Who Owns America®
Questions about land reveal insights about power. CGS is unlocking the black box of property ownership information to help tip the balance in favor of sustainable and equitable communities.
![91bc15df-79b1-43df-87fb-f87c9bb298cd](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/91bc15df-79b1-43df-87fb-f87c9bb298cd.jpg)
The Challenge: Property Data Access
Land ownership impacts housing affordability, gentrification, generational wealth, climate risk, and environmental conservation. At the heart of many community issues lies a seemingly simple question: “Who owns the land?”
But the answer is not so easy to obtain. Land ownership data is inaccessible, fragmented, outdated, incomplete, and obscured — making it largely unusable.
![the-challenge](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/the-challenge.webp)
The Solution: WHOA
Our team provides the most comprehensive, hyper-accurate source of property ownership information across the United States. Our Who Owns America analysis makes it possible to quickly and effectively get to the heart of key issues with real answers about ownership realities and trends.
![the-solution](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/the-solution.webp)
Helping Communities Unlock the Black Box of Ownership Data
Real Answers
By examining property information parcel-by-parcel, WHOA traces ownership across geographic borders and corporate structures for the most accurate assessment of who owns what.
Complete Snapshot
You can’t address what you don’t understand. WHOA provides robust parcel ownership analysis and comprehensive insights into property ownership data to empower informed decision-making.
Accurate & Simple
Understand ownership as communities grow and change. WHOA combines multiple authoritative data sources, vetted with clients’ on-the-ground expertise, to reveal who owns what with 16 easy-to-understand ownership categories.
360° Perspective
Parcel data is just one part of the picture. CGS integrates the WHOA analysis with other critical environmental and social data for holistic understanding of key environmental and social challenges.
Actionable Insights
Customized dashboards designed for everyday decision-making. Our team makes property ownership information for including scenario planning, resource allocation, policy development, community engagement and more.
Timely & Affordable
We don’t inflate our projects with unnecessary processes or bottlenecks. Our team provides high-level data as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, delivering results in weeks and at a fraction of the cost of alternatives.
How WHOA Makes a Difference
We unlock property ownership information with easy-to-use tools that are useful in making real-world decisions.
Needs Assessment
We work with our partners to define a geographic region for study, understand their area, review available data sources, and frame their key questions.
Our technical approach is tailored to the client and their project. We meet them where they are in terms of technical needs and work together to determine what they need to be successful in the long term.
Data Integrity
We start with a parcel dataset, standardizing and cleaning the ownership data. This includes mundane (but important) tasks like making sure all addresses follow the same format and standardizing owner names so we can quickly pull the best insights down the road.
We note gaps and complete this dataset with more accurate or complete local data to get as full a picture as possible, even digitizing additional records from other sources. As an added element of real-world verification, we encourage our partners to review our baseline analysis and flag any inconsistencies they detect as experts in their area of study.
Data Analysis
With the most complete data in hand, our team executes an ownership classification process, categorizing each parcel back to one of several ownership types such as resident-owned, in-state investor owned, or out-of-state investor owned.
This proprietary method results in a highly detailed, accurate, and rapid assessment of ownership type.
Advanced Analysis
CGS provides precise geospatial data — often layered with additional datasets — to enable affordable housing, urban planning, and equitable community investments.
Decision-Support
CGS provides precise geospatial data — often layered with additional datasets — to enable affordable housing, urban planning, and equitable community investments.
Helping Changemakers Big and Small
We work with private and public organiations of all sizes to help inform decisions and empower positive change. CGS is built from the ground up to be a trusted partner — combining geospatial expertise with service excellence.
![SLC regional development - horiz](https://cgsearth.org/hs-fs/hubfs/SLC%20regional%20development%20-%20horiz.jpg?width=150&height=47&name=SLC%20regional%20development%20-%20horiz.jpg)
![naca logo horizontal](https://cgsearth.org/hs-fs/hubfs/naca%20logo%20horizontal.png?width=200&height=57&name=naca%20logo%20horizontal.png)
![us endowment logo horizontal](https://cgsearth.org/hs-fs/hubfs/us%20endowment%20logo%20horizontal.png?width=410&height=101&name=us%20endowment%20logo%20horizontal.png)
![lynch foundation - horiz](https://cgsearth.org/hs-fs/hubfs/lynch%20foundation%20-%20horiz.png?width=358&height=141&name=lynch%20foundation%20-%20horiz.png)
![jp morgan chase - horiz](https://cgsearth.org/hs-fs/hubfs/jp%20morgan%20chase%20-%20horiz.jpg?width=648&height=62&name=jp%20morgan%20chase%20-%20horiz.jpg)
![South Bethany Seal COLOR [regular seal]](https://cgsearth.org/hs-fs/hubfs/South%20Bethany%20Seal%20COLOR%20%5Bregular%20seal%5D.jpg?width=200&height=200&name=South%20Bethany%20Seal%20COLOR%20%5Bregular%20seal%5D.jpg)
Better Outcomes for People and Planet
WHOA helps municipalities, nonprofits, and others understand the extent of their property ownership challenges so they can implement more targeted and informed solutions, leading to more equitable outcomes.
![Who Owns America® Cited in White House Fact Sheet](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/GettyImages-1466389987.jpg)
Who Owns America® Cited in White House Fact Sheet
![Introducing Who Owns America®: The New Way to See Property Data](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/who-owns-america-blog.webp)
Introducing Who Owns America®: The New Way to See Property Data
![CGS Uses Who Owns America® to Help Inform Tax Policy in Maui](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/maui-blog.webp)
CGS Uses Who Owns America® to Help Inform Tax Policy in Maui
![Quotes](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CGS/images/quote.png)
Beyond data expertise, CGS brings exceptional adaptability and commitment to the communities they serve. Their tools immediately helped illuminate inequities in decades-old policies.
![shay chan hodges](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/shay%20chan%20hodges.jpg)
![Quotes](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/CGS/images/quote.png)
Gracious, adaptable, and entirely committed to achieving the right results for their clients. CGS delivered a custom tool for our partnership that will help advance the pace and scale of conversation and military protections in southern Indiana.
![michael spalding](https://cgsearth.org/hubfs/michael%20spalding.jpeg)
Let’s Make a Difference Together
Ready to revolutionize property ownership insights and drive positive change in land management and community building? Connect with CGS today to learn how WHOA is empowering decision-makers in environmental conservation and urban development.