Transparency

Data Sources & Processing

Last updated: April 2026

ParcelScore aggregates data from dozens of public government sources across 28 states and DC, totalling over 143 million property records. This page details every data source, what it contains, and how frequently we update it.

State & County Parcel Data

133M+ parcels across 36 states + DC

Property boundaries, addresses, assessed and market values, land use classifications, building characteristics (year built, square footage, construction type), and sales history. Sources include state departments of revenue, county GIS portals, and open data platforms such as ArcGIS Hub, Socrata, and state-specific CAMA systems.

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Varies by state; we refresh quarterly at minimum

FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL)

669K+ flood zone polygons — National

Official flood zone designations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Includes Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), zone classifications (A, AE, VE, X, etc.), base flood elevations, and floodway boundaries. Covers all 50 states.

Updated as FEMA issues new Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs); we sync monthlySource website

USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)

Live queries — National

High-resolution elevation data from the US Geological Survey. Used to calculate property elevation relative to base flood elevations, assess drainage patterns, and evaluate flood vulnerability. Available for every address in the United States.

Live API queries at report generation timeSource website

EPA Envirofacts / Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)

19K+ facilities — National

Environmental hazard data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Includes Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, Superfund sites, reported chemical releases, facility locations, and proximity calculations to assess environmental risk.

TRI data released annually; we update within 30 days of each releaseSource website

HIFLD Fire Station Locations

23K+ fire stations — National

Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data program fire station locations across all 50 states. Used to calculate response distances and ISO fire protection classifications. Includes station type (career, volunteer, combination), jurisdiction, and apparatus.

Updated semi-annually; we sync quarterlySource website

NCES National School Data

104K+ schools — National

School locations and performance data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), supplemented by state-level data where available (e.g. Florida DOE school grades). Covers all public schools across all 50 states and DC.

Published annually; we update within 7 days of releaseSource website

Crime Statistics (FBI UCR + State Sources)

28M+ records across 21 states + DC

Crime statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, state law enforcement agencies (FDLE, etc.), and municipal open data portals. Includes total crime rates, violent crime rates, property crime rates, and per-capita metrics by municipality or jurisdiction.

Published annually; we update within 30 days of releaseSource website

OpenFEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

448K+ flood insurance claims — National

Historical flood insurance claims data from the FEMA NFIP. Includes claim counts and total payouts aggregated by ZIP code. Used to calculate historical flood loss risk and identify areas with repeated flooding issues.

Updated quarterly by FEMA; we sync within 14 daysSource website

Building Permits

15M+ permits across 15 states + DC

Building permit records from city and county building departments. Includes permit type (new construction, renovation, roofing, electrical, plumbing), status, contractor information, permit cost, and completion dates. Used to estimate roof age and recent improvements.

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Scraped weekly from municipal portals where available

Fire Hydrant Inventories

2M+ hydrants across 20+ states

Municipal fire hydrant locations with flow rate data, maintenance status, and GPS coordinates. Critical for ISO fire protection grading — proximity to a functional hydrant is one of the largest factors in fire insurance premiums.

Updated quarterly from municipal GIS departments and open data portals

Additional National Risk Layers

National coverage

Supplementary risk layers including: FEMA disaster declarations (70K+ records), EPA Air Quality Index (2K+ counties), ASCE wind/hurricane zones, NHC SLOSH storm surge models, sinkhole susceptibility zones, radon potential zones, and wildfire risk assessments.

Varies by source; typically updated annually

How We Process Data

ParcelScore ingests raw data from the sources listed above and applies several processing steps to generate risk grades:

Geocoding & Normalization: Addresses are geocoded using Google Maps Platform and matched to state/county parcel boundaries. This ensures accurate spatial lookups against all geographic datasets (flood zones, hydrants, fire stations, etc.).
Spatial Analysis: For each property, we calculate distances to the nearest fire hydrant, fire station, EPA TRI facility, and school. We perform point-in-polygon checks against flood zones, sinkhole zones, wind zones, and storm surge areas.
Scoring & Grading: Raw data points are normalized into a 0-100 score per category, then converted to letter grades (A through F). The overall grade is a weighted composite of all category scores.
Report Generation: Scores, grades, and supporting data are compiled into a structured report, delivered via WhatsApp or API response.

Data Accuracy & Limitations

Important: ParcelScore reports rely on data from third-party government sources. While we take reasonable steps to ensure accuracy, we cannot guarantee that all data is error-free or reflects the most current conditions.

Known limitations include:

Coverage depth varies by state — some states have full parcel + crime + permits + hydrant data (Tier 1), while others have only national layers (Tier 4). Reports transparently indicate which data layers are available
FEMA flood maps may not reflect recent land changes, new construction, or updated drainage infrastructure
Property records may lag behind recent sales, renovations, or demolitions
Crime statistics are reported at the city/municipality level and may not reflect neighborhood-level variation
School data quality varies by state; some states publish letter grades while others provide only test scores
Building permit data coverage varies by municipality; not all cities provide digital permit records
Hydrant locations depend on municipal reporting; some areas may have incomplete coverage
EPA facility data reflects reported releases and may not capture unreported environmental issues
14 states currently have no parcel data available; reports for these areas use national layers only

Update Schedule Summary

Source	Source Frequency	Our Sync
State/County Parcels	Varies by state	Quarterly
FEMA NFHL (National)	As maps issued	Monthly
USGS 3DEP (National)	Continuous	Live API
EPA TRI (National)	Annually	Within 30 days
HIFLD Fire Stations (National)	Semi-annually	Quarterly
NCES Schools (National)	Annually	Within 7 days
FBI UCR + State Crime	Annually	Within 30 days
OpenFEMA NFIP (National)	Quarterly	Within 14 days
Building Permits	Continuous	Weekly scrape
Fire Hydrants	Varies	Quarterly
FEMA Disasters (National)	Continuous	Monthly

Report a Data Error

If you believe a ParcelScore report contains inaccurate data, please let us know. Include the property address, the specific data point you believe is incorrect, and any supporting evidence. We investigate all reported errors and update our data when corrections are confirmed.

data@parcelscore.io