Direct mail market guide: Orange County
Huntington Beach direct mail: where EDDM fits and where a list does
Across the four main Huntington Beach ZIP codes, 92646 to 92649, households differ most by ownership, with 75% owning their home in 92646 against 44% in 92647, and they also differ by age: a householder 65 or older heads 35% of households in 92646 against 24% in 92647. Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) suits an owner offer in 92646, while owners in 92647 and 92648 and any audience defined by age are better reached with an addressed list; either way, letters and flats for all four ZIP codes carry one USPS label, SCF SANTA ANA CA 926. Plavidian, a print and mail production company in Vista, California, whose plant falls under a different label, SCF SAN DIEGO CA 920, plans the USPS entry for each Huntington Beach mailing before quoting and mails it on its own permits.
Huntington Beach at a glance
- 77,302 households in 4 ZIP codes
- 191,498 residents, Orange County's fourth-largest city (DOF 2026)
- Owner-occupied households: 75% in 92646, 44% in 92647
- 153 city carrier routes; EDDM can reach all four ZIP codes
- Letters and flats for all four ZIP codes: SCF SANTA ANA CA 926
Households by ZIP code
Where Huntington Beach households are
Read the Owner-occupied and Householder 65+ columns first: those shares vary most, from 44% to 75% and from 24% to 35%, while households with children stay between 23% and 27%. Median household income ($107,877 to $132,841) and density (2,494 to 2,827 households per square mile) vary less, and with 39% of households across the four ZIP codes at $150,000 or more and 18% under $50,000, income is better targeted with a list select than by choosing ZIP codes.
| ZIP | Households | Owner-occupied | With children | Householder 65+ | Median household income | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92646 | 21,419 | 75% | 26% | 35% | $132,841 | $1,031,700 |
| 92647 | 21,315 | 44% | 27% | 24% | $107,877 | $963,900 |
| 92648 | 20,023 | 47% | 23% | 25% | $118,993 | $1,176,000 |
| 92649 | 14,545 | 58% | 23% | 33% | $121,604 | $1,070,800 |
| Total | 77,302 | |||||
Each row is a Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area, which approximates a USPS ZIP code and can extend past the city limits; the four cover 29.3 square miles of land. The city's population, 191,498 on January 1, 2026, is a provisional California Department of Finance estimate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates, by ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA). ZCTAs approximate USPS ZIP Code areas and cross city lines; figures are survey estimates.
Carrier routes
153 city routes, delivered from two units
USPS lists 153 carrier routes in the four ZIP codes, all of them city routes, with no rural routes or P.O. box sections, and EDDM can use every one. Together they hold 81,857 residential and 6,297 business deliveries. The Delivered from column shows how delivery divides: one delivery unit serves all of 92646, and another serves 92647, 92648 and 92649.
| ZIP | Carrier routes | Residential deliveries | Business deliveries | Delivered from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92646 | 48 | 22,409 | 579 | Ida Jean Haxton |
| 92647 | 41 | 22,445 | 2,404 | Huntington Beach |
| 92648 | 34 | 21,865 | 1,670 | Huntington Beach |
| 92649 | 30 | 15,138 | 1,644 | Huntington Beach |
| Total | 153 | 81,857 | 6,297 |
Source: USPS EDDM route service: carrier routes with residential and business delivery counts, retrieved September 27, 2026. Counts change as USPS updates routes; the EDDM Route Builder shows the current figures.
Owners and renters
56% own overall, but 75% in 92646 and 44% in 92647
Across the four ZIP codes, 56% of households own their home, matching the Orange County figure. That average hides the split a mailer has to plan around: 75% own in 92646, 58% in 92649, 47% in 92648 and 44% in 92647.
Offers meant for owners, such as a roof replacement, a kitchen remodel or a home valuation, can go to every door in 92646, where three in four households own. In 92647 and 92648 renters outnumber owners, so the same every-door drop would spend most of its pieces on households that cannot say yes; an addressed list with an owner select reaches the owners alone. 92649 sits between the two, and the choice there turns on whether a renter can use the offer.
Home value is no guide to ownership here: 92648 tops the four in median home value, at $1,176,000, yet has the second-lowest owner share. The Mailing List Builder counts owner households for 92648 on its own, and Plavidian supplies the list itself through licensed data providers after you order.
Age and children
Older households in 92646 and 92649, and no family-heavy ZIP code
Householders 65 or older head 29% of households in the four ZIP codes, against 26% across Orange County, and they cluster in two of them: 35% in 92646 and 33% in 92649, against 24% in 92647 and 25% in 92648. Children live in 25% of the four ZIP codes' households, against 33% in the county, and in no ZIP code does the share pass 27%.
That points senior living communities, Medicare-season insurance agents and retirement-focused financial advisors to 92646 and 92649 first. EDDM cannot select by age, so the efficient piece is addressed: the List Builder's age filter counts the older householders, and in 92646 they share the ZIP code with the highest owner share and median household income ($132,841) of the four.
A family offer, from a pediatric office to a youth sports league, has no ZIP code here where children live in most homes, so an every-door drop would land mainly in homes without them. The List Builder's children filter counts the households with children for an addressed list instead.
Routes and deliveries
Similar home counts, different route sizes, and business mail in 92647
Route size varies more than home counts here. 92646 and 92647 hold almost the same number of residential deliveries, 22,409 and 22,445, yet USPS divides 92646 into 48 routes and 92647 into 41, while 92648 fits 21,865 onto 34. Because EDDM is bought route by route, the smaller 92646 routes let a drop be trimmed to a budget in finer steps, while each 92648 route added brings a bigger block of homes.
Business deliveries are uneven as well: 92646 is almost entirely homes, with 579 business deliveries, while 92647 has 2,404, the most of the four, and 92649, the smallest ZIP code by households, has nearly as many as 92648 (1,644 against 1,670). Leaving business deliveries out of a household offer saves the most pieces in 92647, and an offer for shops and offices can keep them in there.
Size an EDDM print run from the USPS count rather than the Census one: residential deliveries run ahead of households in all four ZIP codes, 81,857 against 77,302 in all, and furthest apart in 92648 (21,865 against 20,023). The two measure different things: USPS counts the residential addresses on each carrier route, while the Census estimates occupied households in areas that only approximate ZIP codes. The EDDM Route Builder shows each route's current count before you pick.
Neighboring labels
One label for all four ZIP codes; Seal Beach and Garden Grove use others
All four ZIP codes in this guide sort under SCF SANTA ANA CA 926, and so does mail for Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine and Santa Ana, whose ZIP codes start 926 or 927. A campaign that runs down the coast to Newport Beach or inland to Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Irvine stays on that one label.
Up the coast and to the north the labels change. Seal Beach and Los Alamitos use 907 ZIP codes, labeled SCF LOS ANGELES CA 900; Garden Grove's 928 ZIP codes are labeled SCF ANAHEIM CA 928; and Cypress and Stanton, with 906 ZIP codes, sort under SCF INDUSTRY CA 917. A trade area around a Huntington Beach storefront that crosses into any of them carries more than one SCF label.
Crossing into Seal Beach or Garden Grove does not stop the mailing; it adds an entry plan for SCF LOS ANGELES CA 900 or SCF ANAHEIM CA 928, which Plavidian works out before quoting. The Orange County guide shows how the labels divide the county, and the drop shipment guide explains entry at a destination SCF.
From the Vista plant
A plant under another SCF label, and two delivery units to enter at
The Vista plant's own ZIP code, 92084, is labeled SCF SAN DIEGO CA 920, so mail for these four ZIP codes always travels to a sectional center other than the plant's, and every job here needs an entry decision. The options are origin entry at Plavidian's business mail entry unit or a drop shipment to the sectional center USPS labels SCF SANTA ANA CA 926 or to the delivery units; for the EDDM routes you select, the EDDM Route Builder shows postage at all three entry points side by side.
The route data lists one delivery unit for all 48 routes in 92646 and a second for every route in 92647, 92648 and 92649, so an EDDM drop to all four ZIP codes entered at the delivery units makes just two stops, and one that leaves out 92646 makes one.
By road, Huntington Beach lies between Irvine and Long Beach, which are 55 and 78 miles from the plant, and beyond the North County area Plavidian delivers print to locally. Door hangers and yard signs for your own team are shipped, or picked up free at the plant in Vista; mailed pieces need no pickup, since Plavidian enters them into the mail itself.
Local direct mail planning
Planning a Huntington Beach mailing?
Six steps from the audience to the mail; the first opens the List Builder on 92647 and 92648, the two ZIP codes where renters outnumber owners.
Define the market
Start with who the piece is for and let that choose the ZIP codes: an owner offer points to 92646, an offer for older households to 92646 and 92649, and an offer anyone nearby can use to all four. Count the owners in 92647 and 92648 before deciding how to reach them.
Count Owners in 92647 and 92648Compare approaches
EDDM fits 92646 for an owner offer and all four ZIP codes for an offer anyone can use. An addressed list fits owners in 92647 and 92648, any audience defined by age, income or children, and, because Plavidian runs EDDM with flat-size pieces, any letter-size piece such as a 6x11 postcard.
Compare EDDM and a Mailing ListEstimate the mailing
Price a real drop from the USPS count retrieved September 27, 2026: the 48 routes of 92646 carry 22,409 residential deliveries, and all four ZIP codes 81,857. An addressed mailing is sized from the List Builder count instead.
Price an EDDM Drop Across 92646Prepare the creative
Plavidian runs EDDM with flat-size pieces, so an EDDM piece here is a 6.5x9, 8.5x11 or 9x12 flat flyer, while a postcard at 4x6, 6x9 or 6x11 is letter-size and goes to an addressed list. In these four ZIP codes both shapes carry SCF SANTA ANA CA 926, so choosing between them changes postage and targeting but adds no second sectional center. Plavidian Studio™ lays out the bleed, the safe zone and the USPS address and permit area for you, then saves a press-ready PDF to your order.
Design an EDDM FlyerProduce and mail
The Vista plant handles list work, addressing for addressed mail and USPS preparation, and anything an approved vendor makes for the job is held to the published Plavidian Standard™. Your mail goes out on Plavidian's permits, with its entry plan for SCF SANTA ANA CA 926 settled before you get a quote. Only printing can go on a card: USPS postage is paid by check or wire transfer, and no piece goes to USPS until the full postage has cleared.
Follow the mail
Every Plavidian mailing includes Plavidian Insight™ at no separate charge, following each Huntington Beach piece through its USPS scans; the scans show the mail's path through the mailstream, not proof of delivery. For letter-size pieces, such as a personalized letter to 92646 owners through Print + Insert, Plavidian Sentry™ camera verification is an optional add-on.
See Plavidian Insight
Start here
Plan your Huntington Beach mailing
Each link opens a free tool for planning a mailing to Huntington Beach.
USPS entry
Postcards and EDDM flats share one SCF label
All four ZIP codes start with 926. USPS labels that prefix SCF SANTA ANA CA 926 on its letter list (L005) and again on its flat list (L016), with ADC SANTA ANA CA 926 as its ADC label on L004; these are the lists in effect since June 27, 2026. A 6x11 postcard mailed to an owner list and an 8.5x11 EDDM flat sent to every door therefore carry the same sectional center label, so switching a campaign from one to the other changes the postage without adding a second SCF to the entry plan.
| ZIP codes starting | Letters sort to | Flats sort to | ADC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 926 | SCF SANTA ANA CA 926 | SCF SANTA ANA CA 926 | ADC SANTA ANA CA 926 |
Source: USPS labeling lists L005 (letters), L016 (flats) and L004 (ADC), effective June 27, 2026.
By industry
Industry guides that apply in Huntington Beach
Nearby
Nearby market guides
Questions
Questions about direct mail in Huntington Beach
How many households do Huntington Beach's four main ZIP codes hold?
The four ZIP codes in this guide, 92646 to 92649, hold 77,302 households by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates, 2019 to 2023), 56% of them owner-occupied. For EDDM, order from the USPS count instead: 81,857 residential deliveries on 153 carrier routes.
92646 and 92647 are the largest, with 21,419 and 21,315 households, and 92649 the smallest, with 14,545. The city itself had 191,498 residents on January 1, 2026, by the California Department of Finance's provisional estimate, fourth in Orange County after Anaheim, Irvine and Santa Ana.
Can EDDM reach every home in Huntington Beach's main ZIP codes?
Yes. Each of the four, 92646 to 92649, has USPS carrier routes: 153 city routes in all, with 81,857 residential deliveries and no rural routes or P.O. box sections. Business deliveries add 6,297 when the offer suits them.
Each of the four ZIP codes holds 15,138 to 22,445 residential deliveries, well above the 5,000 pieces per ZIP Code per day that EDDM Retail allows; that cap is a Retail rule and does not bind Plavidian, which mails EDDM through the business mail entry unit on its own permit. Plavidian's EDDM jobs start at 200 pieces, every piece must be flat-size (6.5x9, 8.5x11 or 9x12), and the mail goes to every residential address on a chosen route, with no selection by owner, age, income or name.
Which USPS SCF label does Huntington Beach mail carry?
For the four ZIP codes in this guide, SCF SANTA ANA CA 926, for letters (L005) and flats (L016) alike on the USPS labeling lists in effect since June 27, 2026, with ADC SANTA ANA CA 926 at the ADC level (L004). Nearby Seal Beach and Los Alamitos (907 ZIP codes) carry SCF LOS ANGELES CA 900, and Garden Grove (928) carries SCF ANAHEIM CA 928.
Because letters and flats share that label, trading a postcard for an EDDM flyer adds no second sectional center, although EDDM can also be entered at the two delivery units; a neighboring city on another label adds its own entry plan. Plavidian chooses origin entry or a drop shipment for each label when it plans the job.
For a homeowner offer in Huntington Beach, which ZIP codes suit EDDM?
92646 does: 75% of its households own. In 92647 and 92648, where 44% and 47% own, send the offer to an addressed owner list, and in 92649, at 58%, use EDDM only if renters can also act on it.
For an owner list in 92647 or 92648, Plavidian runs CASS processing, removes duplicates, households the file when you want one piece per household and applies NCOALink move update when the mailing needs it; it can also supply homeowner-selected consumer lists from licensed data providers. See the roofing and home remodeling guides for campaign detail.
Which Huntington Beach ZIP codes have the most older households?
92646 and 92649, where householders 65 or older head 35% and 33% of households, against 24% in 92647 and 25% in 92648. EDDM cannot select by age, so reach them with an addressed list, sized first with the Mailing List Builder's age filter.
92646 also has the highest owner share (75%) and median household income ($132,841) of the four, a mix that suits a senior living tour invitation or an invitation to a retirement planning workshop.
Is print for Huntington Beach shipped from Vista, or can it be picked up?
Door hangers, yard signs and other print that is not mailed can be shipped to Huntington Beach, which lies outside the North County area Plavidian delivers to locally, or collected free at the plant in Vista. Mailed pieces need neither, since they go from the plant into the USPS mailstream.
For timing, the order cutoff is 12:00 PM Pacific, except a 2-day rush on certain products, which closes at 9:00 AM Pacific; production begins once you approve the proof, and the current windows are on Turnaround Times.
Printing and mailing by region
Sources
- E-1 population estimates for California cities, January 1, 2026 (provisional): California Department of Finance
- E-1 2026 press release with city tables (city rank within Orange County): California Department of Finance
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019 to 2023, by ZIP Code Tabulation Area: U.S. Census Bureau
- How Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas relate to USPS ZIP codes: U.S. Census Bureau
- USPS FAST labeling list L005, SCF sortation for letters, in effect from June 27, 2026
- USPS FAST labeling list L016 for flats, in effect from June 27, 2026
- USPS FAST labeling list L004, ADC sortation, in effect from June 27, 2026
- Carrier routes, residential and business deliveries and delivery units per ZIP code, USPS EDDM route data retrieved September 27, 2026
- USPS Every Door Direct Mail: the Retail and BMEU versions and the Retail per-ZIP daily limit
- USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201: letter-size and flat-size dimensions
- OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data: free-flow road miles from the Vista plant to Irvine and Long Beach
Plan your Huntington Beach mailing
Send the ZIP codes or routes you have in mind, the audience and your target in-home week. Plavidian quotes printing, list work and postage in one estimate, with the entry already planned for SCF SANTA ANA CA 926 and any other label your area reaches, such as SCF LOS ANGELES CA 900 in Seal Beach.