- 80% of local government activities estimated to be geographically based
- plats, zoning public works (streets, water supply, sewers), garbage collection, land ownership and valuation, public safety (fire and police)
- A significant portion of state government has a geographical component
- natural resources management
- highways and transportation
- Businesses use GIS for a very wide array of applications
- retail site selection & customer analysis
- logistics: vehicle tracking & routing
- natural resources exploration (petroleum, etc.)
- precision agriculture
-civil engineering and construction
- Military and Defense
- Battlefield management
- Satellite imagery interpretation
- Scientific research employs GIS
- geography, geology, botany
- anthropology, sociology, economics, political science
-epidemiology, criminology