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Find nearby locations

In this topic

  1. Find and calculate nearby locations
  2. Geoprocessing tool
  3. Reports

Available with Business Analyst license.

You can identify locations closest to input features based on a selected distance type. This tool creates a layer containing the nearby points, as well as calculations reflecting the distance and direction of the points. To find nearby locations, your project must contain multiple point layers—such as a layer of stores and a layer of customers.

Find and calculate nearby locations

To find nearby locations, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Analysis tab, in the Geoprocessing group, click Tools.

    The Geoprocessing pane appears.

  2. On the Toolboxes tab, in the Business Analyst Tools section, expand the Analysis toolset and click Find Nearby Locations.

    The Find Nearby Locations tool opens in the Geoprocessing pane.

  3. Choose the layer that contains the origin points by doing one of the following:
    • Use the Input Features drop-down menu to select content from the current map.

    • Click the Browse button to open the Input Features dialog box, and choose an existing point layer from other projects or folders.

    For example, your project might contain a layer of store locations and a layer of customer locations, and you want to identify the customers closest to each store. You would choose the store layer in the Input Features drop-down menu.

  4. Choose the field that best identifies the origin points using the ID Field drop-down menu.

    Choose a field that contains information that uniquely identifies each origin point. You may want to open the pop-up for a point to assess which field is most appropriate, such as the field containing the store name.

  5. Choose the layer that contains the nearby location points by doing one of the following:
    • Use the Location Points drop-down menu to select content from the current map.

    • Click the Browse button to open the Location Points dialog box, and choose an existing point layer from other projects or folders.

    For example, your project might contain a layer of store locations and a layer of customer locations, and you want to identify the customers closest to each store. You would choose the customer layer in the Location Points drop-down menu.

  6. Use the Output Feature Class parameter to set the name and location of the layer created.
  7. Choose the distance type and units for measuring the distance from the origin points to the nearby points:
    1. Use the Distance Type drop-down menu to choose the travel measurement.
    2. Use the Distance Units drop-down menu to choose the units for measuring the distance.
  8. Choose a method for defining what nearby means when selecting points:
    • Distance Limit—Specify a distance (measured using the Distance Units parameter) after which points are no longer considered nearby, for example, all points within 10 miles.
    • Number of Locations Limit—Specify a number of points (in the Location Points layer) after which points are no longer considered nearby, for example, the closest 10 points.
    • Percentage of Locations Limit—Specify a percentage of points (in the Location Points layer) after which points are no longer considered nearby, for example, the closest 10 percent of points.
  9. Optionally, check the Create Report check box. You can expand the Report Options section to optionally choose a title, save location, and format for the report.
  10. Optionally, expand the Network Parameters section to set the time of day, time zone, and search tolerance.

    Network parameters only apply to some distance types. For example, these properties do not apply to the default distance type, which is Straight Line.

  11. Click Run.

    The nearby points are saved in a new layer and shown on the map. To view information, such as nearby points' distance and direction from the origin point, open the layer's attribute table or an individual point's pop-up.

Geoprocessing tool

This page describes the functionality of the Find Nearby Locations tool. You can also use this geoprocessing tool to build and run queries through a Python script or model. To learn more, see Find Nearby Locations in the ArcGIS Pro tool reference.

Reports

You can create a Find Nearby Locations report, which provides additional context for the locations surrounding the origin points. Additionally, you can view an annotated guide for assistance interpreting the report.

  • Find Nearby Locations report (sample)
  • Interpret a Find Nearby Locations report (PDF guide)

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In this topic
  1. Find and calculate nearby locations
  2. Geoprocessing tool
  3. Reports