Load GeoJSON-NL into BigQuery

Use the bq CLI (or LOAD DATA SQL) to ingest a Land Records .geojsonl file directly into a BigQuery table with a native GEOGRAPHY column.

BigQuery natively ingests newline-delimited GeoJSON. Each line in a .geojsonl file is a complete GeoJSON Feature, and BigQuery promotes the geometry field to a GEOGRAPHY column automatically.

Prerequisites

The bq CLI installed and authenticated (gcloud auth login).
A BigQuery dataset to load into. If you don't have one yet:

bq mk --location=US --dataset my_project:landrecords

The Land Records GeoJSON-NL download on local disk, or in a GCS bucket you can read.

1. Load from local disk

bq load \
    --source_format=NEWLINE_DELIMITED_JSON \
    --json_extension=GEOJSON \
    --autodetect \
    my_project:landrecords.parcels \
    ./parcels-2026.2.geojsonl

--json_extension=GEOJSON is the option that tells BigQuery to convert each Feature's geometry field into a GEOGRAPHY column. Without it, the geometry would land as a nested STRUCT.

--autodetect infers column names and types from the first few hundred rows. For a stable production pipeline you should provide an explicit schema instead — see the schema-first variant below.

2. Load from GCS (recommended for files >1 GB)

gsutil cp ./parcels-2026.2.geojsonl gs://my-bucket/landrecords/

bq load \
    --source_format=NEWLINE_DELIMITED_JSON \
    --json_extension=GEOJSON \
    --autodetect \
    my_project:landrecords.parcels \
    gs://my-bucket/landrecords/parcels-2026.2.geojsonl

Loading from GCS is parallelized across BigQuery slots and is dramatically faster than uploading from a workstation. For the nationwide download (~50–80 GB GeoJSON-NL), this is the only practical path.

3. Schema-first load (no autodetect)

For production pipelines, pin the schema so BigQuery doesn't have to scan and so type promotions are predictable. The complete schema for public.lr_parcel_us is below — download it as parcels-bigquery-schema.json (or copy it from here), then pass it with --schema:

[
  { "name": "lrid",        "type": "STRING",    "mode": "REQUIRED" },
  { "name": "parcelid",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parcelid2",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ogparcelid",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ogparcelid2", "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parentid",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "stackid",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "geoid",       "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "statefp",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "countyfp",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "countyname",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "cousubfp",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "cousubname",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "tractce",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "tractname",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "taxacctnum",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "taxyear",     "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "taxdistrict", "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "usecode",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "usedesc",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "zoningcode",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "zoningdesc",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "numbldgs",    "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "numunits",    "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "yearbuilt",   "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "numfloors",   "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "bldgsqft",    "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "bedrooms",    "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "halfbaths",   "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "fullbaths",   "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "imprvalue",   "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "landvalue",   "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "agvalue",     "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "totalvalue",  "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "taxacres",    "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "calcarea",    "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "saleamt",     "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "saledate",    "type": "DATE",      "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ownertype",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ownername",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "owneraddr",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ownercity",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ownerstate",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "ownerzip",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parceladdr",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parcelcity",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parcelstate", "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parcelzip",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "legaldesc",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "township",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "section",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "qtrsection",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "range",       "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "plssdesc",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "book",        "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "page",        "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "block",       "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "lot",         "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "parceltype",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "accesstype",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "iucnclass",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "placename",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "placetype",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "firmid",      "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "firmdate",    "type": "DATE",      "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "fldzone",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "zonesubty",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "staticbfe",   "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "elevmin",     "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "elevmax",     "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "elevavg",     "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "fireplaces",  "type": "INT64",     "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "heating",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "heatfuel",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "cooling",     "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "foundation",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "roofcover",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "siding",      "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "bldgtype",    "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "naicscode",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "frsid",       "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "dfrurl",      "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "caapermit",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "cwapermit",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "rcrapermit",  "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "updated",     "type": "DATE",      "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "centroidx",   "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "centroidy",   "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "surfpointx",  "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "surfpointy",  "type": "FLOAT64",   "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "extras",      "type": "JSON",      "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "lrversion",   "type": "STRING",    "mode": "NULLABLE" },
  { "name": "geometry",    "type": "GEOGRAPHY", "mode": "REQUIRED" }
]

Then load:

bq load \
    --source_format=NEWLINE_DELIMITED_JSON \
    --json_extension=GEOJSON \
    --schema=./parcels-bigquery-schema.json \
    --clustering_fields=statefp,countyfp,geometry \
    my_project:landrecords.parcels \
    gs://my-bucket/landrecords/parcels-2026.2.geojsonl

Add --clustering_fields=statefp,countyfp,geometry so common state/county filters — and spatial predicates like ST_DWITHIN / ST_INTERSECTS — scan only a fraction of the table. BigQuery clusters a GEOGRAPHY column by the S2 covering of each geometry, so the trailing geometry field accelerates the location queries in §5. (The loaded column is named geometry, not geom — that's the field BigQuery creates from each GeoJSON Feature's geometry.)

This is the complete 2026.2 schema generated directly from public.lr_parcel_us: 92 attribute columns plus the geometry GEOGRAPHY field. Every attribute is NULLABLE except lrid (the UUID primary key) and geometry, which are REQUIRED; see Table Schema for per-column descriptions. To load only a subset, delete the lines you don't need and add --ignore_unknown_values so BigQuery skips the GeoJSON properties that have no matching column.

4. Verify

SELECT
    statefp,
    parcelstate,
    COUNT(*) AS parcels,
    ROUND(SUM(calcarea) / 1e6, 1) AS total_km2
FROM `my_project.landrecords.parcels`
GROUP BY 1, 2
ORDER BY parcels DESC
LIMIT 10;

5. Common geospatial queries

Parcels within 5 miles of a point:

SELECT lrid, ownername, parceladdr
FROM `my_project.landrecords.parcels`
WHERE ST_DWITHIN(
    geometry,
    ST_GEOGPOINT(-86.81, 33.52),
    5 * 1609.344
);

Parcels that intersect a custom polygon:

SELECT lrid, calcarea
FROM `my_project.landrecords.parcels`
WHERE ST_INTERSECTS(
    geometry,
    ST_GEOGFROMTEXT('POLYGON((-87 33, -86.8 33, -86.8 33.2, -87 33.2, -87 33))')
);

Troubleshooting

Invalid GeoJSON feature — almost always a row with a null geometry. The Land Records dataset does not emit null geometries, but if you produced the .geojsonl yourself with a custom SQL query, filter WHERE geom IS NOT NULL before exporting.
Field geometry has type ... expected GEOGRAPHY — you forgot --json_extension=GEOJSON.
Quota exceeded: Maximum size of HTTP request payload — load from GCS, not from a local file.