Should I Put My Address on My Resume? City and State Only

If you're asking "should I put my address on my resume," the short answer for most US applications is no full street address. List your city and state instead. That gives a recruiter enough to judge commute, time zone and location eligibility without putting your home address on a document that may be forwarded, uploaded and stored in places you can't control.

The tricky cases are relocation and remote work. This guide covers exactly what to write in each situation, with copy-ready header lines.

The short answer: city and state, not your street

A modern US resume header usually looks like this:

Jordan Ellis Columbus, OH | (614) 555-0142 | jordan.ellis@email.com | linkedin.com/in/jordanellis

That's it. No street, no apartment number. ZIP code is optional. Leave it out unless you're applying to very local roles where neighborhood matters, such as home health or field service.

The employer will collect your full address later, on the application form, during onboarding or for a background check. Your resume doesn't need to do that job.

Why leave the street address off

• Privacy. Resumes get emailed, uploaded to job boards and saved in recruiter inboxes. Your street address doesn't need to travel that widely.
• Scam risk. Fake job postings harvest personal details. The less you put on the resume, the less there is to misuse.
• Space. A full address takes a line you could use for a LinkedIn or portfolio link.
• Possible bias. A specific neighborhood can invite assumptions about commute or background. City and state keeps the focus on your experience.

When a bit more detail can help

• Hyper-local roles. For delivery, field technician, or in-home care jobs, adding a ZIP code or naming a suburb can show you're close to the territory.
• Large metro areas. "Dallas–Fort Worth, TX" or "Greater Boston, MA" can be clearer than a small suburb name a recruiter may not recognize.
• The application form asks for it. Fill it in there. That's a separate, more controlled system than the resume file.

What to write if you're relocating

This is where people get stuck. If you list your current city, a recruiter might assume you need relocation help or won't move. If you list the target city, you risk looking misleading. The honest fix is to show both, briefly.

Option 1: Current city plus relocation note

Best when you have a firm plan but haven't moved yet.

Phoenix, AZ | Relocating to Denver, CO in August 2025

Option 2: Target city with a clear qualifier

Best when you've already signed a lease, accepted a partner's transfer, or have a confirmed move date.

Denver, CO (relocating July 2025)

Don't write just "Denver, CO" if you live in Phoenix and have no concrete plan. If a recruiter calls to arrange an in-person interview next week, the mismatch becomes obvious fast, and it costs trust.

Option 3: Open to relocation

Best when you're applying in several cities and haven't chosen one.

Raleigh, NC | Open to relocation

Then use your cover letter to name the specific city and explain the reason in one sentence: family, a partner's job, or a deliberate career move. Be truthful about whether you'd need relocation assistance. If you'll self-fund the move, saying so plainly can remove a question from the recruiter's mind.

Relocating from outside the US

If you're moving to the US from another country, your location line also signals work authorization questions. A header like "Lagos, Nigeria | Relocating to Houston, TX" is honest, but only state your authorization status if it's accurate (for example, "US permanent resident" or "Authorized to work in the US"). Visa and work-authorization rules are complex and change. Check official US government sources such as USCIS, and treat this post as general information, not legal advice.

For a fuller walkthrough of cross-border location lines, see how to put location on a CV when relocating abroad.

What to write for remote jobs

Remote doesn't mean location-free. Many remote employers can only hire in certain states or countries because of payroll, tax and employment law. Your location line helps them check eligibility quickly.

US-based remote applicants

Keep city and state. It tells the employer which state's rules apply and roughly which time zone you work in.

Boise, ID (Remote, Mountain Time)

Adding the time zone is optional but useful for teams spread across the country.

Applicants outside the US

If a listing says "Remote, US only," it usually means the employer can only hire people based in (and authorized to work in) the US. Changing your resume location won't change that. Read what "Remote US only" means before applying, so you spend your time on roles you're actually eligible for.

For roles open internationally, use city and country plus time-zone overlap:

Nairobi, Kenya | Remote | Available 9am–1pm ET overlap

Digital nomads and frequent movers

Use your legal or tax residence, not the city you happen to be in this month. If you're in Lisbon for three months but your residence is Austin, write "Austin, TX." Employers need to know where they'd be employing you.

Your address, application forms and ATS

Most applicant tracking systems (ATS) store your location in fields, either typed by you or pulled from your resume by a parser. Some employers can then sort or filter candidates by location. A few practical points follow from that:

• Put your location in the body of the page, not in a header or footer. Some parsers handle headers and footers poorly, so plain text at the top of the page is safer.
• Use a standard format. "Chicago, IL" is easier for software and humans to read than "Chi-town" or a neighborhood name alone.
• Check autofill. If a system like Workday pulls your city into the wrong field, fix it manually. Here's how to handle Workday resume parsing errors.
• Make the form and resume agree. If the form says Phoenix and the resume says Denver with no relocation note, it looks inconsistent.

No resume format guarantees you'll get past an employer's screening. Location filters are set by each employer, and some will screen out candidates outside a given area regardless of how the resume is written. If you want to check whether your resume's details and keywords line up with a specific job ad, QuickApplyPilot's ATS CV checker gives you its own match estimate. It's a guide, not the score any employer's system will produce.

How this differs outside the US

If you're applying in more than one country, location conventions shift:

Country	Typical location line	Notes
US	City, State	Street address usually omitted.
UK	Town or city (sometimes the first half of the postcode)	Full address is no longer expected on most CVs.
Canada	City, Province	Similar to the US. Note relocation clearly if you're moving from abroad.
Australia	Suburb or city, State	Suburb can help for local roles in big cities.
Nigeria	City, State (full address still common on traditional CVs)	Some government and traditional employers expect more detail. Follow the job ad or form.

When a job ad or official application form asks for a full address, give it. These are defaults, not rules.

Quick checklist before you send

1. Header shows city and state (or city and country), no street address.
2. Location is in the main body, not a header or footer.
3. If relocating: current city and target city with a timeframe, or "Open to relocation."
4. If remote: legal residence plus time zone where helpful.
5. Work authorization stated only if it's accurate.
6. Location on the resume matches what you typed into the application form.
7. Full address saved for the form, onboarding or background check, not the resume.

Get these seven right and your location line will answer the recruiter's first practical question honestly, so they can move on to your experience.