# USDA Rural Housing Eligibility Checker: Batch Address Lookup (`willed_nursery/usda-rural-eligibility-checker`) Actor

Paste US addresses or lat/lon; get USDA Rural Development home-loan property eligibility (Eligible / InEligible) from USDA's own eligibility service, cross-checked against the RD ineligible-area map layer. No API key. Pay only for determined rows.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/willed_nursery/usda-rural-eligibility-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Joel Sumner](https://apify.com/willed_nursery) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 address checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## USDA Rural Housing Eligibility Checker: batch address lookup

Paste US addresses or lat/lon coordinates and get **one row per input** with the **USDA Rural Development property eligibility** result (**Eligible** / **InEligible**) for the Single Family and Multi-Family Housing programs. That covers Section 502 Guaranteed and Direct home loans, 504 repair loans and grants, and 515 rental housing.

**Who it's for:**

- Mortgage loan officers and brokers pre-screening USDA (zero-down) loan leads
- Real-estate agents and investors tagging listings as "USDA eligible"
- Proptech and lead-gen pipelines
- Housing nonprofits, and AI agents that need a yes/no without clicking through USDA's one-at-a-time map

### Why use it

- **USDA's own answer.** Every address goes to USDA's official property-eligibility service, the same back end as eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov.
- **Cross-checked.** Each address is also geocoded with the free US Census Bureau geocoder and tested against USDA RD's published *SFH/MFH Ineligible Areas* map layer.
  - When the two sources agree, the row is labeled `confidence: high`.
  - When they disagree, it is labeled `review`.
  - If USDA's service can't verify an address but Census can place it, the map layer decides (`basis: usda_gis_layer`).
- **Batch.** Up to 5,000 inputs per run. 75 addresses take about 17 s.
- **No API key, no signup.**
- **Pay only for answers.** You are charged once per row that gets an Eligible/InEligible answer (from USDA's service, or from the USDA map layer when the service can't verify the address). Rows that can't be verified, invalid inputs, points outside the US and source errors come back as **free** rows that say why.

### Input

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `addresses` | `209 2nd St NW, Aitkin, MN 56431` |
| `coordinates` | `46.5330,-93.7100` |
| `crossCheck` | `true` (default) |

### Output (example)

```json
{"input":"601 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202","status":"determined","eligibility":"InEligible","eligible":false,
 "basis":"usda_service","cross_check":"agrees","confidence":"high","usda_service_result":"InEligible","gis_layer_result":"InEligible",
 "matched_address":"601 W JEFFERSON ST, LOUISVILLE, KY, 40202","lat":38.254263614918,"lon":-85.760383251635,"county_fips":"21111",
 "usda_map_url":"https://rdgdwe.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibilitymaps/index.jsp?app=RHS&ADDRESS=...","layer_effective_date":"2023-07-25","checked_at":"2026-10-25T11:16:19.562Z"}
```

`status` takes one of these values:

- `determined` (charged)
- `undetermined`, `invalid_address`, `invalid_coordinates`, `outside_us` or `source_error` (all free)

### Data sources (official, public)

- USDA Rural Development EligibilityService (property check, program RHS). It is documented in *USDA API: Eligibility – Service Description*.
- USDA RD "Ineligible Areas" GIS layer *RHS SFH MFH*: `rdgdwe.sc.egov.usda.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Eligibility/Eligibility/MapServer/4`. USDA also publishes it as a shapefile at sc.egov.usda.gov/data/data_files.html.
- US Census Bureau Geocoder (`Public_AR_Current` / `Current_Current`).

### Important

- This checks **property location only**. It does not check household income limits.
- USDA notes that a final determination is made by Rural Development on a complete application. Treat results as a pre-screen.
- Coordinates-only rows are checked against the map layer alone (`confidence: standard`).
- The map layer is used as a cross-check and fallback only. Its polygons carry USDA's own effective date (currently 2023-07-25, shown in `layer_effective_date`); USDA's eligibility service is treated as authoritative.
- Rows with `confidence: review` (service and map disagree) should be confirmed on USDA's site.
- Not affiliated with or endorsed by USDA or the US Census Bureau. Results come from public USDA and Census services, which can be slow or temporarily unavailable; such rows are returned free as `source_error`.

### Privacy

Addresses and coordinates you submit are sent to USDA's public eligibility service, USDA's public GIS server and the US Census Bureau geocoder to produce results. Nothing else is collected. Don't submit data you're not allowed to share with those services.

# Actor input Schema

## `addresses` (type: `array`):

"street, city, ST ZIP" on one line. Each address is checked with USDA's official property eligibility service (program: Single/Multi-Family Housing). Max 5,000 inputs per run (both types combined).

## `coordinates` (type: `array`):

Latitude,longitude in decimal degrees, e.g. 46.5330,-93.7100. Checked against the USDA RD SFH/MFH ineligible-area GIS layer.

## `crossCheck` (type: `boolean`):

Also geocode each address (US Census geocoder) and test it against the RD ineligible-area map layer. Adds a cross_check column (agrees / disagrees) and a confidence label. Slightly slower. No extra charge.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "addresses": [
    "209 2nd St NW, Aitkin, MN 56431",
    "601 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202",
    "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500"
  ],
  "coordinates": [
    "46.5330,-93.7100"
  ],
  "crossCheck": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "addresses": [
        "209 2nd St NW, Aitkin, MN 56431",
        "601 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202",
        "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500"
    ],
    "coordinates": [
        "46.5330,-93.7100"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("willed_nursery/usda-rural-eligibility-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "addresses": [
        "209 2nd St NW, Aitkin, MN 56431",
        "601 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202",
        "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500",
    ],
    "coordinates": ["46.5330,-93.7100"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("willed_nursery/usda-rural-eligibility-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "addresses": [
    "209 2nd St NW, Aitkin, MN 56431",
    "601 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202",
    "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500"
  ],
  "coordinates": [
    "46.5330,-93.7100"
  ]
}' |
apify call willed_nursery/usda-rural-eligibility-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,willed_nursery/usda-rural-eligibility-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ZBWzMPcE0gEcz2ZQK/builds/to0x28C2IwKy1wVBe/openapi.json