I'm trying to make sure none of our branches is in an area that became a Metropolitan Area with the new census data. All the lists showing the new Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas in OMB Bulletin No. 03-04 issued in June define everything by county so I'm not quite sure how to do it.

1. If a branch is located in a county listed in one of the metro or micro areas is that branch DEFINITELY in that metro or micro area, or can a county be split so part of the county is in the MA but part is outside the MA?

2. Also, as a general reference, can a zip code ever be split between two counties, or will a zip code ALWAYS be contained entirely within one county?

With the exception of New England, Metro and Micro areas include full counties. What you see on the OMB list is the way it is. E-mail me with state and county and I'll give you new MA or Micropolitan info if you need aditional help.

Zip codes do not follow the same boundary's as a county or census tract and can be split between counties and census tracts.

Thanks. That answers my primary question about counties and makes the OMB lists pretty clear cut. All of my branches are either in counties shown on the lists in micropolitan areas or in counties that aren't shown on the lists at all. That confirms that we aren't becoming a HMDA reporter.

Now, just to make sure I understand zip codes, if I have two addresses in the same zip code it doesn't guarantee that they're in the same county. Is that right?

The best thing to do is get a map showing the zip code boundaries. You may not have any in your area that cross county lines as they don't in all counties.

E-mail me your state and counties and I'll look it up to see if you have any that do cross.