QUESTION: I searched for a ZIP code, but the ERI Closest Matching Area is different than the Post Office City. Does this mean that the Post Office City is not in the database? For example, I searched for ZIP code 77058. The ZIP is for Houston (per the USPS), but the ERI Closest Matching Area is Nassau Bay, TX, and not Houston.
No, just because the Post Office City is not highlighted as the closest area, it does not necessarily mean that the Post Office City is not in the database. As described in GA Data Background FAQ #5, the ERI Closest Matching Area is determined by the distance from the ZIP to the city, and cities are often irregularly shaped. The city of Houston is 40 miles wide in places, wraps around other cities, and has 178 ZIP codes. In this example, ZIP 77058 is ¼ mile from the center of Nassau Bay and 22 miles from the center of Houston. It is likely that the cost of living and cost of labor of this ZIP would more closely resemble the city less than a mile away than the city that is 22 miles away.
Users are always encouraged to review the results of the geographic match for other factors that may be relevant to the specific characteristics of their analyses.
