Headwaters Economics

What Headwaters Economics does

Headwaters Economics is an independent, nonprofit research group founded in 2006 and headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, that produces data-driven analysis and free public tools to support community development, land management, and disaster resilience decisions in the United States. Its portfolio centers on a suite of web-based, self-serve tools including the Economic Profile System (local socioeconomic and demographic reports for thousands of U.S. places), Neighborhoods at Risk (socioeconomic plus climate vulnerability mapping), the Populations at Risk Tool (Census/ACS-based equity reports), the Rural Capacity Index (community readiness for federal funding and infrastructure projects), the Wildfire Risk to Communities tool, and the Library of Trails Benefits (a curated set of nearly 200 studies on trails). The underlying platform integrates and standardizes datasets from U.S. government agencies such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the American Community Survey, layering additional risk and capacity analytics on top.

The organization's Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) program, run in partnership with the USDA Forest Service, extends the software stack into direct community assistance for land use planning and wildfire mitigation; companion programs address flood resilience (FloodWise / FWCA) and outdoor recreation economics (e.g., the CORE Data Dashboard built for the State of Vermont). Co-founder Patricia Hernandez has led the organization for approximately 18 years, supported by a small multidisciplinary team of Ph.D.-level researchers and practitioners in economics, wildfire science, emergency management, and community planning.

Headwaters is funded through foundation grants (Kresge, LOR Foundation), federal partnerships (USDA Forest Service, CWDG analysis), and recurring event and research collaborations. All tools and core research outputs are provided free of charge to the public, with no pricing tiers or subscription products; the organization does not generate commercial revenue. Distribution is digital, self-serve, and amplified through earned media, conference participation, and a professional social presence.

Name

Headwaters Economics

Legal name

Headwaters Economics

Website

https://headwaterseconomics.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Headwaters Economics is an independent, nonprofit research group that builds free web-based data tools and produces research on rural community development, wildfire and flood resilience, and outdoor recreation economics for U.S. local, tribal, state, and federal agencies and philanthropic funders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Research and Policy Analysis

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Administration of Conservation Programs (92412)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Disaster Risk Reduction Services (Flood Mitigation, Erosion Control, Landslide Stabilization) (AFAMAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integrated Forest Health & Fire Management Planning (AFAMAEAK), Forestry & Public Lands Administration (State/National Forests) (BPAIAMAF), Conservation Planning, Mitigation Banking & Offset Strategy (EUAHAHAL)

Keywords

• Economic development research
• Socioeconomic data analysis
• Wildfire risk assessment
• Community resilience planning
• Public lands research

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Headwaters Economics is an independent, nonprofit research group that develops and distributes free, web-based socioeconomic data tools and research reports to help U.S. communities with economic development, public lands management, wildfire and flood risk reduction, and outdoor recreation planning. Its core offerings include the Economic Profile System, Neighborhoods at Risk, Rural Capacity Index, Populations at Risk Tool, Wildfire Risk to Communities, Library of Trails Benefits, and the Vermont CORE Data Dashboard, alongside the Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) community assistance program operated in partnership with the USDA Forest Service.

Product overview

Headwaters Economics is an independent, nonprofit research group that offers a suite of free data tools rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include the Economic Profile System (for local economic and demographic reports), Neighborhoods at Risk (for climate vulnerability mapping), Populations at Risk Tool (for equity-related socioeconomic data), Rural Capacity Index (for measuring community funding competitiveness), and Library of Trails Benefits (for trail impact research). The organization also operates the Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire (CPAW) program in partnership with the USDA Forest Service to provide direct community assistance. Data sources primarily include U.S. government agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis. All tools are provided free of charge to the public.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Economic Profile System (EPS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Rebuilding homes to wildfire-resistant standards can reduce future home losses by up to 43%
• +7 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Collaborative study with IBHS on wildfire-resistant construction costs, finding that building wildfire-resistant homes in Altadena, California is feasible and affordable with additional cost of less than 3% of total construction costs.
• Insurance for GoodcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2025Joint research partnership to study the economic benefits of rebuilding homes to wildfire-resistant standards. Released research finding that rebuilding to wildfire-resistant standards can reduce future home losses by up to 43%.
• USDA Forest ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCPAW (Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire) is a program of Headwaters Economics in partnership with the USDA Forest Service. The partnership works with communities to reduce wildfire risk through improved land use planning, providing services at no cost to communities.
• State of VermontcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeadwaters Economics partnered with the State of Vermont to build the CORE Data Dashboard - an online dashboard highlighting impacts of outdoor recreation across the state, showing visitation patterns, spending profiles, and research to help local leaders understand trends.
• Hispanic Access FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint report showing that 44% of Latinos live in counties with high flood risk compared to 35% of non-Latinos, examining the unequal impacts of flooding on Latino communities.
• University of Colorado DenversupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborated on stakeholder input for Colorado's wildfire-resistant building code design, including interviews and surveys conducted as part of the code development process.
• U.S. Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeadwaters Economics provides independent analysis of the CWDG program, which awarded $420.5 million across its first two funding rounds to help at-risk communities reduce wildfire risk.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Headwater Economics (commercial): Unrelated consulting firm in the same industry space; included only as a note that the names overlap but the organizations do not compete.
• U.S. Forest Service Research and Development: Federal agency partner that conducts research on wildfire, forests, and natural resources; included as an ecosystem partner that shares data and co-develops tools with Headwaters through the CPAW partnership.
• Headwaters Corporation (water resources): Historically a building products and coal ash management company with no current operating business; included only to disambiguate the name overlap with Headwaters Economics.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: Large nonprofit research organization producing socioeconomic data, policy analysis, and interactive tools for governments and communities; comparable to Headwaters in its nonprofit model, data integration approach, and government-facing analytics, though broader in scope.
• Brookings Institution: Independent, nonpartisan research institution publishing policy analysis and data-driven research; comparable as a think tank that informs federal, state, and local policy decisions with empirical analysis.
• RAND Corporation: Large, established nonprofit research organization providing independent analysis to governments; comparable as a research nonprofit producing policy-relevant data and analysis with government and public-sector clients.

Direct peers

• Resources for the Future: Independent nonprofit research institution focused on environmental, energy, and natural resource economics; directly comparable as a nonprofit research organization producing data-driven analysis on public lands, natural hazards, and environmental policy.
• Trust for Public Land: Nonprofit that combines data-driven analysis (e.g., ParkScore) with on-the-ground conservation and community assistance for land protection; comparable to Headwaters in integrating socioeconomic/community data with land and outdoor recreation focus.
• NatureServe: Nonprofit that provides biodiversity and ecosystem data and tools to support conservation decisions; comparable to Headwaters in producing free, government-data-derived tools serving conservation, public lands, and community planning needs.

Emerging players

• First Street Foundation: Nonprofit producing property-level climate and environmental risk data, including wildfire and flood risk scores; comparable as a data-driven nonprofit that quantifies climate risk to communities, with overlapping wildfire and flood tool offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQBx0etu457Hl2gKKEx2aCQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/headecon
• Xx.com/headecon
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Headwaters Economics