North Carolina Elevation ToolsOpen Property on the map →

Property · Click a point

Select a North Carolina property boundary for terrain analysis

This North Carolina property boundary map loads the county assessor’s parcel under your click and uses it as the analysis area for every other tool. Contours, slope, drainage, winter sun and the property report are then clipped to the parcel rather than a rectangle drawn by eye.

It is the starting point for most jobs on this site: find the place by address or name, select the parcel, then pick the question you want answered. It works in every county, because the parcels come from NC OneMap’s statewide compilation of the county assessors’ GIS data, covering all 100 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Free to run · pay to download

Free to run, and free to save as a PNG image of the map. This tool has no file export of its own. For the terrain as a file, Download Data exports contours, a GeoTIFF or a 3D mesh with a pass: US$29 for 24 hours, US$99 for 30 days or US$399 for 12 months.

Open Property on the map →Pass prices and what’s included

Who uses this

  • Buyers. Measure the parcel they are actually buying, not the field next door.
  • Architects and designers. Start a site analysis from the assessor’s boundary and parcel number.
  • Real estate agents. Pull terrain facts for a listing in a couple of clicks.

When to use it

  • You want contours, slope, sunlight or drainage clipped to a parcel rather than a rectangle drawn by eye.
  • You are comparing several properties and want each one measured on the same footing.
  • You need the parcel number, county and acreage alongside the terrain.

Tools for your job

Property is one step in a bigger question. These are the jobs it helps with, and the tools that go with it.

For the job: Buying a lot or rural acreage

What is the ground like, and how does it compare with the others on my list?

  1. 1.Property (this tool) — Selects the county parcel so every other tool is clipped to the boundary.
  2. 2.Property Report — A PDF with contours, slope, aspect, winter sun, drainage and elevation for that one parcel.
  3. 3.Saved Properties — Up to 5 places side by side: elevation, slope, winter sun and drainage.
  4. 4.Water & Drainage — Where water will run and pond across the property in heavy rain.

How to use it

  1. Open Property and zoom in until parcel lines appear on the map.
  2. Click inside the parcel. The boundary is fetched and drawn as the analysis area.
  3. Search an address or place name in the top bar to jump to the area instead of panning.
  4. Switch to any area tool. Its results are clipped to the parcel until you clear or redraw the area.

Step by step: a Raleigh parcel

We select a residential parcel in Raleigh, in Wake County, so the other tools measure only inside it.

1.Open Property from the tool rail and zoom in until the parcel lines show. The panel asks for a click.

2.One click inside the lot fetches its boundary from NC OneMap’s statewide parcel service, with the parcel number, county and acreage in the panel. The outline is now the analysis area for every other tool.

What it showed

  • The boundary follows the assessor’s parcel, including corners you would never draw by eye. It is a tax map, not a survey.
  • Switch to Slope & Aspect, Sunlight or Water & Drainage. Each is clipped to this outline until you clear it.
Try it yourself on a Raleigh parcel →

How it works

The site asks NC OneMap’s statewide parcel service for the polygon under the point. That service compiles the county assessors’ GIS parcels for all 100 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians into one layer, so every county works the same way, and the county that published the parcel is named with it.

The polygon becomes a cookie cutter: terrain is loaded for its bounding box, and every tool masks its result to the polygon so nothing outside the boundary is counted.

Reading the results

The panel shows the parcel number, the county, and the site address and acreage where the county publishes them, with the source’s disclaimer.

Downloads from the other tools carry the parcel in their metadata.

Limits and caveats

  • Parcel lines are the assessor’s maps, drawn for property tax, not surveys. They can differ from fences, corners and recorded surveys on the ground. For a boundary question or a setback, hire a licensed land surveyor.
  • Every county is covered through the statewide service. Where a click lands outside any published parcel, on a road, a river or newly divided land, nothing is selected; draw or upload the boundary instead.
  • Very large rural parcels may exceed a tool’s area limit. The tool will say so; draw a smaller area inside the parcel instead.
  • The parcel service is a live NC OneMap feed. If it is down, no boundary is selected and a notice on the map asks you to try again.

Data and attribution

Results come from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) bare-earth elevation model: lidar at 3.3 ft per pixel where it has been flown, and the 1/3 arc-second model, about 33 ft per pixel, elsewhere, with elevations above NAVD 88. Every tool is bare earth: trees and buildings are not in the elevation model for North Carolina, so Sunlight, Viewshed and Sightline work from the terrain alone.

USGS 3DEP elevation data and USGS maps are U.S. Government works in the public domain: you may use the results, including commercially. A credit to the USGS 3D Elevation Program is appreciated, and every file you download carries it. County parcel boundaries are the assessor's GIS data compiled by NC OneMap, not surveys, and the county that published each parcel is named with it. The aerial basemap is from Esri and follows Esri's terms; it is not included in downloads.

Questions

Are parcel lines survey accurate?

No. Parcel maps are drawn by the county assessor for property tax, and the lines can differ from fences, corners and recorded surveys on the ground. For a boundary question or a setback, hire a licensed land surveyor.

Can I search by address?

Yes. The search bar takes a street address or a place name anywhere in North Carolina and jumps there; then click the parcel. Searching by parcel number is not available yet.

Is every county covered?

Yes. NC OneMap compiles the parcels of all 100 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians into one statewide service, and the county that published each parcel is named with it. If a click lands where no parcel is published, on a road or a river for example, you can draw the area by hand or upload a boundary file and use every tool.

Ready to try it?

Open Property on the map →

Free to use, no account. The parcel is looked up from NC OneMap’s statewide parcel service through this site’s server. Downloading the results needs a pass: see pricing.