Intelligence Infrastructure • Product Ecosystem • Newsroom

Public data becomes valuable when it becomes working knowledge.

National Data System transforms fragmented records into governed geographic intelligence, public-interest journalism, commercial systems, simulations, APIs, directories and decision tools.

Founded and architected by Christopher C. HerringZIP-first • Multi-geography • Evidence governed
33,000+ZIP geographies
3,000+Counties
210Media markets
7+Publication brands
4Commercial platforms
50+States and territories
249ISO countries and territories
11M+Global GeoNames placenames
187Governed indexes
20Intelligence domains
Multi-domainOperational backbones
Many-to-manyGeographic crosswalk spine
What National Data System is

NDS is not a portfolio of unrelated websites. It is an intelligence operating system that preserves sources, governs meaning, connects geography, builds reusable datasets and turns those assets into products for the public, institutions and commercial partners.

The platform moves from dataset to index, index to product, product to story, story to presentation and presentation to governed public intelligence.

Its distinctive advantage is the ability to connect national-scale data to local meaning while preserving higher-level county, metro, district, state and international views.

The NDS geographic and knowledge infrastructure

A governed intelligence layer comparable in purpose to enterprise geospatial infrastructure

NDS does not simply display maps. It builds the indexes, backbones, crosswalks, registries, geography relationships and publication systems that allow unrelated records to become interoperable working knowledge.

Indexes

Explainable measures of risk, access, power and opportunity

ZIP, city, county, district, state and national indexes translate complex conditions into governed comparisons.

Backbones

Durable operational intelligence databases

DuckDB backbones preserve source records, clean fields, relationships, publication rules and reusable views.

Crosswalks

The connective geography between systems

ZIP-to-county, city, metro, congressional, legislative, neighborhood, service-area and ISO relationships make the platform interoperable.

Registries

Governed evidence, assets and products

Dataset, index, script, product, story and methodology registries preserve lineage and institutional memory.

Commercial intelligence systems

Revenue-generating platforms built on governed NDS infrastructure

The same registries, geography, data products and publishing engines can support high-value commercial services.

Market intelligence

Market Opportunity Index

ZIP, city, county, metro and state rankings answering where opportunity, unmet demand and investable market conditions exist.

Advertising intelligence

Geographic Advertising Network

ZIP-based rotating sponsorship, local advertising inventory, lifetime placements and affiliate tracking across NDS-powered products.

Business intelligence

Business and Procurement Intelligence

Firm presence, certifications, vendors, contracting participation and geographic opportunity in one governed system.

View capability →
Data services

APIs and Embedded Intelligence

Controlled JSON endpoints, geography profiles, rankings and approved data feeds for publications, partners and external applications.

National Data System Newsroom

Evidence-bound reporting begins with geography and governed interpretation

The newsroom transforms validated intelligence into public-interest stories, executive briefings, rankings, explainers, visual products and publication-ready packages.

Local intelligence

America by ZIP Code

Neighborhood-level patterns that state and county averages often conceal.

Regional systems

America by County

How community systems shape opportunity, health, infrastructure and resilience.

Accountability

Invisible Systems

The infrastructure, institutions and networks operating behind public outcomes.

Executive reporting

Geographic Intelligence Briefings

Decision-ready reports translating governed findings into clear public meaning.

Publications powered by NDS

Publication brands turn shared intelligence into audience-specific public value

Each publication controls its editorial voice and visual identity while drawing from the same National Data System architecture.

Urban and place intelligence

River Walk Magazine

San Antonio development, tourism, culture, downtown strategy and place-based reporting.

riverwalkmagazine.com →
Texas policy

Texas Capital Report

Public policy, government systems, accountability, justice and institutional analysis.

texascapitalreport.com →
Texas business

Texas Business Report

Business growth, contracting, capital, employers, markets and economic-development intelligence.

texasbusinessreport.com →
Consumer protection

Consumer.info

Complaint intelligence, credit, scams, financial risk and practical consumer reporting.

consumer.info →
Hospitality markets

Texas Nightlife Report

Hospitality, nightlife, venues, entertainment corridors and market activity.

texasnightlifereport.com →
Black Texas public-interest journalism

Black Texas News

Black communities, business, policy, institutions, federal contracting, economic opportunity and place-based accountability.

blacktexasnews.com →
Beauty economy

Beauty Spot Magazine

Beauty businesses, schools, salons, consumer markets and local opportunity.

beautyspotmagazine.com →
Core capabilities

An end-to-end intelligence production system

NDS is designed to preserve, govern, connect, analyze and publish—not merely download data.

AcquirePreserve public records, source identity and provenance
GovernDefine populations, fields, classifications and publication rules
ConnectNormalize geography, entities, relationships and crosswalks
AnalyzeCreate indexes, rankings, simulations and working knowledge
DeployPublish APIs, directories, websites, reports and stories

Geographic intelligence

ZIP, city, county, metro, district, state, area-code, service-area and ISO3 frameworks.

Governed product systems

Registries, metadata, lineage, validation, semantic classification and publication controls.

Decision support

Dashboards, rankings, briefings, directories, profiles and evidence packages for leaders.

Premium capability demonstrations

Working examples show what the NDS architecture can do

These pages are not generic brochures. Each documents a real transformation from source records to working intelligence.

Core infrastructure

The Geographic Intelligence Spine

How crosswalks and normalization connect otherwise separate public datasets.

Open case study →
Geographic strategy

ZIP-First Intelligence

Why neighborhood-level meaning gave NDS a strategic publishing and product advantage.

Open case study →
Childcare

Texas Childcare Intelligence

Licensing, inspections, risk, supply, directories and policy intelligence from one governed backbone.

Open case study →
Consumer finance

CFPB Complaint Intelligence

Millions of national complaints transformed into geographic consumer-risk intelligence.

Open case study →
Justice and safety

SAPD and 311 Intelligence

Incident records, neighborhood conditions, case lifecycle and public accountability.

Open case study →
Housing finance

HMDA Mortgage Intelligence

Loan-level federal records translated into lending access and community-investment analysis.

Open case study →
Consumer protection

FCC Unwanted Calls Intelligence

Robocalls, spoofing and complaint geography converted into rankings and public warnings.

Open case study →
Economic development

Business and Procurement Intelligence

Business presence, HUB participation, vendors, awards and market opportunity.

Open case study →
Global intelligence

Tuskegee, Food for Peace and Guatemala

International development, beneficiary intelligence, traceability and accountability.

Open case study →
Texas legislative intelligence

Legislative Effectiveness and Constituent Value

Bill sponsorship, committee work, policy outcomes, district conditions and constituent-facing effectiveness.

Open case study →
Health and morbidity

Morbidity, Access and Health-System Intelligence

Geographic disease burden, provider capacity, emergency care, maternal health and unequal access.

Open case study →
HUB accountability

Texas HUB Participation and Policy Accountability

Certification, contracting participation, rule changes, geographic harm and public accountability.

Open case study →
Poverty solutions

Poverty Geography and Economic Mobility

Datawrapper maps, ZIP indices and place-based strategies designed to expose and reduce concentrated poverty.

Open case study →
Nonprofit intelligence

Nonprofit Capacity and Elected-Official Alignment

A full nonprofit body connected to jurisdictions so elected officials can organize local partnerships and resources.

Open case study →
Grant intelligence

Grant Writing and Funding Alignment

Mission, eligibility, geography, evidence, partners, budgets and measurable outcomes assembled into fundable strategies.

Open case study →
Consumer protection

FTC Identity-Theft Intelligence

Identity theft, fraud categories, geography, consumer exposure and prevention-oriented public reporting.

Open case study →
Housing markets

Zillow-Enhanced Housing Intelligence

Home values, rents, market pressure and NDS geography combined into local housing and investment intelligence.

Open case study →
Community violence prevention

Raleigh Gun-Violence Strategy Intelligence

Gun-violence geography, nonprofit mission alignment and counter-strategies for Boots on the Ground.

Open case study →
Working simulations

Test what could happen before committing resources

Economic development

Corpus Christi Growth Opportunity Simulator

Adjust capital, procurement, networks and scale capacity to explore projected firms, jobs, payroll and revenue.

Launch simulation →
Legislative policy

HD 124 Childcare Policy Simulator

Add childcare seats by ZIP and see how local supply pressure and status classifications change.

Launch simulation →
NDS can begin with fragmented public records and end with a local profile, a policy simulation, a public warning, a market opportunity or a decision-ready story.

That is the difference between possessing data and operating an intelligence system.

Intelligence domains

A common architecture across public, commercial, legislative, nonprofit and humanitarian missions

NDS now spans the systems that shape opportunity, risk, institutional performance and public accountability.

Childcare and family infrastructure

Supply, safety, workforce alignment, provider performance and family-access gaps.

Consumer and financial intelligence

CFPB complaints, FCC unwanted calls, FTC identity theft, credit, scams and consumer protection.

Business and economic opportunity

Firms, contracting, capital, workforce, industries, market gaps and growth.

Texas legislative intelligence

Bill sponsorship, effectiveness, committees, constituent value, district conditions and public accountability.

Justice, violence prevention and public safety

Incidents, 311, gun violence, neighborhood conditions, prevention and accountability.

Housing and real estate

Zillow-enhanced values, rents, mortgage patterns, affordability and investment opportunity.

Health, morbidity and care access

Disease burden, maternal health, emergency care, providers, facilities and geographic inequity.

Historically underutilized business intelligence

HUB certification, procurement participation, rule changes, disparities and geographic harm.

Poverty and economic mobility

Mapped deprivation, ZIP indices, generational poverty and place-based solution design.

Nonprofit and civic-capacity intelligence

Full nonprofit bodies, service missions, jurisdictions, elected-official alignment and coalition building.

Grant writing and funding intelligence

Eligibility, evidence, partner design, budgets, outcomes and funder-aligned proposals.

Workforce and education intelligence

Occupations, training, credentials, schools, employment demand and return on investment.

Global and humanitarian intelligence

Countries, programs, beneficiaries, commodities, monitoring and funder accountability.

Simulation and decision intelligence

Adjustable policy, investment and service models with transparent assumptions.

Geospatial and crosswalk intelligence

ZIP, county, city, metro, district, state, service-area and ISO geographic relationships.

Story and publication systems

Ghost Pro brands, newsroom packages, websites, presentations, Datawrapper visuals and public briefings.

Recent intelligence project

Texas Beauty Licensing: From 968,522 records to working knowledge

NDS separated individual professional licenses from publishable business and establishment records, built a governed beauty taxonomy, created ZIP-indexed JSON and delivered statewide salon, school and regulatory intelligence products.

Open the deployed data system →
Governed methodology

Every product should remain explainable, traceable and reusable

NDS uses source preservation, canonical geography, registries, relationship logic, field governance, validation and methodology archives to protect the meaning of the data.

Source and lineage registries

Preserve where data came from, when it was acquired and how it changed.

Semantic governance

Define what records represent before counting, ranking or publishing them.

Geographic governance

Separate source geography, derived geography and publication-eligible location meaning.

Validation and evidence

Retain row counts, schemas, methodology, limitations and deployment evidence.

Data becomes useful when it is governed, explainable, geographic, accountable and connected to decisions.
Discuss a data or intelligence project

Bring your datasets, questions and mission to National Data System

NDS works with organizations that need a professional review of complex datasets, stronger geographic context, governed intelligence architecture, public-facing products or decision support.

Tell us what you are trying to understand, what data you already have and what decision, audience or outcome the work should support.

01
Geospatial intelligence systemLocation intelligence, spatial analysis, geographic profiles, maps and place-based strategy.
02
Planetary and global geographic intelligenceISO country architecture, GeoNames place coverage, international programs and humanitarian intelligence.
03
Enterprise data and intelligence backboneDuckDB systems, governed schemas, registries, indexes, APIs and reusable data products.
04
Crosswalk and interoperability architectureZIP, city, county, metro, district, service-area and global geography relationships.
05
Decision intelligence and simulationScenario modeling, policy testing, resource allocation and measurable outcome analysis.
06
Public intelligence and publication systemsSearch tools, dashboards, premium pages, Ghost Pro publishing, reports and evidence-based storytelling.

Project inquiry

Share enough context for NDS to understand the problem, the available data and the kind of professional review or system you may need.

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