How To: Concatenate fields in a table in ArcMap

Summary

In some instances, it is useful to combine two or more fields and display the combined field attributes in a new field in ArcMap.

Procedure

The instructions provided describe how to concatenate attributes from two or more fields in a table using ArcMap. In this example, the address, city, and state fields are concatenated into a new field to display full addresses.

1. In ArcMap, click the Editor drop-down menu on the Editor toolbar, and select Start Editing.
2. In the Table Of Contents, right-click the selected layer or stand-alone table, and select the Open Attribute Table or Open option, depending on the data source.
3. Select Table Options > Add Field.

Note:
It is possible to use an existing field, but the output of this process overwrites the existing data in the field.

4. In the Add Field dialog box, define the new field name and type, and click OK.

Note:
To concatenate string fields, select text field data type. Select short or long integer field data type for number fields. For more information on the field data types, refer to the following documentation: ArcGIS field data types.

5. Right-click the new field name in the attribute table, and select Field Calculator.

6. Type the following expression, and replace [Field Name] with the name of each individual field to be concatenated from the Fields list:

Code:
[Field Name] & " " & [Field Name] & " " & [Field Name]

Note:
The double quotation marks (" ") add a space between the values that are being concatenated. Remove (" ") to eliminate the space between the field names.

 

7. Click OK. The fields are combined and displayed in the new field.

Related Information

• ArcGIS Desktop Help: Adding fields
• ArcGIS Desktop Help: Calculate Field examples
• GIS Dictionary: Concatenate