Every ZIP code in the United States, with weather, radar, trivia and the numbers behind it. Five digits since 1963!

ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan. The codes went live on July 1, 1963.The lowest ZIP code is 00501 — the IRS in Holtsville, New York.The highest ZIP code is 99950, in Ketchikan, Alaska.Type 07734 into a calculator and turn it upside down: hELLO. It is Keansburg, New Jersey.12345 belongs to one company: General Electric in Schenectady, New York.The first digit is a region: 0 is New England and New Jersey, 9 is the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.Mr. ZIP, the cartoon mailman, was the mascot that sold the idea to America.ZIP+4 arrived in 1983 and can narrow a ZIP down to one side of one block.A ZIP code is a mail route, not a place: plenty of them cross county and even state lines.Play ZIP Hunt: guess the secret ZIP code of the day in six tries.
zipcodes.pro — ZIP/12196

12196

ZIP 12196 is West Sand Lake, New York, in Rensselaer County; area codes 518 and 838; Eastern time.

Type
Standard
Time zone
America/New_York
County
Rensselaer
Population
3,880
Coordinates
42.6318, -73.6139
☼ Live from 12196 — West Sand Lake, NY

Weather right now

Asking the National Weather Service…

NEXRAD radar
Finding the nearest radar…
Local time: —

Where 12196 is

Approximate ZIP boundary (Census ZCTA 2020). ZIP codes are mail routes, not areas, so the shape shown is the Census tabulation area that approximates it.

★ Weird and wonderful facts about 12196
  • 🔢 Type 12196 into a pocket calculator and turn it upside down: gGIZI — not quite a word, sorry.
  • ➕ As a number, 12,196 = 2 × 2 × 3049. Its digits add up to 19, a total 2,454 other ZIP codes share.
  • 💾In binary, the way a computer stores it: 10111110100100
  • 🏠 Its numerical neighbours: 12195 (West Lebanon, NY, 13 mi away) and 12197 (Worcester, NY, 56 mi away).
  • 🔄 Backwards, 12196 becomes 69121 — and that is a real ZIP code: Arthur, NE, 1,439 miles away.
  • 👥 24 other ZIP codes are made of exactly the same digits (11692, 11962, 12169, 12916, 12961, 16912, …). The farthest-flung twin is 91612 in North Hollywood, CA, 2,463 miles away.
  • 🧭 Farther north than 80% of all ZIP codes, and farther east than 92%.
  • 🎯1,307 miles east of the geographic center of the Lower 48, near Lebanon, Kansas.
  • 🌏 Dig straight through the Earth from 12196 and you would come out at 42.63°S, 106.39°E — 902 miles from Perth, Australia, the nearest big city to that spot.
  • ☀Longest day of the year: 15h 19m of daylight. Shortest: 9h 03m.
  • 📏 At 9.0 square miles of land, 12196 is bigger than 26% of ZIP codes — room for about 6.8 Central Parks.
🌙 The sky over 12196 today
  • Working out the sun…
🌋 Shake report
  • Checking the USGS…

Source: USGS.

People and housing

Population3,880This ZIP3,880
Households1,452This ZIP1,452
Housing units1,452This ZIP1,452
Median age46.6This ZIP46.6New York39.8US 38.9
Median household income$110,889This ZIP$110,889New York$85,974US $80,734
Median home value$317,300This ZIP$317,300New York$423,800US $332,700
Median gross rent$1,000This ZIP$1,000New York$1,621US $1,413
Bachelor's degree or higher32.8%This ZIP32.8%
Mean commute20.4 minThis ZIP20.4 min
Population density433.3 / sq miThis ZIP433.3 / sq mi

Business and tax activity

Business establishments53This ZIP53
Employees716This ZIP716
Annual payroll$36,717,000This ZIP$36,717,000
Tax returns filed1,480This ZIP1,480
Total adjusted gross income$150,138,000This ZIP$150,138,000

Land area

Land area8.95 sq miThis ZIP8.95 sq mi
Water area0.22 sq miThis ZIP0.22 sq mi

Other place names in 12196

Census places whose land this ZIP code overlaps. The Postal Service may accept other city names in an address, too.

ZIP codes near 12196

ZIPCityDistance
12198 Wynantskill, NY 3.0 mi
12061 East Greenbush, NY 3.1 mi
12140 Poestenkill, NY 4.1 mi
12063 East Schodack, NY 4.6 mi
12018 Averill Park, NY 4.7 mi
12144 Rensselaer, NY 5.3 mi
12207 Albany, NY 7.0 mi
12246 Albany, NY 7.0 mi
12153 Sand Lake, NY 7.2 mi
12210 Albany, NY 7.4 mi

Find every ZIP code within 10 miles of 12196 →

Questions about this ZIP code

Where is ZIP code 12196?

12196 is in West Sand Lake, New York, in Rensselaer County, part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY metropolitan area. Its published point location is 42.6318, -73.6139.

What county is 12196 in?

12196 lies in Rensselaer County.

What area code is 12196?

West Sand Lake uses area codes 518 and 838, from NANPA's telephone records.

What time zone is 12196 in?

12196 uses America/New_York.

How many people live in 12196?

About 3,880 people live in ZIP code 12196, in 1,452 households, at 433.3 people per square mile. These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area, not a headcount.

What is the median household income in 12196?

$110,889 a year, against $85,974 across New York.

What ZIP codes are near 12196?

The closest are 12198 (3 mi), 12061 (3.1 mi), 12140 (4.1 mi), 12063 (4.6 mi) and 12018 (4.7 mi).

Is 12196 a PO Box ZIP code?

12196 is a standard ZIP code. A normal ZIP code with street delivery.

Download or cite

Cite this page

zipcodes.pro. “12196 ZIP Code — West Sand Lake, New York (Rensselaer County).” Data release 2026-10-12. Retrieved 2026-10-20. https://zipcodes.pro/zip/12196

Machine-readable version of these facts:

curl https://zipcodes.pro/zip/12196.json

Underlying data is public domain or openly licensed — sources, vintages and licences.