topic Re: How to find differences between the same two point layers in ArcGIS Pro Questions

How to find differences between the same two point layers

NancyBracken — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 16:03:38 GMT

So I am still learning and I need some help. I have two of the same layer which is Address Points. I have one more in the one layer than the other, how can I find where the difference is between those two layer.

Re: How to find differences between the same two point layers

DanPatterson — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:50:53 GMT

you could try

Add Join (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

assuming that you have a common field or fields in both. Pay attention to the parameter

Keep all input records

Re: How to find differences between the same two point layers

RPGIS — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:25:33 GMT

I think the erase tool may help to some extent also. That might indicate which one is not the duplicate but I would need to test that.

Another option is to run the frequency tool on both datasets and do a comparison that way.

Otherwise, assuming the addresses have matching values, @DanPatterson recommendation would be best.

Re: How to find differences between the same two point layers

Robert_LeClair — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:04:47 GMT

The Feature Compare (Data Management) GP tool compares two feature classes or layers and returns the comparison results. It works against geom etries, attributes, schema's and more.

Re: How to find differences between the same two point layers

eramosgisp — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:44:59 GMT

Hello, I deal with something like this regularly where the two address layer schemas aren't identical, but they should have the same content so that they are both aligned. If you want to figure out which ones are missing from the other (or not in the correct spot), I use the Select by Location tool where I use one Address layer (usually the one that has more) as the Input Feature with "Intersect" as the relationship, and the other address layer as the Selecting features. Finally I set the check the "Invert Spatial Relationship" on so the results are the ones that don't match. The list will be all missing addresses from the Selecting Feature and some that don't intersect between the two layers but exist in both. Hopefully it's more of the missing ones that you are looking for. I then switch the Attribute table to Show selected records and use highlighting to figure out what's what. To eliminate the ones that exist in both from future results, I manually snap them into the right spot then repeat the tool. Once I have just the ones I need to bring over to the other Address layer, I copy and past the selection into the other layer. I hope this workflow helps with your question.