MuniSpot Journal
Insights on municipal finance.
Data-driven rankings, analysis, and guides on municipal finance across the United States.
Municipal Financial Data API: How to Access Government Financials Programmatically (2026)
A municipal financial data API lets you pull standardized financials for 20,000+ U.S. governments as JSON instead of parsing PDFs. Here is what to look for and how MuniSpot's REST API and MCP server work.
Municipal Financial Data: Where to Find It and How to Use It (2026)
Municipal financial data is public but scattered across 20,000+ U.S. governments and inconsistent ACFRs. Here is where it comes from, why it is hard to use, and how to analyze it at scale.
ACFR vs. CAFR: What Changed, Why It Matters, and How to Read Either One
ACFR and CAFR refer to the same audited government financial report. Here's why GFOA renamed it in 2021, whether there's any real difference, and how to read a city's true financial position.
How to Read an ACFR in 10 Minutes
A structured 10-minute framework for extracting the credit signal from a 200-page Annual Comprehensive Financial Report — auditor's opinion, MD&A, government-wide and fund statements, debt and pension notes.
How to Analyze Municipal Financial Statements (2026 Guide)
Read municipal financial statements like an analyst: the 5 key ratios, what to check in an ACFR, pension red flags, and 2024 national benchmarks.
What Is an ACFR? A Plain-English Guide (2026)
An ACFR (Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, formerly CAFR) is a government's audited annual report. Here's what's inside and how to read it fast.
Top U.S. Cities by Debt & Long-Term Obligations (2024)
Which U.S. cities carry the heaviest debt and long-term obligations? MuniSpot ranks cities by the Debt & Long-Term Obligations factor of the MuniScore™, covering bonded debt burden and combined pension & OPEB burden relative to total governmental fund revenue.