Jurisdiction vs. Municipality

A jurisdiction is any governmental body that issues and enforces building permits — a city, a county, or a special district — while a municipality means specifically an incorporated city or town. Every municipality is a jurisdiction, but not every jurisdiction is a municipality: a county building department that permits unincorporated areas is a jurisdiction but not a municipality.

This distinction is why PermitStack reports its coverage as the number of cities it spans rather than a raw feed count. Many of our data sources are counties (which cover dozens of unincorporated communities and member cities at once) or even statewide datasets, not single municipalities. Our 783 active data sources — including counties and statewide feeds — together span more than 10,000 U.S. cities across 48 states and DC. Counting cities reflects what the data actually covers on the ground, while the underlying source count stays visible on the coverage page for transparency.

Browse coverage across 10,000+ cities and all 783 active data sources on the coverage page. Related: AHJ.