroughfare or within a community: 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Address Number Suffix | Text | The portion of the Complete Address Number that follows the Address Number itself: 315 A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Street Name Pre Modifier | Text | A word or phrase in a Complete Street Name that 1. Precedes and modifies the Street Name, but is separated from it by a Street Name Pre Type or a Street Name Pre Directional or both, or 2. Is placed outside the Street Name so that the Street Name can be used in creating a sorted (alphabetical or alphanumeric) list of street names.: 315A Old Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Street Name Predirectional | Text | A word preceding the street name that indicates the directional taken by the thoroughfare from an arbitrary starting point, or the sector where it is located: 315A East Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Street Name Pretype | Text | A word or phrase that precedes the Street Name and identifies a type of thoroughfare in a Complete Street Name: US Route 101, San Francisco, CA |
Street Name | Text | The portion of the Complete Street Name that identifies the particular thoroughfare (as opposed to the Street Name Pre Modifier, Street Name Post Modifier, Street Name Pre Directional, Street Name Post Directional, Street Name Pre Type, Street Name Post Type, and Separator Element (if any) in the Complete Street Name.): 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Street Name Posttype | Text | A word or phrase that follows the Street Name and identifies a type of thoroughfare in a Complete Street Name: 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Street Name Postdirectional | Text | A word following the street name that indicates the directional taken by the thoroughfare from an arbitrary starting point, or the sector where it is located: 315A Main Street East, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Street Name Post Modifier | Text | A word or phrase in a Complete Street Name that follows and modifies the Street Name, but is separated from it by a Street Name Post Type or a Street Name Post Directional or both: 315A Main Street Extended, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Occupancy Type | Text | The type of occupancy to which the associated Occupancy Identifier applies. (Building, Wing, Floor, Apartment, etc. are types to which the Identifier refers.): 315A Main Street, Apt 2, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
Occupancy Identifier | Text | The letters, numbers, words, or combination thereof used to distinguish different subaddresses of the same type when several occur within the same feature: 315A Main Street, Apt 2, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
City | Text | The city the address sits within: 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
State Name | Text | The names of the US states and state equivalents: the fifty US states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories and outlying possessions. A state (or equivalent) is "a primary governmental division of the United States." The names may be spelled out in full or represented by their two-letter USPS or ANSI abbreviation: 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
ZIP code | Numeric | A system of 5-digit codes that identifies the individual Post Office or metropolitan area delivery station associated with an address: 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
ZIP+4 | Numeric | A 4-digit extension of the 5-digit Zip Code (preceded by a hyphen) that, in conjunction with the Zip Code, identifies a specific range of USPS delivery addresses: 315A Main Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-1212 |
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