ERS GIS Map Services and API User Guide

All of the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) mapping applications, such as the Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America, the Food Environment Atlas, and the Food Access Research Atlas, use map services developed and hosted by ERS as their map content source. These map services are open and freely available for use outside of the ERS map applications. Developers can include ERS maps in applications by using the map service REST API; desktop Geographic Information System (GIS) users can use the maps by directly connecting to the map server.

General Map Service Documentation

More than 30 ERS map services have been created, each containing anywhere from 4 to 70 map layers. Most services consist of national maps displaying county-level data. The Food Access Research Atlas service is Census-tract based. A good way to discover and browse the available services and maps is to use the ERS map applications themselves; all use similar data organization of "Categories" and "Maps." Each category in the application corresponds to a map service; each map is a layer in that map service. The Food Access Research Atlas is the exception as it uses temporal-based map services, plus an Esri hosted background map.

The ARC GIS REST Services Directory lists all available map services. Updates to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Data System have been discontinued.

Note: All map services are accessible only via https.

Summary of ERS map services and where they are used
Map service	Description, type of content	Where used
background	Generic landmass/water body used for map backgrounds Spatial reference: USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic USGS Most current release date: 2/2/2018	The Food Environment Atlas
background2023	Generic landmass/water body used for map backgrounds using an updated boundary file for US Territories Spatial reference: USA Contiguous Albers Equal Area Conic USGS Most current release date: 4/7/2023	Atlas of Rural and Small- Town America
fa_access fa_assistance fa_health fa_insecurity fa_local fa_prices_taxes fa_restaurants fa_socioeconomic fa_stores	Access and proximity to grocery stores Food and nutrition assistance Health and physical activity Food insecurity Local foods Food prices and taxes Restaurant availability and expenditures Socioeconomic characteristics Grocery store availability Spatial reference: NAD 1983 Most current release date: 9/10/2020	The Food Environment Atlas
foodaccess2010 foodaccess2015 foodaccess2019	Food access measures used in the Food Access Research Atlas: 'foodaccess2019' is the most current version, released 4/27/2021 Prior versions include 'foodaccess2015', released 1/17/2017, and 'foodaccess2010', released 2/2013 Spatial reference: Web Mercator	The Food Access Research Atlas
ra_cntyclass ra_income ra_jobs ra_people ra_veterans	County classifications Income Jobs People Veterans Spatial reference: WGS 84 Most current release date: 4/7/2023	Atlas of Rural and Small- Town America
snap_benefits snap_participation_poverty snap_participation	SNAP benefits SNAP participation per person in poverty SNAP participation Spatial reference: NAD 1983 Most current release date: 5/28/2013	Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Data System (discontinued)
ra_filter	Aggregation of county boundaries by the Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America’s Metro 2013 classification Spatial reference: NAD 1983 Most current release date: 4/7/2023	The Food Environment Atlas
ra_filter2019	Aggregation of county boundaries circa 2019 by the Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America’s Metro 2013 classification Spatial reference: NAD 1983 Most current release date: 4/7/2023	Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America
reference	State and county boundaries and labels NAD 1983 USGS Contiguous Albers Most current release date: 2/2/2018	All ERS map atlases except the Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America
reference2023 reference2023_labels	State and county boundaries and labels NAD 1983 USGS Contiguous Albers Most current release date: 4/7/2023	Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America

NASS 2017 and 2012 Ag Census Map Services

In partnership with the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), ERS developed the 2017 Ag Census Maps and the 2012 Ag Census Maps application, and also hosts the map services for that application; see the NASS map service documentation.

Desktop User Instructions

To use the ERS map services in a desktop application, such as ArcMap or ArcGIS Online:

Browse service description and REST directory to select services and maps.
Follow the instructions to add the maps to your document.
Use 'gis.ers.usda.gov' as the server specification.

Developer API Instructions

The services can be accessed through ArcGIS Server REST API; JSON and SOAP interfaces are also available. See the ArcGIS Server REST API detailed documentation, including general usage instructions, service properties, and methods.