The Empire State Building Has Its Own ZIP Code

While most ZIP codes cover entire neighborhoods or towns, a select few landmarks are so large and busy they function like a small city, requiring their own unique postal code. This is the case for New York's iconic Empire State Building. Housing over a thousand different businesses and their employees across its 2.7 million square feet of office space, the sheer volume of daily mail traffic is comparable to that of a small town. To manage this immense flow of letters and packages efficiently, the U.S. Postal Service assigned the building its exclusive ZIP code: 10118.

This unique postal status is a testament to the building's enduring scale and commercial density. When it opened in 1931, its 102 stories made it the world's tallest building, a title it held for nearly four decades. Although the ZIP code system itself wasn't introduced until 1963, the building's established prominence made it a prime candidate for its own designation. This practice isn't limited to just one skyscraper; other high-volume locations, from university campuses to large office complexes like the Sears (now Willis) Tower in Chicago, also receive their own ZIP codes to streamline the monumental task of mail sorting and delivery.