Cook County Parcel Proximity to Urban Features

Parcel records from Cook County, Illinois, include distances and counts of nearby spatial features like transit stops, schools, and foreclosures. The dataset is produced by the Cook County Assessor's Office and is updated annually with the current tax year's data. It is based on parcel centroids derived from official county shapefiles.

Use Cases

• Model property value or tax assessment using proximity features like nearest_cta_stop_dist_ft and num_school_in_half_mile.
• Analyze neighborhood risk factors by joining foreclosure data via num_foreclosure_in_half_mile_past_5_years.
• Study access to recreational amenities by examining distances to features like nearest_bike_trail_dist_ft and nearest_golf_course_dist_ft.
• Perform temporal analysis of urban feature availability by comparing data_year columns across different features.

Strengths

• Includes multiple proximity metrics for diverse urban features such as transit, schools, and cemeteries.
• Data is updated annually and tied to the official tax assessment calendar for Cook County.

Limitations

• Spatial proximity data is primarily available only for years after 2012, limiting historical analysis.
• Older properties may be missing coordinates and all attached spatial data due to absent parcel boundaries.
• The dataset contains data for the current tax year which may not be final until certified by the Board of Review.

Provenance

Source

Cook County Assessor's Office via datacatalog.cookcountyil.gov.

Collection Method

Derived from Cook County parcel shapefiles; distances calculated from parcel centroids to various spatial datasets.

Time Range

Current tax year; spatial feature data primarily from years after 2012.

Freshness

Updated annually; last update was 2026-03-03.

Geography

Cook County, Illinois, USA.