How to replace states with neighborhoods in WooCommerce to sell only within a specific region

In many cases, online stores don’t need to sell across an entire country. For example, local businesses that only offer deliveries within a specific city or zone. A typical case in Argentina would be an online store that only delivers within Buenos Aires City (CABA). In this scenario, offering a list of provinces (as WooCommerce does by default in the billing_statefield) doesn’t make sense and can confuse customers.

What’s the solution?

The solution is simple: replace the list of provinces with a list of CABA neighborhoods. That way, WooCommerce will still use the billing_statefield, but its content will be much more relevant and clearer for the customer.

We’ll achieve this with a single WooCommerce filter (woocommerce_states) and a small customization to the checkout field so it shows the label “Neighborhood” instead of “State/Province”.

Replace argentine states with CABA neighborhoods

This code replaces Argentina’s states with a list of neighborhoods in Buenos Aires City:

<?php
add_filter( 'woocommerce_states', 'customReplaceStatesWithCabaNeighborhoods' );

function customReplaceStatesWithCabaNeighborhoods( $states ) {
    $states['AR'] = [
        'agronomia'        => 'Agronomía',
        'almagro'          => 'Almagro',
        'balvanera'        => 'Balvanera',
        'barracas'         => 'Barracas',
        'belgrano'         => 'Belgrano',
        'boedo'            => 'Boedo',
        'caballito'        => 'Caballito',
        'chacarita'        => 'Chacarita',
        'coghlan'          => 'Coghlan',
        'colegiales'       => 'Colegiales',
        'constitucion'     => 'Constitución',
        'flores'           => 'Flores',
        'floresta'         => 'Floresta',
        'la_boca'          => 'La Boca',
        'monserrat'        => 'Monserrat',
        'monte_castro'     => 'Monte Castro',
        'nunez'            => 'Núñez',
        'palermo'          => 'Palermo',
        'parque_avellaneda'=> 'Parque Avellaneda',
        'parque_chacabuco' => 'Parque Chacabuco',
        'parque_chas'      => 'Parque Chas',
        'pompeya'          => 'Nueva Pompeya',
        'puerto_madero'    => 'Puerto Madero',
        'recoleta'         => 'Recoleta',
        'retiro'           => 'Retiro',
        'saavedra'         => 'Saavedra',
        'san_cristobal'    => 'San Cristóbal',
        'san_nicolas'      => 'San Nicolás',
        'san_telmo'        => 'San Telmo',
        'villa_crespo'     => 'Villa Crespo',
        'villa_devoto'     => 'Villa Devoto',
        'villa_lugano'     => 'Villa Lugano',
        'villa_urquiza'    => 'Villa Urquiza',
        'villa_del_parque' => 'Villa del Parque',
    ];
    return $states;
}

Customize the checkout label

Next, let’s change the label of the billing_statefield in the checkout form so it displays “Neighborhood” instead of “State”:

<?php
add_filter( 'woocommerce_checkout_fields', 'customRenameStateFieldToNeighborhood' );

function customRenameStateFieldToNeighborhood( $fields ) {
    $fields['billing']['billing_state']['label'] = 'Neighborhood';
    return $fields;
}

With these small changes:

• WooCommerce will still use the built-in billing_state field, ensuring compatibility with payment gateways, shipping logic, and validations.
• Customers will see a dropdown list of CABA neighborhoods instead of provinces.
• The checkout form becomes clearer and more relevant for local-only businesses.

If your WooCommerce store only delivers within a specific region like Buenos Aires City, replacing states with neighborhoods is a quick and effective way to enhance the user experience. It keeps the checkout intuitive without needing to create custom fields or modify the database.

Related posts:

How to replace WooCommerce product tabs with simple paragraphs Reemplazar los estados por barrios en WooCommerce para vender sólo en una región