Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Extracting Street Numbers from an Address.

Extracting Street Numbers from an Address

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 29, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Allan has a list of several hundred names and addresses. The street addresses range from Main Street, 123 Main Street, US RT 2, or 187 South Elm St. He would like to break out the street number from the addresses. So the address 123 Main Street would end up with "123" in one cell and "Main Street" in another. If there is no street number, then nothing ends up in the street number column. The Text to Columns tool will not work and he wonders how he can do this.

In a perfect world, Excel would allow you to easily split the numbers from the street names. Since this option doesn't exist, you have a couple of choices. The most time-consuming option involves adding an additional column and retyping the data. If, however, you would like to save some time, you can use a variety of formulas to accomplish the task.

Assuming the list of addresses is in column A (beginning in cell A1), you could use a formula similar to the following to pull out the numeric portion of the address:

=IF(ISERROR(VALUE(LEFT(A1,1))),"",LEFT(A1,FIND(" ",A1)-1))

Assuming you put the formula in cell B1, you could then use a different formula to derive the non-numeric portion of the address:

=TRIM(RIGHT(A1,LEN(A1)-LEN(B1)))

Note that this approach does have a limitation. Some addresses, especially in major metropolitan areas, use a format such as 152-33 Bell Blvd. The formulas above will work for these addresses, but if the alternative, 152 33 Bell Blvd., is used, the formula will parse incorrectly. Unless you want to buy a professionally developed address-parsing program, the formulas above and a quick eyeball scan of the results should be adequate.

Another formula works in this case. Assuming your address is in cell A2, enter the following formula into cell B2:

=IF(ISNUMBER(VALUE(LEFT(A2,1))),VALUE(LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1)),"")

This formula is saying, "If the first character is not a number, leave the cell blank. Otherwise, give me all of the characters on the left out to, but not including, the first space." You can then use the result of this formula to pull out the non-numeric portion of the address:

=IF(B2="",A2,MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,99))

Another approach is to use an array formula. Here again, assuming your address is in cell A2, you can use the following:

=IF(ISNUMBER(1*MID(A2,ROW($1:$1),1)) = TRUE,
LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2,1)),"")

Since this is an array formula you need to enter it by using Ctrl+Shift+Enter. The result is that the formula returns the leading numeric portion of the address. You can then determine the non-numeric portion by using the following array formula:

=IF(ISNUMBER(1*MID(A2,ROW($1:$1),1)) = TRUE,
RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-FIND(" ",A2,1)),A2)

Finally, the following macro can be used to breakout the street address from the street name.

Sub GetStreetNum()
    Dim sStreet As String
    Dim J As Integer
    Dim iNum As Integer

    For Each cell In Selection
        sStreet = cell.Value
        J = InStr(sStreet, " ")
        If J > 0 Then
            iNum = Val(Left(sStreet, J))
            If iNum > 0 Then
                cell.Offset(0, 1).Value = iNum
                sStreet = Trim(Mid(sStreet, J, Len(sStreet)))
            End If
        End If
        cell.Offset(0, 2).Value = sStreet
    Next
End Sub

To use this macro, simply select the range of cells that contain your addresses and then run it. The leading numeric portion of the address will appear in the cell to the right of each address and the balance of the address will be placed in the cell to the right of that. (So you should make sure that there are two blank columns to the right of the addresses you select.)

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8029) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Extracting Street Numbers from an Address.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Stable Layout on Different Printers

Want your document to print out the same on printers other than your own? This may be an elusive quest, as explained in ...

Discover More

Meaningless Text

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, or so the story goes. Here's how to put this type of meaningless text into a ...

Discover More

Ignoring the Spelling of Proper Nouns

Proper nouns (such as the names of people) are routinely marked as incorrect by Word's spell checker. If you are tired of ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Formatting Canadian Postal Codes

Postal codes in Canada consist of six characters, separated into two groups. This tip explains the format and then shows ...

Discover More

Compiling a List of Students in a Course

Need to pull just a limited amount of information from a large list? Here are a few approaches you might be able to use ...

Discover More

Finding the Nth Occurrence of a Character

The FIND and SEARCH functions are great for finding the initial occurrence of a character in a text string, but what if ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.