About How Is My ZIP?
How Is My ZIP organizes public location records into readable, source-labeled files. Start with a free ZIP or city briefing, open a deeper account workspace, or commission address-level research before a property decision.
Three levels of research
Search by ZIP or city without creating an account. The public file keeps every value beside its source, geography, reporting period, and limits.
A free account keeps useful files together and opens the deeper public-data modules without changing the underlying evidence.
For a specific property, we move from an automated area briefing to an address-centered research file with manual checks and an explicit question trail.
What the free file does
The public briefing matches the search to the best available Census and agency geography, then assembles FEMA modeled hazard values, federal disaster history, and nearby EPA Toxics Release Inventory filings. It does not create a secret score or label a place good or bad. It shows the published value, who published it, what area it describes, and when it was reported.
A free account adds saved files, side-by-side comparison, and additional modules for current air and weather, Superfund, radon, regulated-facility compliance, community health, earthquakes, and water context. Those modules are deeper views of public data, not paywalled conclusions.
Custom property research
Commissioned research starts with an exact address, not a ZIP centroid. It can include parcel and assessor matching, mapped hazard checks, permit and agency records, address-anchored facility distances, public-safety context, and a documented list of items that still require a seller, insurer, inspector, attorney, or local agency.
The value is not exclusive access to public data. It is the work of finding the right record, confirming the geography, checking the date, preserving the source, and separating a finding from an unanswered question.
Where the records come from
The platform uses US government datasets and official public-record portals. The source family matters because each one answers a different question:
FEMA National Risk Index, OpenFEMA, and US Census geography
Modeled hazard values, federally declared disaster history, and the geographic bridge that connects a ZIP or city search to the records that actually exist.
EPA TRI, Superfund, Radon Zones, and ECHO
Chemical filings, Superfund site records, county radon potential, and regulated-facility compliance history. Proximity and filings are evidence, not exposure measurements.
AirNow, National Weather Service, CDC PLACES, USGS, and water records
Current observations, public alerts, modeled population estimates, seismic records, possible public water systems, and nearby sampling inventories.
Official parcel, hazard, permit, agency, and disclosure portals
Custom files identify the correct public-record system, run the address or parcel check, document what was found, and preserve unresolved questions instead of filling gaps with guesses.
Methodology preview
Source, geography, reporting period, and limits stay attached to the record. The methodology page explains both the automated location pipeline and the manual property-research workflow.
What this is not
ZIP, ZCTA, county, agency jurisdiction, facility radius, water system, and parcel are different geographies. We label them separately so an area statistic is not mistaken for a house fact.
A filing, nearby site, model, mapped perimeter, or sample does not by itself prove contamination, exposure, damage, insurability, or future loss at a property.
Some records update live; others update weekly, quarterly, or annually. A missing result can reflect program coverage, reporting delay, or search limits rather than proof that nothing exists.
A Property Decision File narrows questions and preserves sources. It does not replace title work, parcel documents, inspections, disclosures, underwriting, legal advice, or professional judgment.
How Is My ZIP is independent and is not affiliated with a government agency. The files are research tools, provided as-is, and are not emergency, medical, legal, insurance, financial, or real-estate advice.
The product principle
Automated briefings stay fast by preprocessing slow-moving records and loading current sources only when needed. Custom files spend human research time where automation stops: parcel identity, jurisdiction, document history, local portals, and unresolved decision questions.
We would rather show “manual verification required” than turn an area statistic into a house claim. That distinction is the product.