The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is one of my favorite data sources – it’s also one of my favorite names for any government agency. The agency provides a database of world-wide features which I use as a data source for Geojoey.com’s landmark search feature (top right of the screen).
These guys are selling the equivalent data for over $300.
For an up to date ZIP code database, you should contact USPS.gov and order it from them – which may take a while – government companies grumble grumble. Or just buy it from one of the many online sellers for about $50. Census.gov doesn’t do ZIP codes anymore, but if you don’t care about it being current, there’s an old ZIP code database available for download.
Census.gov’s TIGER database is definitely THE source for US geospatial data. My favorite page is the cartographic boundary files they’ve extracted from the database. It has things like ZCTA’s (ZIP borders), County boundaries, etc. If you’re handy with a graphics app, you can do all kinds of fun stuff with this data.
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