Starter maps are a great way to begin exploring your community from a spatial perspective. This tool allows you to choose basic information that is relevant to your community, save your custom starter map, and then use it as a base to add data layers for exploration.
To begin, click on the Make A Map button and then search and add/apply the data you are most interested in or browse by topic.
The map below is a national look at percent of population below age 18 living in 100% of the poverty level from a county perspective. It was created based on the choices made in the Data By Topic menu.
You can focus in on your region by entering your zip code, city, county, or state in the “Go to…” box in the top right corner of the screen. You can also choose to add points of reference from the Reference Maps box. It’s important to be aware of how selected data is displayed. Many data layers at the county level so may not be useful unless you zoom out to compare with other counties.
The split screen option lets you add or remove layers of data and view and compare your maps side-by-side.
Click on the Tools box at the bottom right and then choose an option. Once again, data is sorted by topic or source. Feel free to explore by adding or removing options.
Once you have your map in a format you like, click Save to My Maps.You can then find your maps in My Maps or in the Library section of your user profile. Another option is to save your map to the Map Gallery so that it can be shared with others. Any of these selections allows you to do additional explorations with data without losing your original map.