How to Convert Latitude and Longitude Into State Plane

A point in the Earth's surface can be described in latitude and longitude, but measuring distances in this system is clumsy. The United States Department of Commerce has established map projections for each state and territory, allowing surveyors and other land-use professionals to make more precise measurements. The country is divided into more than 120 sections, each of which has a projection that fits both its shape and position in latitude and longitude. Large states are divided into multiple subzones.



A National Geodetic Survey (NGS) website allows one-step conversion between latitude-longitude and state plane coordinates.

Things You'll Need

  • Latitude-Longitude coordinates
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Instructions

    • 1

      Enter the NGS State Plane Coordinate website, which is in the Reference section. Choose the interactive conversion routine "Latitude/Longitude -> SPC" by clicking the link.

    • 2

      Select "NAD27" or "NAD83" by clicking on the proper radio button. If you do not know whether to use the 1927 or 1983 version of the North American Datum (NAD), the site defaults to NAD83.

    • 3

      Convert your latitude and longitude coordinates to the required format. For example, the latitude and longitude of the Trump Tower (White Plains, NY) are 41° 1' 58.7568"N and 73° 45' 53.1432" W. Enter N410158.7568 and W0734552.1432 in the latitude and longitude fields, and leave the field marked "Zone" blank. Press "Submit."

    • 4

      Read the state plane coordinates from the results page. For the Trump Tower, the coordinates are 244471.627m North and 211845.945E, from the New York East (NY E) zone, NAD83.