Boston ZIP Codes & Area Codes: Complete Directory & Postal Map (MA)

Looking for a Boston ZIP code or trying to match a ZIP to its telephone area code? This directory maps the ZIP codes of Boston, Massachusetts, to their neighborhoods, counties, and the area codes that serve them. Use it to address mail correctly, verify a caller’s location, or understand how Boston’s postal and telephone geography line up.

Boston ZIP Codes & Area Codes at a Glance

Boston ZIP Code Directory

The table below lists major Boston ZIP codes with the neighborhood or district each covers, the telephone area code that serves it, and the county it falls in.

Beyond the neighborhoods listed above, Boston also has ZIP codes reserved for post-office boxes, large-volume business mailers, universities, and government facilities that do not correspond to a single residential district. When you are unsure which code to use, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup confirms the exact ZIP for any street address, while the area code shown in each row indicates the telephone prefix that most commonly serves that part of Boston. Mail sorted to the correct ZIP+4 moves faster and is less likely to be delayed or returned.

How Boston ZIP Codes and Area Codes Align

A ZIP code is a postal routing number, while an area code is a telephone routing number, so the two systems do not map one-to-one. In Boston, the 617, 857 area codes overlap the same territory that dozens of ZIP codes divide up. A single ZIP code can contain phone numbers from more than one area code, and a single area code spans many ZIP codes. For a full breakdown of the telephone side, see the Boston area code guide.

Because Massachusetts uses 10-digit dialing, always dial the area code plus the seven-digit number when calling a Boston line, even locally. When you only have a ZIP code, the directory above is the quickest way to see which area code most likely serves that part of the city.

Postal & Telecom Scam Warnings in Boston

With dozens of colleges, watch for student apartment-rental scams demanding deposits sight-unseen, plus fake IRS and utility-shutoff robocalls. Across Boston ZIP codes, watch for USPS “undelivered package” smishing texts that ask you to pay a small redelivery fee, address-change and mail-hold fraud, and area-code spoofing that makes robocalls appear to come from a local Boston number. The Postal Service never texts you a payment link for a package, and legitimate callers do not demand gift cards or wire transfers. Report mail fraud to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and unwanted calls to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many ZIP codes does Boston have?

Boston has approximately 35+ ZIP codes covering its neighborhoods and districts across Suffolk County.

What area codes serve Boston?

Boston is served by the 617, 857 area codes. See the Boston area code guide for full details.

Do ZIP codes and area codes match up in Boston?

Not exactly. ZIP codes route mail and area codes route calls, so one ZIP code can include more than one area code and each area code spans many ZIP codes. The directory above shows the most common pairing for each ZIP.

What is the main ZIP code for Boston?

Boston’s core ZIP codes are listed at the top of the directory table above; downtown and central neighborhoods usually carry the lowest-numbered ZIP codes in the city.

Are ZIP codes and area codes the same thing?

No. A ZIP code is a five-digit postal code used to route mail, while an area code is the three-digit prefix used to route telephone calls. Boston uses both systems, but they were designed independently and cover different-sized areas, which is why one ZIP code can overlap more than one area code.

What time zone is Boston in?

Boston observes Eastern Time (ET, UTC-5 / UTC-4).