What is the best column type for a United States ZIP code?

Question

I want to store Zip Code (within United States) in MySQL database. Saving space is a priority. which is better option using VARCHAR - limited

Answer 1

I usually use MEDIUMINT(5) ZEROFILL for 5 digit zip codes. This preserves any leading 0s and it only uses 3 bytes where a VARCHAR(5) would use 6. This assumes that you don't need the extended zip codes, which have a dash and 4 extra numbers. If you were to decide to use a textual type, I would use CHAR(5) instead of VARCHAR(5) since it is better if the data is always 5 characters long.