You did not say what these data would be used for. Will there be heavy reads? What is the time requirement for each query? Proper way to do this would be by having three different normalized tables.
State: state_id PK state_name County: county_id (either abbreviate or create unique numeric id) county_name state_id FK Zip: zip_code PK county_id FK The above schema is normalized. But since portion of the data is static (state and county) it is possible to combine the first two tables into one table. However, the zip table needs to be in separate table unless you like updating records in multiple places. With proper indexing you can find a county name by a zip code with a simple where. It should be very fast. But still slower than one table solution. On 7/13/05, Laszlo Antal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi, > I need to store all 50 states and there county + zip in mysql. > What is the best way to do it? > Should I just put them in to one table and use the states row for > primary Id? or > Put every state in separate table and use the zip row for primary Id? > > Which would be faster to find a county? > The main search would be by zip or state. > > Thank you > > Laszlo Antal > > -- > MySQL General Mailing List > For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql > To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- http://chatter.mirislam.com/ -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
