Maponics Adds ZIP Code Data to Neighborhood Info

Maponics, a provider of polygonal neighborhood maps based on both GIS and sociological data, is launching a suite of services that match ZIP codes to the neighborhood boundary data it sells. The Norwich, Vermont-based company, which has around 30 staffers, says it is now tracking 66,000 neighborhoods in the U.S. and Canada. Customers for Maponics data include Google, Trulia, InfoUSA, Yellowbook USA, DexKnows and others.

The service has also begun tracking neighborhood data in the European Union, a new effort where it has 4,000 neighborhoods tracked in 40 cites. VP of Sales and Marketing Mark Friend (the former Go2 and Vicinity exec) says the EU number should be up to 10,000 by year-end.

Friend adds that the neighborhood data business is developing quickly. Indeed, a lot has changed since the company began in 2001 as a mapping service bureau for marketers. Even recently, the company’s primary customers were largely marketers. Pizza companies like Dominos and Papa Johns, for instance, use the maps to target customers and determine store performance.

One direction that is clear is that neighborhood info lends itself to product verticals. “We spend a lot of time classifying a neighborhood based on its type of use,” he says. “Is it a condo complex? Is it a resort?” In real estate, a neighborhood boundary might involve thousands of dollars of valuation.

All Maponics’ neighborhoods have contextually relevant schema around them,” adds Friend. “It is high-quality polygonal data.”

At this point, Maponics’ primary competitor is Urban Mapping, which provides data on 80,000 neighborhoods. Urban Mapping CEO Ian White says the company will be announcing a slate of new customers soon, and is focusing on a variety of projects to grab incremental page views. There have also been some homegrown efforts, including The LA Times’ mapping project.