# US Government Directory API – Every Public Entity by Federal ID

Counties, cities, townships, special districts, schools, libraries, police, fire, hospitals, colleges, transit, tribes and water systems in one directory, keyed to federal IDs.

$0.80 per 1,000 entities

[Get an API key](https://pushbuild.com/apis/app/signup?api=us-government-directory)

Example request

```
POST /us-government-directory/run
{
  "maxItems": 20
}
```

## What it returns

One directory of US public entities that are otherwise spread across federal datasets: counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, school districts, schools, libraries, police agencies, fire stations, hospitals, colleges, transit agencies, tribes, metropolitan planning organizations, public water systems and historical societies.

Search by name, type, state, county, city, federal ID or distance from a point, or list what sits inside a parent entity. Each row has its federal ID and ID system, parent entity, source, and whatever location and contact details the source has.

Coverage varies by type, so blanks are common: only some types have coordinates, phones or websites. Sources were last refreshed in October 2026. `websiteGuessed` marks a website we inferred rather than found in a source. Water systems leave out phone and street address.

Charged per entity returned.

## Request

`POST https://api.pushbuild.com/us-government-directory/run` with a JSON body. Send your key in the `X-API-Key` header.

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `name` | string | Part of the entity's name. |
| `entityTypes` | list of strings | county, municipality, township, special_district, school_district, school, library, library_outlet, police_agency, fire_station, hospital, college, transit_agency, tribe, mpo, water_system, historical_society, state. |
| `states` | list of strings | Two-letter codes, e.g. FL, TX. |
| `countyFips` | list of strings | Five-digit county FIPS codes. Not filled in for every entity type. |
| `city` | string | Exact city name. |
| `ids` | list of strings | Directory IDs or federal IDs (NCES, PWSID, FSCS, CCN, IPEDS, GEOID-based). |
| `parentId` | string | Directory ID of a parent, e.g. mun:1254075, to list what sits inside it. |
| `lat` | number | Search near a point. Only entities with coordinates match. |
| `lon` | number | Search near a point. |
| `radiusMiles` | number | Used with latitude and longitude. Default: `10`. |
| `hasWebsite` | boolean | Only entities with a website. Default: `false`. |
| `hasPhone` | boolean | Only entities with a phone number. Default: `false`. |
| `maxItems` | integer | Maximum items to return (1-500). Default: `100`. |

### Example

```
curl -X POST https://api.pushbuild.com/us-government-directory/run \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxItems": 20}'
```

### Response

```
{"count": 20, "truncated": false, "seconds": 1.4, "items": [ { ... } ]}
```

Each call returns up to 500 items. Records that fail validation or are not found are flagged in the items and not charged.

## Pricing

Pay only for results returned: $0.80 per 1,000 entities. No charge for errors or empty searches.

## Use it from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

This API is also an MCP server: `https://api.pushbuild.com/mcp/us-government-directory`. Add it to any assistant that supports remote MCP servers, with your key in the `X-API-Key` header. Same prices. [Setup for each app](https://pushbuild.com/apis/mcp.html).

## Related APIs

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- [US Jobless Claims API: Weekly Initial & Continued Claims API](https://pushbuild.com/apis/us-jobless-claims.html): US weekly unemployment insurance claims from the Department of Labor: national initial and continued claims, seasonally adjusted and not, 4-week averages, seasonal factors and insured unemployment rate, plus initial and continued claims for every state, back to 1967..
- [US Lobbying Disclosures API: LDA Filings, Spend & Issues API](https://pushbuild.com/apis/lobbying-disclosures.html): Federal lobbying filings from the official Lobbying Disclosure Act database (lda.gov): client, lobbying firm, quarterly income or expenses, issues, bills, lobbyists, agencies lobbied, and LD-203 political contributions..
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- [US Federal Contracts & Grants API](https://pushbuild.com/apis/us-federal-contracts.html): Search US government contract, grant and loan awards from the official USAspending.gov data by keyword, company, agency, NAICS, PSC, state, date and amount.
- [US Economic Data Releases: CPI, Jobs, GDP, PCE API](https://pushbuild.com/apis/us-economic-releases.html): Latest official US macro numbers from BLS and BEA: CPI and core CPI with components, nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, wages, PPI, JOLTS, GDP, PCE and core PCE, with month-over-month and year-over-year changes and exact release timestamps..

## Tell us what you need built.

Questions about this API, higher volumes, or a data source you need that we don't cover yet.

[hello@pushbuild.com](mailto:hello@pushbuild.com?subject=API%20question)

[(617) 299-8887](tel:+16172998887)

---
As of 2026-11-05. Source: https://pushbuild.com/apis/us-government-directory.html