Find public GIS data for your project

Tool Last tested 24 October 2026

Use this finder to narrow a dated list of public GIS sources by geography, theme, format, licence label and access method. Then open the original publisher’s record to confirm the exact product, coverage, release and terms you need.

• US boundaries: Census TIGER/Line.¹
• US elevation: USGS 3DEP through The National Map.²
• Worldwide base maps: Natural Earth.³
• Roads and buildings: Overture Maps.⁴
• Global elevation: Copernicus DEM; choose the required instance.⁵

Narrow the source list

Start with the place and theme, then add a format or access constraint only when it is necessary for your workflow. Each additional filter makes the candidate list more specific. If nothing matches, remove a constraint and inspect the remaining rows rather than assuming that no suitable data exist.

Use the public data finder below. The table contains the same source records as the access comparison. It presents publishers and documented access routes; it does not search the web, contact a publisher or download a dataset for you.

Geography is a screening field. A source covering a country or region may contain products with smaller footprints. A matching row therefore means “inspect this source,” not “the whole study area is covered.” Check the actual product boundary before choosing tiles or features.

Read a row as a set of questions

The publisher field helps distinguish the source organisation from an intermediary portal. The theme and format fields indicate what kind of material to investigate. Access describes the documented route, while the account field records whether the source statement identifies a sign-in requirement.

The licence filter matches the recorded label. It does not interpret legal rights, combine incompatible terms or grant permission. Read the linked statement and its checked date. When the source did not establish a condition, the table keeps that uncertainty instead of replacing it with “free to use.”

A service route also needs interpretation. OGC WMS provides map images; the existence of such a service does not establish that the underlying analysis data are downloadable through that endpoint.⁶ The access fields help you find the appropriate product or download documentation.

Follow the publisher’s current route

For USGS data, The National Map download page points to the main downloader and elevation-specific access tools.² For Census products, the product guide distinguishes formats, descriptive attributes and levels of detail.¹ These are examples of publisher documentation you should read after narrowing the list.

Keep the product identifier, release, source URL and retrieval date with your local files. Check whether the publisher’s acquisition date and the portal’s update date describe different events. If a link has changed, return to the publisher’s current product record instead of treating an old file address as a continuing service.

Keep the comparison with your project

The published source data and method record the fields behind this finder. The compilation is available under CC BY 4.0; that licence covers this comparison, not the third-party datasets linked from it.

A source can be useful even when it fails one of your initial filters. Write down the reason for choosing or rejecting it: incomplete coverage, wrong surface, unsuitable date, missing attributes or an unresolved condition. That short decision record is more useful than a claim that one publisher is best for every project.

Not covered on this page

• Live availability or automatic download checks.
• Legal interpretation of source terms.
• A guarantee of completeness for any study area.