how to find center of town in usa by zipcode

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omg123

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i am in the uk , & was wondering if you could please clarify something.

i need to know how to find the very central location in a town & the most central zip code & place.

the most central location in that town (in the USA).

in the uk, we do it by a specific postcode that is the same in each town that has the abreviated town name , then, 1 1AA,
so newcastle's most central postcode is NE1 1AA, derby is DE1 1AA, birmingham is B1 1AA.
but after searching on google i cant find how to determine this.

i need to know the most central location of los angeles for example, (literally putting a pin on a map) so how would i do this ? (& the zipcode)

the lowest number zipcode for los angeles is 90001 , but it is not at the centre, so how would you find the centre point in a town ? (such as los angeles)
as far as google sees the location, because in the uk it uses the postcodes such as above.

i dont mean just "downtown los angeles", because that is a hell of a big place, i mean finding how to pinpoint the exact place.

i contacted usps twice & sent them this message- no response
 
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Try importing a csv that includes zip, city, state, lat, and long (simplemaps has a free one available). From there:
-Query the database for 'los angeles', there will be many results
-Sort the results by latitude, store the highest and lowest. Repeat for longitude.

On a quick test my results were:
-latitude (low): 33.92037
-latitude (high): 34.13749
-longitude (low): -118.1489
-longitude (high): -118.48976

Calculate the midpoint between the low and high values for both lat and long. My results:
-latitude (mid): 34.02893
-longitude (mid): −118.31933

Result: 34.02893,-118.31933

It probably won't be perfect, but I checked the result coordinates on g maps and it looked pretty accurate to city center.
 
thanks for the response, but no, thats not what i meant, (i dont think your stupid because i can see how you thought that i meant that - by asking for the "centre point" (the point in the middle etc) )

i dont mean the centre point longitude & latitude, i mean the centre point according to how google views each town.

if you take one of the examples i gave, derby in uk, de1 1aa , it might not be exactly the middle of the town, but according to google it is exactly in the middle (the centre point ) because it uses the postcodes.
de1 1aa is the first & most central postcode

the reason im asking is because it is part of googles algorithym when assessing google maps, it sees how far you are from the "centre point"
de1 1aa is exactly at the centre, even though it might not look like it, it is where the postcodes start from.

but i dont know how to find the zipcodes & centre point in the usa because they dont work the same.
 
theres no standard to zipcodes in usa like that. what is it that you're trying to do?
 
OK if there isnt, then there isnt, but when i looked at chicago, as an example, i found that the central zipcode was 60601

am i wrong about this ?

i looked at the lowest numbers on the applicable zipcodes , & researched online, & also looked at the most central zipcodes (the centre of the town)

"what is it that you're trying to do?"

i am trying to rank on google maps, one part of the algorythim is how close you are to the "centre" of the town, google uses the postcodes in the uk, it will use the same algorythim in the usa, but its just harder to find the correct zipcode.

in uk it is as i said above - derby = de1 1aa
plymouth = pl1 1aa
leicester = le1 1aa

but in usa the zipcodes dont start with the very lowest numbers
 
ok, you are the second person to say that, but that is not what google uses to find the "centre" (middle) of a town as i have already pointed out.

if it was using the latitude & longitude, then the "1 1aa" postode would not be at the centre of most places, but i know it is, & it uses the same algo rithym in the usa & uk & worldwide
 
omg123 said:
ok, you are the second person to say that, but that is not what google uses to find the "centre" (middle) of a town as i have already pointed out.

if it was using the latitude & longitude, then the "1 1aa" postode would not be at the centre of most places, but i know it is, & it uses the same algo rithym in the usa & uk & worldwide
Click to expand...

The lat/long method i explained above will find the center of the city geographically. How are you wanting to define the center? Density? I live in LA and 'center' is extremely relative. For example, the Hollywood area is roughly 6-8 miles (estimate) from Downtown LA and equally as busy, while both use Los Angeles, CA addresses.

For me, the results I see on g maps are relative to my current location, not the center of the city. It takes an hour to drive from one end of LA to the other....what's close is what pops up, not what is central.
 
Take a look at the us zips file from simplymaps I referred to in my lat/long example. If you'd rather go by density or population, just filter the list to city/state and use the zip with the highest corresponding value.
 
yes. i completely understand & agree with you, you are not wrong.

but as i tried to explain above, its not what i think is the centre, its what google thinks is the centre.

its not geographically the centre, its what google thinks is the centre.

the thing you said about hollywood, i think you are missing the point & need to (PLEASE) read what i have said again.

google has what it has calculated as being the "centre" of a town, to calculate this, in the uk it uses the "1 1aa" bit on the postcode.
(because historically that was the geographical "central point")

that is the "centre" - END OF STORY

if you are driving round la & do a search for a "plumber" on google it will give you different results from different locations,

that has nothing to do with what google has determined to be the "centre" of a town.

the last post you made is completely missing the point, google has a central point that it uses to determine how far you are from the centre.

it also localises the searches, but that is seperate from the central point, & the longitude & latitude is seperate again from the central point that google has determined.


one bit that you mentioned that is very relevant is the amount & type of population, i.e. being "central" to where the potential customers are.

BUT
if you were trying to rank for everywhere in a town, "plumber in a town" then there would be a central point that google sees how far you are from that point
yes, it also localises the searches as well.

i have done this before, ranked number 1 for multiple terms based on being the most central.
 
omg123 said:
yes. i completely understand & agree with you, you are not wrong.

but as i tried to explain above, its not what i think is the centre, its what google thinks is the centre.

its not geographically the centre, its what google thinks is the centre.

the thing you said about hollywood, i think you are missing the point & need to (PLEASE) read what i have said again.

google has what it has calculated as being the "centre" of a town, to calculate this, in the uk it uses the "1 1aa" bit on the postcode.
(because historically that was the geographical "central point")

that is the "centre" - END OF STORY

if you are driving round la & do a search for a "plumber" on google it will give you different results from different locations,

that has nothing to do with what google has determined to be the "centre" of a town.

the last post you made is completely missing the point, google has a central point that it uses to determine how far you are from the centre.

it also localises the searches, but that is seperate from the central point, & the longitude & latitude is seperate again from the central point that google has determined.


one bit that you mentioned that is very relevant is the amount & type of population, i.e. being "central" to where the potential customers are.

BUT
if you were trying to rank for everywhere in a town, "plumber in a town" then there would be a central point that google sees how far you are from that point
yes, it also localises the searches as well.

i have done this before, ranked number 1 for multiple terms based on being the most central.
Click to expand...

Could you post:
1. URL you are using to submit the search (like google.com, maps.google.com, maps.google.co.uk, whatever it is)
2. An exact query you are searching for
3. A screenshot of the results returned from that query
4. Explain why the above result is not what you want, and how you would correct it
5. Are you trying to rank a gmb listing or in the general results?

Sorry for misunderstanding, I think I need to see it laid out like that to completely get what you mean.
 
This may be a dumb question, but why not just google the term you are looking to rank for and see what zip the top result is in if the other methods I suggested aren't what you want?

Can you paste an example US zipcode you think g has determined to be a 'center'?
 
"This may be a dumb question, but why not just google the term you are looking to rank for and see what zip the top result is in if the other methods I suggested aren't what you want?"

because its an algorythim & it uses other factors & more importantly the ones at the top probably wont be in the centre, they will be where thay are located.


"Can you paste an example US zipcode you think g has determined to be a 'center'?"
thats what i am asking you.


regarding the first post, the only bit i can answer is - its a gmb listing
the rest is completely missing the point
 
omg123 said:
"This may be a dumb question, but why not just google the term you are looking to rank for and see what zip the top result is in if the other methods I suggested aren't what you want?"

because its an algorythim & it uses other factors & more importantly the ones at the top probably wont be in the centre, they will be where thay are located.


"Can you paste an example US zipcode you think g has determined to be a 'center'?"
thats what i am asking you.


regarding the first post, the only bit i can answer is - its a gmb listing
the rest is completely missing the point
Click to expand...

I guess I did. Sorry I wasted my time trying to help. GL
1711125573364.png
 
thanks for the pastebin, but they are all small or average towns, no one is going to target them.

not being ungratefull, i just cant use them.


you did some of the biggest ones previously, people target them,
 
omg123 said:
thanks for the pastebin, but they are all small or average towns, no one is going to target them.

not being ungratefull, i just cant use them.


you did some of the biggest ones previously, people target them,
Click to expand...
better?

city,state,place_id,central_zip
San Antonio,TX,ChIJrw7QBK9YXIYRvBagEDvhVgg,78205
Sacramento,CA,ChIJ-ZeDsnLGmoAR238ZdKpqH5I,95814
Austin,TX,ChIJLwPMoJm1RIYRetVp1EtGm10,78701
Orlando,FL,ChIJd7zN_thz54gRnr-lPAaywwo,32801
San Juan,PR,ChIJbxlo4m9oA4wR3FqTXA9_a60,00901
San Jose,CA,ChIJ9T_5iuTKj4ARe3GfygqMnbk,95112
Pittsburgh,PA,ChIJA4UGSG_xNIgRNBuiWqEV-Y0,15219
Indianapolis,IN,ChIJA2p5p_9Qa4gRfOq5QPadjtY,46204
Manhattan,NY,ChIJYeZuBI9YwokRjMDs_IEyCwo,10024
Cincinnati,OH,ChIJ-SE43rFRQIgRF5PA5It--2k,45202
Kansas City,MO,ChIJl5npr173wIcRolGqauYlhVU,64106
Cleveland,OH,ChIJLWto4y7vMIgRQhhi91XLBO0,44115
Columbus,OH,ChIJcd6QucGJOIgRM7Wxz_hmMuQ,43215
Bronx,NY,ChIJsXxpOlWLwokRd1zxj6dDblU,10462
Virginia Beach,VA,ChIJpycV_OjBuokRcwEuo4AQFgQ,23451
Charlotte,NC,ChIJgRo4_MQfVIgRZNFDv-ZQRog,28202
Milwaukee,WI,ChIJ50eLV9cCBYgRhHtBtSIZX0Q,53202
Providence,RI,ChIJXXN-Q-BE5IkRJ7azSE1832k,02903
Jacksonville,FL,ChIJ66_O8Ra35YgR4sf8ljh9zcQ,32202
Nashville,TN,ChIJPZDrEzLsZIgRoNrpodC5P30,37219
Salt Lake City,UT,ChIJ7THRiJQ9UocRyjFNSKC3U1s,84111
Raleigh,NC,ChIJ9-BRny9arIkRrfARilK2kGc,27601
Richmond,VA,ChIJ7cmZVwkRsYkRxTxC4m0-2L8,23219
Memphis,TN,ChIJRZdD6h5-1YcR_rYaYBXzk9E,38103
Oklahoma City,OK,ChIJgdL4flSKrYcRnTpP0XQSojM,73102
Hartford,CT,ChIJpVER8hFT5okRmVl96ahKjsw,06103
26 lookups completed in 19s. exported to: /output/rows_25-50.csv
 
In the US, zip codes are primarily used for mail delivery purposes and do not necessarily correspond to the geographic center of a town or city.
 
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