Export Google Maps Places to CSV with Coordinates (Lat/Lng)
Learn how to export Google Maps places with coordinates (latitude/longitude) for spreadsheets and data analysis. Complete guide for adding missing coordinates to your Google Takeout exports.
July 8, 2025
•6 min read
Are you trying to create a spreadsheet of your Google Maps places that includes precise location coordinates? Whether you need the data for analysis, visualization, or integration with other tools, this guide will walk you through the entire process of exporting your saved places with accurate latitude and longitude coordinates.
Many users are surprised to discover that when they export their Google Maps data, the coordinates are missing! This guide solves that problem and helps you create a clean, analysis-ready CSV file.
What is a CSV with Coordinates and Why Do You Need It?
A CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file with coordinates is a simple spreadsheet format that includes latitude and longitude data for each location. Having your Google Maps places in this format offers several advantages:
- Data Analysis: Perform spatial analysis in Excel, Google Sheets, or BI tools
- Visualization: Create custom maps and visualizations
- Integration: Import your locations into databases or other systems
- Backup: Maintain an independent copy of your location data
- Sharing: Easily share location data with colleagues or friends
The Challenge: Missing Coordinates in Google Exports
When you export your saved places through Google Takeout, you'll quickly discover a significant limitation: the exported files don't contain geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). Instead, you only get place names and addresses, which aren't directly usable for mapping or analysis.
This creates a major hurdle since coordinates are essential for:
- Plotting points on maps
- Spatial analysis
- Distance calculations
- Clustering and pattern recognition
- Integration with GIS tools
Step-by-Step Solution
1. Export Your Places from Google Takeout
First, let's get your data out of Google:
- Visit Google Takeout
- Click "Deselect all" at the top
- Scroll down and select only "Saved" (this contains all your Google Maps places)
- Click "Next step"
- Choose "Export once" and set the export format to .zip
- Click "Create export"
- Wait for the export to complete (you'll receive an email)
- Download the ZIP file from your email or the Takeout page
- Unzip the file and locate the CSV files in the "Saved" folder
Important tip: If your Google account is set to a language other than English, the CSV headers might not be in English. You'll need to translate them to match the original English header names exactly (case-sensitive) before processing.
2. The Geocoding Challenge
At this point, you have your places data, but it's not in a format that can be used for analysis. The exported data lacks geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude), which are essential for mapping and spatial analysis. This is where geocoding comes in – the process of converting addresses and place names into geographic coordinates.
3. Geocoding Options
You have several options for adding coordinates to your places data:
Option 1: Manual Geocoding (Time-Consuming)
You could manually look up each address in Google Maps, find its coordinates, and add them to your spreadsheet. This process involves:
- Opening Google Maps
- Searching for each address
- Right-clicking on the exact location
- Selecting "What's here?"
- Copying the displayed coordinates
- Pasting them into your spreadsheet
This approach works for a handful of places but becomes extremely time-consuming if you have dozens or hundreds of saved locations.
Option 2: Use a Geocoding API (Technical)
Developers might use Google's Geocoding API, Mapbox, or other services to programmatically add coordinates. However, this requires:
- Programming knowledge
- API keys and potential costs
- Rate limit management
- Error handling for failed geocodes
- CSV parsing and writing code
Option 3: Use Takeout Tools (Recommended)
The simplest solution is to use Takeout Tools, a service specifically designed to solve this problem:
- Visit Takeout Tools
- Upload your exported CSV files from Google Takeout
- The service automatically geocodes all your places
- Download your CSV with added latitude and longitude columns
4. Understanding Your CSV with Coordinates
After processing, your CSV file will contain several important columns:
- Title: The name of the place
- Address: The full address as provided by Google
- Notes: Any notes you've added to the place
- URL: Link to the place in Google Maps
- List: The collection the place belongs to (e.g., "Starred", "Want to go")
- Latitude: The newly added north-south coordinate
- Longitude: The newly added east-west coordinate
Example CSV structure:
Title,Address,Notes,URL,List,Latitude,Longitude
"Eiffel Tower","Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France","Visit at sunset","https://maps.google.com/?cid=...","Want to go",48.8584,2.2945
5. Verifying Geocoding Accuracy
To ensure your coordinates are accurate:
- Spot-check: Select a few random entries and verify their coordinates in Google Maps
- Look for patterns: Check if all places in the same city have similar coordinate patterns
- Identify outliers: Look for coordinates that seem out of place geographically
- Re-process problematic entries: If you find inaccuracies, try refining the place names or addresses and re-geocoding
Working with Your CSV Data
Spreadsheet Analysis
With your geocoded CSV, you can now perform various analyses in spreadsheet applications:
- Distance calculations: Calculate distances between points using coordinate formulas
- Clustering: Group nearby locations
- Filtering: Create subsets based on geographic boundaries
- Visualization: Create basic charts and graphs of your location data
Data Visualization
Your CSV with coordinates can be imported into various visualization tools:
- Google My Maps: Create custom maps with your places
- Tableau: Build interactive dashboards and maps
- Power BI: Create business intelligence visualizations
- QGIS: Perform advanced geographic analysis (free and open-source)
Benefits of Using Takeout Tools
- Time-Saving: Automatically processes hundreds of places in minutes instead of hours of manual work
- Accurate Geocoding: Ensures your places are positioned correctly for analysis
- Format Flexibility: Download in CSV or convert to other formats like GPX, KML, or GeoJSON
- Privacy-Focused: Your data is processed securely and not stored permanently
- Batch Processing: Upload multiple files at once for efficient processing
Conclusion: Unlock the Power of Your Location Data
With a properly geocoded CSV file containing all your Google Maps places, you've unlocked powerful new ways to use your location data. Whether you're planning trips, analyzing patterns, or creating visualizations, having precise coordinates makes your data infinitely more valuable.
Don't let Google's export limitations hold you back. With the right tools, you can quickly transform your saved places into a clean, analysis-ready CSV with coordinates.
Get it done quickly with Takeout Tools
Save hours and avoid API complexity. Upload your Google Takeout CSVs and download a clean CSV with accurate latitude and longitude coordinates, ready for immediate analysis.
- Takeout Tools
- Accurate geocoding
- Multiple export options (CSV/GPX/KML/GeoJSON)
- Privacy-conscious processing
See Other Export Guides
Need a different format? We've got you covered: