Digital Maps & Data

The GIS staff provides computerized mapping  and analysis services and geographic data to Van Buren County and local officials, assisting in future decision making and day to day operations.

The Geographic Information System (GIS) or Computer Mapping, hosts a series of digital map layers of the county. The layers of digital information include roads, lakes, rivers, drains, soils, slopes of land, land-use, zoning, demographics such as housing and population, 911 addressing, municipal boundaries, school districts, wetlands, contours, parcels and more. These layers are used to make maps of varying themes throughout the county. Some maps may include several layers of data.

Make Your Own Map!

The Parcel Viewer includes self-serve .pdf mapping tools, enabling you to easily create custom maps of any area you are interested in and print them at home. Just click the printer icon in those applications to try it out.

Currently Available Maps

The GIS Department has also prepared a variety of high quality display or special purpose maps that are free to download and ready to be printed from home or at your local print shop. Below is a sampling of the maps and data products currently available from the GIS Department (coming soon).

GIS Data

Van Buren County GIS Data is currently available for purchase. Contact the GIS Department for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions about Maps & Data

  • Can you make a custom map for me? We can do that, but we would first encourage you to try it yourself using the interactive Parcel Viewer. We’ve built some pretty nice mapping capabilities into them you can use for FREE. We can print maps directly from the Parcel Viewer for you for $10.00 each  Otherwise, if you want us to make a custom  map for you, we have a $60/hour service rate for custom mapping with a $60.00 minimum charge. We ask all our customers to patronize local print shops for your large format map printing needs.
  • Do you map Easements? Sorry, no. We do not map easements here at the GIS Department.
  • How can I find out about Easements on my property? It's important to know about any easements, as they can affect how you use your property and may impact future development plans. To find out about easements on your property, you can take the following steps:
    1. Check your property deed: Look at your property deed to see if there are any easements mentioned. Easements are often noted on the deed, so this is a good place to start.
    2. Check your property survey if one has been done: Your property survey will show the exact boundaries of your property and any easements that may exist. It may also show any access rights or restrictions.
    3. Check with the county Register of Deeds Office to ask if there are any easements on your property. They may have records or maps that can provide this information.
    4. Check your original Subdivision, Plat or Condo Map: If your property is within a subdivision, plat or condo, the easements are often noted on the original maps.
    5. Check with utility companies: Utility companies often have easements on private property to allow them to access their infrastructure. You can contact them to ask if there are any easements on your property.
    6. Check with a title company: You can hire a title company to conduct a title search on your property. This will reveal any easements that exist on your property.

Related Documents & Forms

  1. Data Sharing Agreement (PDF)
  2. GIS Fee Schedule 2019 (PDF)