google maps geocoder not returning locality - google-maps

Question

My geocoder used to work fine, but now it only returns the county, state and country. According to the docs (https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/intro), the geocoder should return locality (city).
SEARCHING "Winnetka"...
EXPECTED RESULTS:
{
"results" : [
{
"address_components" : [
{
"long_name" : "Winnetka",
"short_name" : "Winnetka",
"types" : [ "locality", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "New Trier",
"short_name" : "New Trier",
"types" : [ "administrative_area_level_3", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "Cook County",
"short_name" : "Cook County",
"types" : [ "administrative_area_level_2", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "Illinois",
"short_name" : "IL",
"types" : [ "administrative_area_level_1", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "United States",
"short_name" : "US",
"types" : [ "country", "political" ]
}
],
"formatted_address" : "Winnetka, IL, USA",
"geometry" : {
"bounds" : {
"northeast" : {
"lat" : 42.1282269,
"lng" : -87.7108162
},
"southwest" : {
"lat" : 42.0886089,
"lng" : -87.7708629
}
},
"location" : {
"lat" : 42.10808340000001,
"lng" : -87.735895
},
"location_type" : "APPROXIMATE",
"viewport" : {
"northeast" : {
"lat" : 42.1282269,
"lng" : -87.7108162
},
"southwest" : {
"lat" : 42.0886089,
"lng" : -87.7708629
}
}
},
"place_id" : "ChIJW8Va5TnED4gRY91Ng47qy3Q",
"types" : [ "locality", "political" ]
}
],
"status" : "OK"
}
ACTUAL RESULTS:
{
"results" : [
{
"address_components" : [
{
"long_name" : "New Trier Township",
"short_name" : "New Trier Township",
"types" : [ "administrative_area_level_3", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "Cook County",
"short_name" : "Cook County",
"types" : [ "administrative_area_level_2", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "Illinois",
"short_name" : "IL",
"types" : [ "administrative_area_level_1", "political" ]
},
{
"long_name" : "United States",
"short_name" : "US",
"types" : [ "country", "political" ]
}
],
"formatted_address" : "New Trier Township, IL, USA",
"geometry" : {
"bounds" : {
"northeast" : {
"lat" : 42.1282269,
"lng" : -87.71080979999999
},
"southwest" : {
"lat" : 42.0886089,
"lng" : -87.7708629
}
},
"location" : {
"lat" : 42.10808340000001,
"lng" : -87.735895
},
"location_type" : "APPROXIMATE",
"viewport" : {
"northeast" : {
"lat" : 42.1282269,
"lng" : -87.7108162
},
"southwest" : {
"lat" : 42.0886089,
"lng" : -87.7708629
}
}
},
"place_id" : "ChIJW8Va5TnED4gRY91Ng47qy3Q",
"types" : [ "locality", "political" ]
}
],
"status" : "OK"
}

Answer 1

I am in the same boat as you. The level at which you are searching is not being returned. If you search for a locality, it is missing. If you search for administrative_area_level_1, it is missing.
#geocodezip in another question with the same problem thinks it is server specific. This happens sometimes, usually when google is making a change apparently. It is really hurting me right now though so hopefully it gets resolved soon.