Short answer: Local Facebook ads work when Meta shows them only to people near you. In Meta Ads Manager, set Locations in the ad set: a city with a radius, a dropped pin or your ZIP codes. Then uncheck the option that reaches beyond them, and check where the ads ran.
How Meta decides who is near you
You choose locations at the ad set level, under Audience, in Locations. Meta says your ads show to people who spend time there, such as people living there or recently there.
You can enter countries, states, cities and ZIP codes, among other types. Meta allows up to 250 cities and up to 50,000 ZIP codes.
You can also exclude a location, such as a nearby city you don’t serve. Meta says someone who lives in an included area may still see your ad while visiting an excluded one. Only people whose current and home locations are both excluded won’t see it.
Meta uses a variety of signals and says complete accuracy can’t be guaranteed, so a few impressions, messages or leads may come from outside your area.
A radius, a city or ZIP codes
Meta picks a radius for you when you enter a location or use Drop pin, and you adjust it with a slider. The minimum and maximum vary by location type.
ZIP codes, states and countries take no radius: the whole area counts. For a city, you can change the radius or choose Current city only.
| Location | Radius | Housing, job or financial ads |
|---|---|---|
| A city | Adjustable, or Current city only | 15-mile radius included |
| An address or a dropped pin | Set by Meta, adjustable with the slider | 15-mile radius included |
| A ZIP code | None: the whole ZIP code counts | Not available |
| A state or a country | None: the whole area counts | Available |
Meta Business Help Center, read on November 7, 2026. The last column covers ads from the United States in a Special Ad Category.
In our view, a pin with a radius suits a shop that people visit. ZIP codes suit a business that goes to its customers, such as a plumber or a cleaning service.
The box that takes your ads beyond your area
Locations is an audience control, so Meta says it won’t target beyond your locations unless Reach more people likely to respond to your ads is selected.
That box may come checked by default when you choose a city or region. Meta then looks for people interested in traveling there or buying there. Uncheck it if you only want your selected city or region.
Advantage+ audience keeps locations as a control too. Its suggestions, such as age or detailed targeting, are never shown outside your controls. Our guide to Facebook ad targeting covers custom, lookalike and Advantage+ audiences.
If your ads fall in a Special Ad Category
If you advertise in the United States, ads for housing, employment or financial products and services need a Special Ad Category, or Meta may reject them. Our guide to running Facebook ads lists the categories and shows where to choose one.
The financial list is wider than loans. For the United States, Meta includes insurance products and 0% APR installment payments, in-house ones too. Tax and accounting services aren’t on it.
These campaigns can’t target ZIP codes or exclude locations. A city, address or dropped pin comes with an expanded radius, 15 miles in the United States. In Seattle, Meta says, the audience also takes in people within 15 miles of the city center.
Advantage+ audience isn’t available in these campaigns either.
Calls, messages or forms
For calls, a call ad shows an image or video with a Call now button. In Ads Manager, choose Calls as the conversion location with the Traffic, Engagement, Leads or Sales objective. With Awareness, choose Call in the Destination section.
With those four objectives, the ad optimizes for 60-second calls. Meta recommends running call ads only during business hours: in an experiment, that brought 25.4% more call conversions.
To set the hours, choose Lifetime budget or Daily budget in the Budget & schedule section. Then click Show more settings and check Set a schedule for ads.
For messages, our WhatsApp ads guide shows ads that open a chat. For forms, our guide to Facebook lead ads covers instant forms.
Check where your ads ran
Breakdowns split your results by where people were. In the Geography group you can pick Region, Business locations or Comscore market, a breakdown by marketing regions in the US.
Meta says that data reflects where people live or were located when they saw your ads, depending on your location settings. Our guide to Meta Ads Manager shows where the Breakdown icon is.
A few results from outside your area are normal. In our view, if many come from far away, check the radius and that box first.
How to set up local Facebook ads
- Decide whether your ad needs a Special Ad Category: housing, employment or financial products and services, insurance included.
- In the ad set, go to Audience and select Locations.
- Enter your city, drop a pin on your address or add the ZIP codes you serve.
- Adjust the radius with the slider, or choose Current city only.
- Uncheck Reach more people likely to respond to your ads if you only want your area.
- For calls, choose Calls as the conversion location and schedule the ads for your business hours.
- Once results come in, break them down by Region or Comscore market.
Step 7 is our own advice. The rest follows Meta’s help pages.
Before your ads go live
- Locations cover the area you serve, and nothing else.
- The radius or the ZIP codes match where your customers are.
- Reach more people likely to respond to your ads is unchecked, unless you want it.
- The Special Ad Category is set if your ad needs one.
- Call ads run only in your business hours.
- You know where to read the Region breakdown.
RememberSet Locations in the ad set, adjust the radius or use ZIP codes, and uncheck the box that reaches beyond your area. Check the Special Ad Category, then read your results by region.
Our Meta Ads service plans, makes and runs your Facebook and Instagram ads in English and Spanish, built to end in a WhatsApp chat. The ad account stays in your name.
Questions about local Facebook ads
How do I target a radius around my business on Facebook?
In Meta Ads Manager, enter your address or use Drop pin in Locations. Meta picks a radius by default, and you adjust it with the slider. The minimum and maximum vary by location type.
Why do I get leads from outside my area?
Location signals aren’t exact, and Meta says complete accuracy can’t be guaranteed. Check whether Reach more people likely to respond to your ads is on. Meta may also show preview ads to people connected to your business, without charging for them.
Can I target ZIP codes with Facebook ads?
Yes, up to 50,000 of them, though a ZIP code takes no radius: the whole area counts. Housing, employment and financial ads from the United States can’t target ZIP codes at all.
Does an insurance agency need a Special Ad Category?
For the United States, Meta lists insurance products among financial products and services. Advertisers there need a Special Ad Category for those ads, or Meta may reject them. A city or a pin then comes with a 15-mile radius.
Can Facebook ads make my phone ring?
Yes, with call ads. They show a Call now button, and with the Traffic, Engagement, Leads or Sales objective Meta optimizes them for 60-second calls. Meta recommends running them only during business hours.
Sources
Sources read on November 7, 2026. From the Meta Business Help Center: About location selection in Meta Ads Manager. How to choose locations for your ad. About Audience controls and Audience suggestions in Advantage+ audience. About Audiences for Housing, Employment or Financial Products and Services Campaigns. About Ads for Financial products and services. Create a Call Ad from Meta Ads Manager. About breakdowns, metrics and filtering in Meta Ads Reporting. From our site: our Meta Ads page.