Wake County GIS Data
Wake County Geographic Information Systems Services maintains an extensive database of features and attributes that can be freely downloaded.
List of all of NCSU Libraries' Wake County data holdings - For questions about archived data, contact Data Services.
Digital Orthophotos
NCSU Libraries has Wake County digital orthophoto holdings as summarized below. If you need imagery from 1981 to the present, it may be more convenient to use the Wake or Raleigh Images services, detailed further down.
Year | Format | Source | Notes | Index | Access |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1938 | TIFF | USDA via UNC Libraries | Not Georeferenced | UNC Google Earth Index | UNC, NCSU* |
1958 | TIFF | Wake Co | AA_OLD_TAX_GRID_NAD83.shp in folder | NCSU* | |
1959 | TIFF | USDA via UNC Lbraries | Not Georeferenced | UNC Google Earth Index, TIFF scans | UNC, NCSU* |
1971 | TIFF | USDA via UNC Lbraries | Not Georeferenced | UNC Google Earth Index, TIFF scans | UNC, NCSU* |
1974 | TIFF | Wake Co | AA_OLD_TAX_GRID_NAD83.shp in folder |
NCSU* | |
1981 | TIFF | Wake Co | 1981 and later may be viewed on IMaps or via the Image Service | 0_OLD_TAX_GRID_NAD83.shp in folder |
NCSU* |
1988 | TIFF | Wake Co | 0_OLD_TAX_GRID_NAD83.shp in folder |
NCSU* | |
1993 | various | USGS | Statewide collection, B/W. See DOQQ page | ||
1998 | SID | USGS | Statewide collection, Color IR. See DOQQ page | ||
1999 | TIFF, SID | Wake Co | Color & B/W, stored in "Disk" folders |
index shapefiles or PDF Ortho Grid from Wake downloads | NCSU* |
2002 | ECW | USGS | Only Raleigh, North and West. See Urban High-Res page | ||
2004 | SID | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh | index shapefile | NCSU* |
2005 | TIFF, SID | Wake Co | Color & B/W. Contact Data Services for TIFFs |
index shapefiles or PDF Ortho Grid from Wake downloads |
NCSU* |
2006 | SID | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh | index shapefile | NCSU* |
2007 | SID | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh | index shapefile | NC OneMap NCSU* |
2008 | TIFF | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh, 6" resolution | index shapefile | NCSU* |
2009 | TIFF | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh, 6" resolution | index shapefile | NCSU* |
2010 | TIFF, SID | Wake Co, NC OneMap |
Subset of statewide flight, NCSU has IR band and neighboring county TIFFs, 6" resolution |
index shapefiles | NC OneMap NCSU* |
2011 | TIFF, SID | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh, 6" resolution | index shapefile | NCSU* |
2012 | TIFF | City of Raleigh | Extent is just Raleigh, 6" resolution | index shapefile | NCSU* |
NCSU*: Unless otherwise noted, Wake County imagery may be accessed via mapped drive or downloaded by NCSU affiliates from the Geodata Server:
- If the extent is all of Wake County, go to \localgov\Wake_County\ in the corresponding folder
- If the collection was provided by City of Raleigh, with an extent of just Raleigh, go to \localgov\Raleigh\
Contact Data Services if you have any further questions.
Other orthophoto options are discussed on the Digital Aerial Imagery and Orthophotographs page.
Public Download
Digital orthophotos (MrSID compressed) and vector feature data may be downloaded by the public from the Wake County Geographic Information Services site.
Image and Feature Services
Wake County and the City of Raleigh share Image and Feature Services for data streaming into your GIS software: https://maps.raleighnc.gov/arcgis/rest/services/ This makes data viewing, especially for orthoimagery, very convenient. Specify ArcGIS Server for adding the link.
Online Mapping
Wake County and Raleigh City iMAPS allows interactive access to parcel and other GIS data.