Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Services:
Address Matching Resources
Address matching, also called geocoding, is the process of relating an
address to a geographic location (such as latitude/longitude coordinates) or
geographic area (such as census tract, block group, block, or ZIP code).
The sites listed below provide online geocoding services. Most are
appropriate for geocoding a small number of addresses. For those with a
large number of addresses to match, options include
geocoding
the addresses using GIS software, or paying a
commercial
vendor to do the geocoding. Take a look at the Free Multi-Address Geocoder listed
below as well.
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Free Multi-Address Geocoder:
"Our free service will bulk geocode your addresses and plot them on a map,
right in your web browser! Now you can take many addresses and geocode
them all at once, rather than one at a time. BatchGeocode.com also provides
a more accurate geocoding dataset than others, most of which use TIGER data,
which is known to be inaccurate up to several hundred feet in some areas.
Yahoo's Geocoding API which this site uses is based on NAVTEQ (formally
NAVTECH) and TeleAtlas street data, both well known as industry standards
for transportation data." This service uses the Yahoo! REST Geocoding API.
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U.S.
Census Bureau Guide to Census Tract Resources ,
including "Census 2000 Census Tracts", "Census Bureau
Tools Used to Determine 1990 Census Tracts", "Other
Resources for Locating 1990 Census Tracts", "Determining
Poverty Rates for a Census Tract", "'Qualified Census
Tracts'", and "'HPSAs' (Health Professional Shortage
Areas)". Some major resources for address matching from
the Census Bureau:
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American FactFinder select by address. Enter an
address and retrieve the corresponding 2000 geographies:
state, county, township, census tract, block group,
block, voting district, place, congressional district
(106th), and state legislative districts. Easy access
(through "Go" button and "Reference Maps" options) to a
map of that area which can be customized for 1990 (and
other) geographies. Data for a chosen geography may also
be available.
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FFIEC
Geocoding System via Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council. "The FFIEC Geocoding System allows
you to retrieve MSA, State, County, and Census Tract/BNA
codes for street addresses. It is primarily intended to
assist financial institutions covered by the Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Community Reinvestment
Act (CRA) to meet their reporting obligation." The
vintage of the geographies is not indicated. A map and
data (Tract/BNA Income Level, Tract/BNA Median Family
Income %, HUD MSA Median Family Income, Est. Tract/BNA
Median Family Income, 1990 Tract/BNA Median Family
Income, Tract/BNA Population, Tract/BNA Minority %,
Minority Population, Owner-Occupied Units, 1- to 4-Family
Units) are also easily available.
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Testdrive Eagle Geocoding from Etak/Tele Atlas.
"Input an address. Eagle will match it and return
information about the address and (optionally) a map to
go with it." "These results are presented as a
demonstration of Etak's geocoding technology. Use of
these results is limited to evaluation of Etak's
geocoding technology for the purpose of purchasing Etak's
Geocoding Services. Other business or commercial use of
these results is prohibited, but may be obtained through
the purchase of an EZLocate license or Batch Geocoding
Services." Returned are: latitude/longitude, postal
carrier and DPBC, county, UAC, MCD, place, census tract,
block group. The vintage of the geographies is not
indicated.
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Some commercial firms are able to do address matching.
The Census Bureau maintains a list of TIGER
vendors which state that they can do geocoding or
address matching using TIGER/Line files. Please contact
the individual vendors for more information.
Return to GIS Services
For more GIS assistance,
Please contact Amanda C.
Henley, GIS Librarian
amanda.henley@unc.edu
(919) 962-1151
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