Municipal bonds
2 of 17 issuers in Transportation. Debt of U.S. state and local governments — interest is generally exempt from federal income tax. Browse by issuer below; prices are indicative, and the official source for real bonds, CUSIPs, trade prices and disclosures is the MSRB's EMMA.
What are municipal bonds? A "muni" is a loan to a U.S. state or local government
— a state, city, county, school district, or authority (transit, water, power). You lend money; they pay you
interest on a schedule and return your principal at maturity, just like a Treasury or corporate bond.
- They're usually tax-free. Interest on most munis is exempt from federal income tax, and often from state and local tax too if you live in the issuing state. That's their headline advantage — a lower stated yield can beat a higher taxable one once tax is counted. Each bond shows an indicative taxable-equivalent yield (what a taxable bond would have to pay to match it).
- Two main families. General obligation (GO) bonds are backed by the issuer's full taxing power; revenue bonds are backed by the income of a specific project (a toll road, a water system). GO is generally considered the stronger pledge.
- Where to buy / verify. Real munis, their CUSIPs, actual trade prices and official statements live on the MSRB's EMMA — the official, free muni disclosure site. Each bond here links you straight there; you buy through a broker.