A nationwide parcel dataset is only as useful as your ability to ask it questions. Until now, answering something as simple as “show me every parcel in Norfolk larger than two acres” meant downloading a file first and figuring out the schema later. Today we’re changing that with the Data Explorer — a tool that lets anyone query the US Nationwide Parcel Dataset live from their browser, see exactly what they’ll get, and only pay for the slice they actually need.
Ask in plain English
You don’t need to know SQL, our column names, or our units. Type what you’re looking for — “All parcels in Norfolk, Virginia larger than 2 acres” — and the Explorer translates it into a real query against the parcel layer. As you type, it suggests ways to narrow the search (“… in Virginia Beach”, “… used for industrial”, “… of type govt federal”, “… owned by United”), and it quietly handles the details that usually trip people up — converting 2 acres to 8,094 m² because parcel area is stored in square meters, resolving “Norfolk” to its state and county FIPS codes, and matching the right land-use and ownership fields.
Or write the SQL yourself
Every natural-language question compiles down to live SQL you can see and edit. Flip to the SQL tab and you get the full query against parcel_layer — state and county filters, the acreage threshold, all of it — ready to tweak by hand. Prefer to start from scratch? Write your own SELECT and run it directly. The two modes stay in sync, so the natural-language box is a fast on-ramp and the SQL editor is there the moment you want precise control.
See the data before you buy it
Run a query and the Explorer immediately shows you what matched: a running count of parcels, a live preview of the actual rows, and a fill-rate percentage on every column so you know up front how complete each field is for your selection — parcel ID, address, owner name, zip, and the rest. The map keeps pace too: click a state or county and the query follows, so you can explore coverage geographically and by attribute at the same time.
- No SQL required, but SQL is always available. Ask in plain English or write the query yourself — whichever fits the job.
- Units and geography handled for you. Acres become square meters, place names become FIPS codes, and land-use and ownership terms map to the right fields automatically.
- Transparent before you commit. Row counts, a live data preview, and per-column fill rates mean no surprises about what’s in the file.
- Pay for the slice you need. Pricing is usage-based — download the exact parcels your query returns as a one-time dataset, or subscribe for a year of quarterly updates.
Who it’s for
If you’ve ever wanted just the parcels in one county, of one land-use type, above a certain size, or held by a particular owner — without buying a whole state and filtering it yourself — the Explorer is built for you. Homebuilders scoping sites, researchers pulling a study area, developers prototyping against real parcel data, and analysts checking coverage before they commit can all get from a question to a downloadable answer in a single session, right in the browser.
Try it
Open the Data Explorer on the US Nationwide Parcel Dataset page and ask it something. Curious whether we cover your area, or want to put the data to work in your own product? Reach us anytime at hello@landrecords.us — we always want to hear what you’re building.