State Cartographer's Office

What State Cartographer's Office does

The State Cartographer's Office (SCO) is a publicly funded unit within the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Geography, established in 1973 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. The office operates as the state's designated authority for geospatial reference data, aggregating, standardizing, and publishing authoritative mapping products for Wisconsin. Its core platform is the GeoData@Wisconsin geoportal, supported by a suite of specialized web applications — WHAIFinder, the Statewide Parcel Map Viewer, PLSS Locator, Survey Control Finder, and the Aerial Photography Catalog — plus downloadable datasets covering parcels, Public Land Survey System (PLSS) corners, LiDAR and elevation, and historic imagery.

The office's flagship product is the annual Statewide Parcel Dataset, most recently released as V12 in June 2026 with 3.56 million parcel records at 1.6 GB, compiled from data contributed by all 72 Wisconsin counties. It complements this with the E7 Statewide PLSS Corners Dataset (2025) and continuously expanded geoportal holdings. Distribution is exclusively free of charge, targeting Wisconsin county land information offices, local government GIS staff, professional surveyors, engineering firms such as raSmith, and the general public. Revenue mechanics are non-commercial: funding flows through UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Land Information Program via state appropriations, with no pricing model, ARR, or paying customer base. Recent operational moves include a planned June 2026 relocation from Science Hall to the Computer Sciences building.

Name

State Cartographer's Office

Legal name

State Cartographer's Office (a unit of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Geography)

Website

https://sco.wisc.edu

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The State Cartographer's Office is a UW-Madison unit that aggregates and publishes Wisconsin's authoritative geospatial datasets — statewide parcels, PLSS corners, LiDAR, and aerial imagery — free of charge to counties, surveyors, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Data Services

NAICS

Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (54137), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)

akta.pro primary industry

GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics) (EUAHAKAC), Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing) (EUAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Geospatial data services
• Statewide parcel mapping
• Aerial photography catalog
• Public land survey data
• GIS web applications

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Free Public Geospatial Data: The State Cartographer's Office provides all geospatial data, maps, and web applications free of charge to the public. Data is funded through the university and state government appropriations rather than user fees.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The State Cartographer's Office aggregates and distributes authoritative Wisconsin geospatial data through a portfolio of web applications and downloadable datasets. Core offerings include the GeoData@Wisconsin geoportal, the Statewide Parcel Map Initiative (currently V12 with 3.56 million records), historic aerial photography from 1928 to present, LiDAR/elevation data, PLSS reference data, and survey control information, all provided free of charge.

Product overview

The State Cartographer's Office (SCO) at UW-Madison is a geospatial mapping and data organization that operates as a distributed portfolio of web applications and data products rather than a unified software platform. Core offerings include the GeoData@Wisconsin geoportal for accessing GIS and aerial imagery data, and the Wisconsin Statewide Parcel Map Initiative providing parcel polygon datasets. Supporting web applications include WHAIFinder for historic aerial photography, the PLSS Locator for land survey system data, Survey Control Finder, and the Aerial Photography Catalog. Data products span statewide parcel data (V12), elevation/LiDAR data, aerial imagery, and various thematic map products. The organization also maintains educational resources on coordinate reference systems and land surveying topics. Data is distributed primarily via direct downloads in file geodatabase and shapefile formats, with a public REST API endpoint for parcel data access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GeoData@Wisconsin Free Wisconsin GIS and aerial imagery data geoportal offering access to geospatial datasets including aerial imagery, parcel data, and elevation data from Wisconsin state agencies and counties.
• WHAIFinder Web application for downloading historic aerial photography of Wisconsin, providing access to imagery spanning from 1928 to present.
• Statewide Parcel Map Viewer Interactive web map viewer for exploring Wisconsin statewide parcel data, allowing users to view property boundaries and associated parcel attributes.
• PLSS Locator Public Land Survey System (PLSS) locator web application for finding and viewing PLSS township, range, and section information in Wisconsin.
• Survey Control Finder Web application for locating and viewing survey control points and PLSS data across Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin Aerial Photography Catalog Catalog application for searching and discovering aerial photography by county and year range across Wisconsin, with sources including WI Historical Aerial Imagery Finder, county sources, and USGS.
• Wisconsin Statewide Parcel Data Downloadable statewide parcel dataset available in file geodatabase and shapefile formats, containing property polygon data from Wisconsin counties. Current version V12 contains 3.56 million records totaling 1.6 GB.
• Wisconsin Elevation/LiDAR Data Access point for Wisconsin elevation and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data used for terrain modeling, 3D mapping, and topographic analysis.
• Aerial Imagery Data Wisconsin aerial imagery data including historic photography and modern imagery from various sources including WROC project data.
• Wisconsin Outline Maps Digital outline maps of Wisconsin available in PDF, TIF, PNG, and AI formats, including county outlines, state boundaries, waterway maps, and highway maps.
• Wisconsin Statewide Parcel REST API Public REST API endpoint providing read access to parcel polygon data from Wisconsin counties, distributed via ArcGIS FeatureServer.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wisconsin Land Information ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint effort with Wisconsin Land Information Program for the Statewide Parcel Map Initiative. The program provides funding and coordination for collecting parcel data from Wisconsin counties.
• UW-Madison Department of GeographycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SCO is a unit of the Department of Geography at University of Wisconsin-Madison, providing institutional affiliation and academic support.
• Wisconsin County GovernmentscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner72 Wisconsin counties provide parcel and land data for aggregation into the statewide parcel dataset.
• Robinson Map LibrarycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint effort with Robinson Map Library for the Statewide Parcel Map Initiative and shield request processing.
• WI Land Information AssociationminorOthersWisconsin Land Information Association listed as a community organization with shared mission around geospatial and land information.
• WI Land Information Officers NetworkminorOthersProfessional network of land information officers in Wisconsin, connected through SCO community resources.
• WI Society of Land SurveyorsminorOthersProfessional association for land surveyors in Wisconsin, linked through SCO community resources.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Nearmap: Commercial provider of frequently-updated aerial imagery and derived data (LiDAR, AI layers) — directly comparable in product category to SCO's aerial photography and elevation offerings, though delivered on a paid subscription model.
• Planet Labs: Commercial satellite earth observation provider offering high-frequency aerial/satellite imagery — competes in the broader geospatial data layer adjacent to SCO's aerial imagery offerings.
• Cyclomedia: Provider of street-level and aerial imagery with derived GIS analytics for government infrastructure management — adjacent peer competing for the same government imagery and asset-management use cases SCO's data supports.
• OpenStreetMap Foundation: Open, collaborative geospatial data platform providing free map data globally — analogous free-data philosophy and broad public-good mission, though community-driven rather than government-authoritative.

Broad incumbents

• Maxar Technologies: Provider of high-resolution satellite imagery, 3D elevation data, and geospatial analytics for government and commercial markets. Adjacent as a competing source of authoritative imagery and elevation datasets.
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Federal mapping agency that produces authoritative national geospatial datasets, including topographic maps, elevation data, and aerial imagery. Conceptually analogous as a public-sector authoritative data producer serving broader geographic and thematic scope than a single state.
• Esri: Dominant commercial GIS platform provider whose ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise are deeply embedded in state and local government geospatial workflows. Adjacent rather than directly competing in free data delivery, but shapes the broader ecosystem in which SCO operates.

Direct peers

• MassGIS (Massachusetts Bureau of Geographic Information): State-level GIS office providing centralized, standardized geospatial data and web mapping applications for Massachusetts — directly analogous in function, mission, and customer base to the State Cartographer's Office.
• Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo): Minnesota's state GIS coordinating body delivering free, authoritative geospatial data, web applications, and parcel/imagery services — a direct functional peer to SCO operating in an adjacent state with similar governance model.
• NC OneMap (NC Geographic Information Coordinating Council): North Carolina's statewide geospatial data portal offering parcels, imagery, and web mapping applications — a direct state-level peer providing similar public-data and web-app services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/state-cartographer's-office

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 State Cartographer's Office