Research Guides: GIS: Geographic Information Systems: Find Data

General Data

Chicago Data Portal - Chicago-specific data
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) - regional planning information on Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties
Cook County Open Data Portal - Cook County-specific data
Evanston Open Data - City of Evanston-specific data

Big Ten GeoPortal - geospatial and aerial data on the US and world
Data Axle (previously referenceUSA) - historical and current business data (login with NetID/PW)
Data Visualization and Geospatial Tool - energy- and renewable-focused datasets
Historical Urban Ecological Data Set - ward boundaries and sanitation systems for major cities
Jeremy Atack Historical Railroad Data - Historical railroad dataset hosted by Vanderbilt University
Railroads and the Making of Modern America - Historic railroad dataset hosted by University of Nebraska
Social Explorer - US-focused datasets from 1790 to present (login with NetID/PW)

ACLED - event-based data project designed for disaggregated conflict analysis and crisis mapping
Archived Historical GIS - 2000 BC to AD 1994 historical boundaries
China Data Online - spatial datasets focusing on China's government, population, and economics census
DIVA-GIS - climate data and administrative boundaries of the world
Global Biodiversity Information Facility - international data about all types of life on Earth
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - interactive web map including global data on livestock and fisheries
Geofabrik - polygon files of continental data
Global Administrative Boundaries - spatial data on individual countries
Historical National Boundaries - 1800 to 2000 historical boundaries
The Humanitarian Data Exchange - find, share, and use humanitarian data covering all countries
HydroSHEDS - hydrological data and maps based on SHuttle Elevation Derivatives at multiple scales
International Conflict Research - historical boundaries time series from 1886 to 2019
IPUMS - global census and survey data
OpenStreetMapping - global data on roads, trails, cafés, railway stations, etc...
Natural Earth - cultural, physical, and raster data for the world
Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center - global data ranging from health to poverty
United Nations Office on Drug and Crime - global data on drug seizures and crime

CGIAR-CSI GeoPortal provides SRTM 90m Digital Elevation Data for the entire world
GEBCO Gridded Bathymetry
30-Meter SRTM Tile Downloader allows you to download 30-meter resolution elevation data from around the world
- Must be registered with Earthdata (free)
Planet provides high-quality aerial imagery over time
- Northwestern University has a subscription to Planet. If interested in using this service, email us at gis@northwestern.edu
Shaded Relief Archive offers an archive of scanned manual shaded relief
USGS EarthExplorer queries and orders satellite images, aerial photographs, and cartographic products

Climate Ready Boston Map explores at-risk areas exposed to rising sea levels and extreme heat
Justice Map allows you to visualize race and income for your community and country
Mapping Inequality includes descriptions created by agents of the federal government's Home Owners' Loan Corporation between 1935 and 1940
Native Land Digital focuses on the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations

ColorBrewer - diagnostic tool for evaluating the robustness of individual color schemes
ColorOracle - free color blindness simulator
Maki Icons - is an icon set made for map designers.