TechnicalGIS

United States GIS data sources

Region
Northern America
ISO 3166
US · USA
Sources
47
Themes
17
Last verified

Where to download GIS data for United States: 47 sources across 17 themes, led by U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Census Bureau. 21 offer vector downloads such as Shapefile, GeoPackage or GeoJSON, 8 cover elevation including LiDAR. 38 are under an open licence. Every link was last checked on 23 Oct 2026.

Country atlases

National and OpenStreetMap sources for United States

Boundaries & admin 4

Administrative boundary data for every country

  • TIGER/Line Shapefiles (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Census Bureau

    Full-resolution annual census geography (states to blocks), roads, addresses ranges and water features as Shapefile and File Geodatabase.

    • Boundaries & admin
    • Transport
    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    Shapefile, GeoPackage
    Link
    census.gov

    Verified

  • Cartographic Boundary Files (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Census Bureau

    Generalised, shoreline-clipped census boundaries at 1:500k, 1:5m and 1:20m, better suited to thematic maps than TIGER/Line.

    • Boundaries & admin
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, KML, GeoPackage
    Link
    census.gov

    Verified

  • NCES Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    The National Center for Education Statistics

    School district boundaries, public and private school locations and school neighbourhood poverty estimates.

    • Boundaries & admin
    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, File Geodatabase, CSV
    Link
    nces.ed.gov

    Verified

  • geoBoundaries administrative boundaries (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free

    William & Mary geoLab

    JSON API listing every available admin level with direct download links.

    • Boundaries & admin
    Licence
    Varies (open; see metadata)
    Formats
    GeoJSON, Shapefile, TopoJSON
    Link
    geoboundaries.org

    Verified

Elevation / DEM 4

Free DEM, LiDAR and elevation data for every country

  • 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    1 m, 1/3 and 1 arc-second DEMs and lidar point clouds; bulk access via The National Map Downloader or the AWS Open Data bucket.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, LAZ, COG
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

  • The National Map Downloader (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Download 3DEP elevation, NHD, boundaries, transport, structures and US Topo maps by area of interest.

    • Elevation / DEM
    • Hydrology
    • Transport
    • Boundaries & admin
    • Imagery
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, LAZ, GeoPackage, Shapefile
    Link
    apps.nationalmap.gov

    Verified

  • Coastal Relief Model (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

    Integrated 1 to 3 arc-second bathymetry and topography for the US coastal zone.

    • Elevation / DEM
    • Marine & coastal
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    NetCDF, GeoTIFF
    Link
    ncei.noaa.gov

    Verified

  • USGS Lidar Explorer (opens in a new tab)

    Web viewer Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Map index of 3DEP lidar projects showing quality level and acquisition dates, with links to point cloud and DEM downloads.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    LAZ, GeoTIFF
    Link
    apps.nationalmap.gov

    Verified

Imagery 3

Satellite and aerial imagery for every country

  • EarthExplorer (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Landsat, Sentinel-2, NAIP, aerial photography and declassified imagery search and download; free registration required.

    • Imagery
    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link
    earthexplorer.usgs.gov

    Verified

  • National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    USDA Farm Production and Conservation / USGS EROS

    60 cm to 1 m four-band leaf-on aerial imagery, flown on a roughly two-year cycle per state.

    • Imagery
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, COG
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

Land cover 2

Land cover datasets for every country

Buildings 1

Building footprint data for every country

  • US Building Footprints (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    Microsoft

    About 130 million machine-learned building footprints, packaged by state.

    • Buildings
    Licence
    ODbL 1.0
    Formats
    GeoJSON
    Link
    github.com

    Verified

Population 1

Gridded population data for every country

  • 2020 Census Island Areas data products (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Census Bureau · US Island Areas

    Census tables for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

    • Population
    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    CSV, XLSX
    Link
    census.gov

    Verified

Census & statistics 8

Census and statistics data for every country

  • Census Data API (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free

    U.S. Census Bureau

    REST API for ACS, decennial census and other Census Bureau tables; join to TIGER/Line geography by GEOID. Free key recommended.

    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    JSON
    Link
    census.gov

    Verified

  • data.census.gov (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    Bureau of the Census

    Census Bureau's data platform for ACS, decennial census and economic tables, with maps and CSV export by geography.

    • Census & statistics
    • Population
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Formats
    CSV, API
    Link
    data.census.gov

    Verified

  • Bureau of Economic Analysis (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    Bureau of Economic Analysis

    National statistical office (from the UN Statistics Division directory).

    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Link
    bea.gov

    Verified

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    Bureau of Labor Statistics

    National statistical office (from the UN Statistics Division directory).

    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Link
    bls.gov

    Verified

  • Bureau of Transportation Statistics (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    Bureau of Transportation Statistics

    National statistical office (from the UN Statistics Division directory).

    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Link
    bts.gov

    Verified

  • U.S. Energy Atlas (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Energy Information Administration

    Geospatial layers for power plants, pipelines, transmission lines, refineries and energy resources.

    • Census & statistics
    • Transport
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, GeoJSON, CSV, API
    Link
    atlas.eia.gov

    Verified

  • National Center for Health Statistics (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    National Center for Health Statistics

    Vital statistics and health survey data; county-level tables can be joined to Census geography.

    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Link
    cdc.gov

    Verified

  • United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

    National statistical office (from the UN Statistics Division directory).

    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Link
    ers.usda.gov

    Verified

Addresses & cadastre 1

Address and cadastral data for every country

  • National Address Database (NAD) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Department of Transportation

    Aggregated address points contributed by state, local and tribal governments; coverage varies by state.

    • Addresses & cadastre
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    File Geodatabase, CSV
    Link
    transportation.gov

    Verified

Transport 3

Road, rail and transport data for every country

Hydrology 5

River, lake and hydrology data for every country

  • National Hydrography (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Hub for the NHD, NHDPlus HR and Watershed Boundary Dataset; download by state, HUC or via The National Map.

    • Hydrology
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    GeoPackage, File Geodatabase
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

  • NHDPlus High Resolution (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    1:24,000-scale flowlines, catchments and value-added attributes (flow direction, accumulation) by HUC4; superseded progressively by 3DHP.

    • Hydrology
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    File Geodatabase, GeoTIFF
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

  • 3D Hydrography Program (3DHP) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Next-generation hydrography derived from 3DEP lidar elevation, replacing the NHD and WBD as it is completed.

    • Hydrology
    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    GeoPackage, API
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

  • National Wetlands Inventory (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

    Wetland and deepwater habitat polygons, downloadable by state or HUC8.

    • Hydrology
    • Environment
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, File Geodatabase, WMS
    Link
    fws.gov

    Verified

  • Water Data for the Nation (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Real-time and historical streamflow, groundwater level and water quality observations from USGS monitoring sites.

    • Hydrology
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    CSV, API
    Link
    waterdata.usgs.gov

    Verified

Climate & weather 3

Climate and weather data for every country

  • Climate Data Online (CDO) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

    Daily and monthly station observations, climate normals and GHCN data; free web services token for API access.

    • Climate & weather
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    CSV, API
    Link
    ncei.noaa.gov

    Verified

  • PRISM climate data (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    PRISM Group, Oregon State University

    Gridded daily, monthly and 30-year normal precipitation and temperature at 4 km (free) and 800 m.

    • Climate & weather
    Licence
    See publisher terms
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, BIL
    Link
    prism.oregonstate.edu

    Verified

  • Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

    Facility-level annual greenhouse gas emissions reported by large US emitters such as power plants, landfills and oil and gas sites since 2010, with locations; explore on the FLIGHT map or query through the Envirofacts API.

    • Climate & weather
    • Environment
    • Census & statistics
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    CSV, XLSX
    Link
    epa.gov

    Verified

Natural hazards 2

Natural hazard data for every country

  • National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    Federal Emergency Management Agency

    Effective digital flood insurance rate map data; download by county or state from the FEMA Map Service Center.

    • Natural hazards
    • Hydrology
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, File Geodatabase, WMS
    Link
    fema.gov

    Verified

  • ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Search and export earthquake events worldwide; hazard maps and ShakeMaps are linked from the same site.

    • Natural hazards
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    CSV, GeoJSON, KML, API
    Link
    earthquake.usgs.gov

    Verified

Geology 3

Geology data for every country

  • National Geologic Map Database (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Searchable catalogue of more than 100,000 geological maps, plus the GeMS-format digital geologic maps and the US Geologic Names Lexicon.

    • Geology
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    Shapefile, PDF
    Link
    ngmdb.usgs.gov

    Verified

  • USGS Mineral Resources Program (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey

    Mineral deposit databases (MRDS, USMIN), geochemistry and geophysics; spatial data are served through mrdata.usgs.gov.

    • Geology
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, CSV
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

  • Web Soil Survey (SSURGO) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

    Detailed SSURGO soil survey polygons and attributes by survey area; gridded gSSURGO and gNATSGO versions are also published by NRCS.

    • Geology
    • Agriculture & soils
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, File Geodatabase
    Link
    websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov

    Verified

Agriculture & soils 1

Agriculture and soil data for every country

  • Cropland Data Layer (CDL) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

    Annual 30 m crop-specific land cover for the contiguous US from 2008 (earlier years for some states).

    • Agriculture & soils
    • Land cover
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link
    nass.usda.gov

    Verified

Marine & coastal 3

Marine, coastal and bathymetry data for every country

  • NOAA Digital Coast (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Coastal lidar, C-CAP land cover, sea level rise and coastal hazard data; the Data Access Viewer clips and reprojects to order.

    • Marine & coastal
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Land cover
    • Natural hazards
    Licence
    Public domain
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, LAZ
    Link
    coast.noaa.gov

    Verified

  • NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    NOAA Office of Coast Survey

    Free official vector nautical charts for US waters, downloadable by state, region or Coast Guard district.

    • Marine & coastal
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    S-57
    Link
    nauticalcharts.noaa.gov

    Verified

  • MarineCadastre.gov (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    BOEM / NOAA

    Ocean planning data including AIS vessel traffic, offshore lease blocks, maritime boundaries and marine habitats.

    • Marine & coastal
    • Boundaries & admin
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, File Geodatabase, CSV
    Link
    hub.marinecadastre.gov

    Verified

Environment 2

Environmental and protected area data for every country

  • Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Geological Survey Gap Analysis Project

    National inventory of public lands and protected areas with ownership, designation and GAP status.

    • Environment
    • Boundaries & admin
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    File Geodatabase, Shapefile, GeoPackage
    Link
    usgs.gov

    Verified

  • Ecoregions of North America and the US (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

    Level I to IV ecoregion polygons for ecological reporting and stratification.

    • Environment
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    Shapefile, PDF
    Link
    epa.gov

    Verified

Open data portal 1

Open geospatial data portals for every country

  • Data.gov geospatial catalogue (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free

    U.S. General Services Administration

    Federal open data catalogue; filter by the Geospatial metadata type for map layers (the former Geospatial One-Stop/GeoPlatform harvest).

    • Open data portal
    Licence
    Varies by dataset
    Link
    catalog.data.gov

    Verified

Global datasets that cover United States

Worldwide and continental layers that include United States, useful where national data is missing, restricted or inconsistent across borders.

Boundaries & admin
Elevation / DEM
Imagery
Land cover
Buildings
Population
Census & statistics
Addresses & cadastre
Transport
Hydrology
Climate & weather
Natural hazards
Geology
Agriculture & soils
Marine & coastal
Environment
Open data portal

Browse all 127 global datasets

Tutorials that use this kind of data

Neighbouring countries