An embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method for compressing data for a translation look aside buffer (TLB). The method includes: receiving an identifier at a content addressable memory (CAM), the identifier having a first bit length; compressing the identifier based on a location within the CAM the identifier is stored, the compressed identifier having a second bit length, the second bit length being smaller than the first bit length; and mapping at least the compressed identifier to a physical address in a buffer.