Real Estate Investors
Vacancy rates are leading indicators of neighborhood distress or growth. High residential vacancy signals opportunity or risk depending on context — pair with income and HMDA data to interpret correctly.
Residential and business address counts and vacancy indicators for every US ZIP code. Part of the EnrichZip dataset — all 33,000+ US ZIP codes, instant download.
How to use this data
Real Estate Investors
Vacancy rates are leading indicators of neighborhood distress or growth. High residential vacancy signals opportunity or risk depending on context — pair with income and HMDA data to interpret correctly.
Property Managers
Understand the competitive vacancy environment in your target markets. High vacancy ZIPs may indicate soft demand; low vacancy may support rent growth.
Housing Policy Analysts
Track housing stock utilization across markets. HUD USPS data is the most current available source for address-level vacancy proxies.
Direct Mail & Marketing
Residential address counts by ZIP code are essential for accurate mail volume estimates and per-address cost projections for direct marketing campaigns.
Columns Included
Source: US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). All columns are pre-joined and ready to use — no API key or GIS software required.
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
hud_res_addr |
Residential address count (from HUD USPS crosswalk) |
hud_bus_addr |
Business address count |
About This Data
The HUD USPS Crosswalk is one of the most underutilized public datasets in real estate and housing analysis. Updated quarterly from US Postal Service administrative records, it provides address-level counts of residential and business addresses by ZIP code — data that's more current than the annual Census ACS estimates.
For real estate investors, vacancy indicators derived from USPS non-delivery records can signal neighborhood distress earlier than survey-based estimates. ZIP codes with rising vacancy ratios relative to previous quarters may be experiencing economic stress before it shows up in income or employment statistics.
For direct mail and marketing applications, accurate residential address counts by ZIP code are fundamental to campaign planning. The HUD USPS data provides these counts at a ZIP level, derived from the same administrative records the postal service uses to plan mail delivery routes.
For housing policy analysts, the HUD USPS data complements Census ACS vacancy estimates with quarterly frequency. Tracking vacancy trends over multiple quarters reveals whether a market is tightening or loosening in near-real-time — valuable context for affordable housing planning, rental market analysis, and investment timing.
FAQ
HUD obtains administrative data from the US Postal Service quarterly, tracking the number of residential and business addresses in each ZIP code and the ratio of vacant/no-stat addresses to total addresses. This is distinct from the Census Bureau's vacancy estimates — it's derived from actual mail delivery records rather than survey data.
The Census ACS vacancy rate (also in our dataset) comes from survey estimates. The HUD USPS data comes from postal delivery records — addresses where mail is not delivered are flagged as vacant or no-stat. Both are useful; they measure slightly different things and are often used together.
HUD releases the USPS crosswalk quarterly — it's one of the most frequently updated sources in our dataset. Our current version reflects the Q1 2024 release.