I’d like to start a stickied thread that will provide new editors a list of official sources of mapping information from their state governments. Please provide any resources you know of and I will edit this post as I get time. I’d prefer sources that do not require separate software to be downloaded beyond PDF readers and browser plug-ins. Unofficial sources can be listed too, but many of them are mash-ups and unstable or unreliable.
Nationwide: US Census Bureau maps of all counties and incorporated places, listed by state (usually not as accurate as the above)
Nationwide: Beacon (approx 200 city/county local gov’t GIS linked through vendor’s site; mostly from midwestern states)
Many more exist for individual cities/counties if you desire to start another list. Actually, it would be easier for people to just search for “[cityname] GIS” and go from there.
Since mapcat mentioned them already ESRI also runs a service called ArcGIS Online and can load GIS info from a variety of sources, including newer Tiger datasets. However you do need to be mindful of what your “basemap” source is as they might not be license compatible with Waze.
Yes, I’m trying to avoid third party vendors or viewers so we don’t run afoul of any licensing issues. I know there are free GIS data viewers out there, but the one’s I’ve looked at seem scammy or malware-like.
ESRI’s viewer isn’t scammy or malware-infested. I don’t use it much but when I do it’s as a third source. Layers include their own topo maps, street maps, and aerials, plus OSM and Bing products.
In case anyone feels reluctant to use this private company’s viewer, the list identifies the states who use it. IANAL, but since these states license it for public use, I don’t think there’s an issue. Here’s the disclaimer from Mississippi’s viewer:
I’ve also used different sources of zip code boundary sites to help find some boundaries, especially in rural areas, but don’t know about the copyrights or licensing on them so I won’t post them.
i also found this website here that has extremely good info. i use it all the time and it goes by incorporated cities/towns and zipcodes and unincorporated towns and is useful at getting borders because it provides an overlay over google maps which isn’t perfect but is darned close. look at cheverly, maryland and the 20785 zip code and you will see where cheverly is in the zipcode and where hyattsville surrounds cheverly in the same zip, cheverly being an incorporated town that does not occupy the entire zip code. the maps are about midway down the page on the left. it also gives detailed populace info for the nerds in us all.
p.s. this is for reference only and should not be integrated as a basemap due to licensing issues. i just use it to look at a line and manually edit the map.
And, wow, how bad is it when the state GIS maps have three road-name errors just within a block of my house? Hate to see how bad the rest of the state must be!
I can confirm that the GIS(at least in my area) is a mess. The county police based their database on it, which was a huge mistake. Thankfully, the fire service did not base their own database on GIS info.
