Last Updated: September 18, 2026
You can export a list of the ZIP Codes (or other point layers) contained within a radius, a drive-time ring, or a custom-drawn area using Maptitude mapping software. This comes in handy whenever you need a clean list of the ZIP Codes inside a trade area, service radius, or drive-time zone. For example, to hand off to a direct mail service or to cross-reference against another dataset.
Maptitude can generate this list for any ring or radius, drive-time ring, or drawn area you create, and export it directly to Excel.
Turn On the 5-Digit ZIP Point Layer
Before you can include ZIP Codes in an export, turn on layer selection and make the point layer visible.
- Go to Edit>Preferences>Reporting.
- Check Allow me to choose the layers included in the report.
- Click OK.
- In the Display Manager, right-click on 5-Digit ZIP Point and choose Show Layer.
Export ZIP Codes to Excel
Once the ZIP point layer is turned on, you have two ways to start the export:
- Right-click on the drawing item, your ring, drive-time ring, or drawn area, and choose Export to Excel.
- Change the working layer, then go to Tools>Reports>Export to Excel.
Either way, the Pick Layers dialog box now lets you decide what’s included. Check the 5 Digit ZIP Point box to include ZIP Codes in your report.
Why the Layer You Choose Matters
Maptitude has two ZIP Code layers, and they behave differently because of their underlying geometry:
- The 5 Digit ZIP Code layer is an area (polygon) geometry type, each ZIP Code covers a shape on the map.
- The 5 Digit ZIP Point layer is a point geometry type, each ZIP Code is represented by a single point on the map.
This distinction changes what gets exported:
- Exporting from the area layer includes any ZIP Code polygon that is touched by or contained within your ring, drive-time ring, or drawn area, even if only a small sliver of it overlaps.
- Exporting from the point layer is more specific: a ZIP Code is included only if its point falls inside the ring, drive-time ring, or drawn area, it’s either in or it isn’t.
If you’ve come across an export that returns only the ZIP Codes whose center point falls inside a circle, it was built on the point layer.
Export Both Layers at Once
You aren’t limited to one or the other. Turn on both the 5 Digit ZIP Code and 5 Digit ZIP Point layers in the Display Manager at the same time, and the Pick Layers dialog box will let you export both the point-based and area-based ZIP Code lists in the same report.
Download a free mapping software trial of Maptitude Desktop or use your existing Maptitude Desktop license to try this yourself.
Conclusion
Choosing between the point and area ZIP Code layers, or exporting both at once, gives you control over exactly which ZIP Codes end up in your report. For more on building the areas you’ll export from, see the Maptitude articles on creating buffers, creating drive-time rings, and using the drawing tools.