Should You Put Your Address on Your Resume?

No, including your full address on your resume isn’t necessary.

Including an address on your resume used to be standard practice because employers would reach out to applicants via physical mail.

Today, however, most (if not all) jobs handle hiring communication through email or online portals. For that reason, listing a mailing address on your resume isn’t recommended anymore.

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Reasons to include your address on a resume

Although it’s not necessary to list your address on your resume, there are a couple of situations when you still might do it. Here are two:

✅ An employer requests it specifically

One reason to include an address on your resume is if the employer specifically requests it.

It was formerly standard practice to list a full address on a resume, so some employers may still request that you do so. Check the job listing and any communications you’ve had with the hiring manager for specific instructions to provide your address.

✅ You want to show that you’re a local

While relocating for work is common and routine, certain companies may favor applicants who are already living nearby.

Even for remote positions, companies usually prefer to hire people living in the same time zone because it’s easier to coordinate and work together as a team.

If you live in the same area as the job you’re applying to, you may want to include your city and state, or your full address, if you believe it will give you an advantage or provide clarity to employers.

Reasons not to include your address on a resume

As stated above, it’s not recommended to list your full address on your resume. Here’s why:

❌ Listing an address is an outdated practice

Today, very few people use physical mail as their primary method of communication, especially in professional situations.

In most instances, employers only need your email, cellphone number, or LinkedIn to contact you. Simply put, basic technology makes listing your address on a resume unnecessary.

❌ Including your address creates unnecessary risk

If you’re applying for your job through a third party, like a job board, you can’t be sure who’ll have access to the information you list on your resume.

In this situation, it’s perfectly acceptable to remove your address from your resume to protect your privacy.

❌ Distance bias

If a company is looking for local talent or you’re applying for a job that requires you to relocate, including a non-local address might make hiring managers hesitant to reach out to you.

Additionally, even if you’re applying for a job that’s fully remote, employers may think twice about hiring you because you live in a different timezone from the company location. If this is the case, it’s better to leave your address off of your resume.

❌ Location bias

If you live in a certain city or neighborhood that some people consider to be undesirable, you may want to avoid listing your address on your resume to prevent discrimination.

While employment discrimination based on race, religion, or sex is prohibited under U.S. law, discrimination based on suspected socioeconomic status is difficult to prove and not uncommon.

If you suspect you could be discriminated against based on your area of residence, it’s better not to include your address on your resume and simply provide that information later in the hiring process.

❌ Your address takes up space on your resume

If you have more than a few years of professional experience and are trying to write a one page resume, you know that every bit of space on the page is important.

A full address takes up a lot of valuable space in your resume header, and it may push your resume onto a second page. If your resume formatting feels stuffed or overloaded, it’s okay to not include your address on your resume so you can keep it clean and easy to read.

Additionally, cutting your address frees up space to include other information in your header that might be more relevant to your industry, like your LinkedIn profile or a link to your portfolio or GitHub repository.

How to write your address on your resume

If you’ve decided to include an address on your resume, it’s pretty simple to do so properly.

You can either write your full address (street address, city, state, and zip code) or just the city and state you live in. Either way is perfectly acceptable, and provides the hiring manager with all the information they need to make a hiring decision.

Here’s an example of a resume with the full address listed:

Now, here’s an example of a resume with a shortened address including just the city and state:

If you’re relocating

If you’re not currently living in the same area as the job you’re applying for but plan on relocating soon, you should list your address on your resume in a slightly different way.

Simply include a line that states “Relocating to City, State in Month, Year” instead of your current address. This assures hiring managers that you’re a viable candidate, despite not living in the area.

Here’s an example of how to list your address on a resume if you’re relocating: