CDXZipStream, our Microsoft Excel add-in for location and ZIP Code analysis, includes a function called CDXClosestZIP, which can find the first, second, or third-closest ZIP code to a target ZIP. It quickly and easily finds the closest stores to customers, the closest hospitals to patients, the closest distribution centers to delivery points, and so on. It also calculates the straight-line distance between the target and closest ZIP Codes. A detailed description of how to use this function is included in the post How to Get the Closest, Second- and Third-Closest ZIP Codes.
We now also offer a free Excel template that completely automates the use of this function. (Please see here for a list of all downloadable templates.) The template can optionally check the validity of all ZIP Codes included in the analysis, and includes the ability to automatically retrieve data associated with each closest ZIP Code. For instance, if searching for stores closest to a customer, it will identify the store ZIP Code as well as information such as store number, city, state, or any other information provided within the template. Here’s a short tutorial showing how it works:
The template can work with large sets of data, covering thousands of target locations. It is compatible with the CDXZipStream Lite, Basic, and Premium Demographic versions.
Distance calculations for CDXClosestZip are based on the latitude and longitude coordinates of the centroid point of each ZIP Code. If a more accurate analysis is required using coordinates of a specific address, for example, we also offer a Geographic Access Analysis template shown here: