---
title: "What Are Land Use Codes? Property Use Codes Explained | Realie"
description: "What property land use codes mean, why county and state codes differ, how Realie standardizes them into one 4-digit use code (1001 Single Family Residential and more), and how to search parcels by use code."
canonical: https://www.realie.ai/info/what-are-land-use-codes
---

# What do property land use codes mean, and how are they standardized across counties?

By Realie · Published 2026-11-13

## Quick Answer

A land use code is the classification an assessor gives a parcel for how it is used: a single-family home, a store, farmland or vacant land. Each county or state writes these codes in its own vocabulary, so a raw code means something only where it was issued. Realie keeps the local code as recorded and adds its own 4-digit useCode, such as 1001 for Single Family Residential.

[Get a Realie API key](https://app.realie.ai/developer)

### Summary

Assessors classify every parcel by how it is used, but each county, and sometimes each state, does it with its own codes, so the same code can mean different things in different places and raw codes cannot be compared across counties. This page explains what a land use code records, how it differs from zoning, how Realie keeps the county’s code beside its own national 4-digit property use code, how to read Realie’s code table, and how to search parcels by use code over REST, the CLI or MCP.

## What a land use code records

A land use code is the classification an assessor gives a parcel for how it is used: a single-family home, a condominium unit, a store, an office building, farmland or vacant land. It is part of the record the county keeps for each parcel, beside the owner, the assessed value and the building details.

Land use is not zoning. Zoning is the local rule for what may be built or done on a parcel; land use is how the assessor classifies what is there. [Where can I find nationwide property zoning and land use data by API?](https://www.realie.ai/info/where-to-find-nationwide-zoning-and-land-use-data) covers zoning codes and how Realie returns them.

Land use codes are local. Each county or state writes them in its own vocabulary and format, so a raw code means something only inside the jurisdiction that issued it. Realie’s documentation treats county and state land use codes as jurisdiction-issued values: carried verbatim, to be read within the issuing jurisdiction, with no national decode table.

## How Realie standardizes land use codes across counties

Realie keeps the local code and adds its own. A parcel record can carry both: the county’s code, exactly as the assessor recorded it, in countyLandUseCode, and Realie’s propertyUseCode, a 4-digit code from Realie’s national code table, so parcels in different counties can be compared and filtered with one vocabulary.

The same 4-digit code is repeated at the top of the record as useCode. A boolean, residential, says whether the property is classified as residential, derived from the use code, and propertyClass gives a broad class such as PC0001 (RESIDENTIAL) or PC0002 (VACANT).

These fields are documented on the nested v3 record, under propertyClassification. The flat, v2-compatible shape documents useCode and residential.

**Land use fields on a Realie property record**

| Field (nested v3) | What it holds | How to read it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| propertyUseCode, repeated as useCode | Realie’s 4-digit use code, such as "1001" | Decode with Realie’s v3 Property Feature Field Key |
| countyLandUseCode | The county’s own land use code, as the local assessor recorded it, such as "024" | Read it within the issuing county; there is no national decode table |
| stateLandUseCode | A state-standardized land use code, distinct from the county’s code and from the use code | Read it within the issuing state |
| residential | true or false: whether the property is classified as residential, derived from the use code | Filter with residential=true or residential=false on property search and location search |
| propertyClass | A broad class as a PC code, such as PC0001 (RESIDENTIAL) | Decode with the feature key |

Field descriptions from Realie’s v3 property data schema and feature key, checked November 13, 2026. All five sit under propertyClassification; useCode is also at the top of the record. Fields with no value for a parcel are omitted unless you pass includeExplicitNulls=true.

## How to read Realie’s 4-digit use codes

Realie’s use code table groups its codes by leading digit, and each group opens with a general code: 1000 for residential, 2000 for commercial, 3000 for offices, 7000 for agricultural and rural land, 8000 for vacant land and 9000 for exempt property. Specific codes sit under each one, such as 1001 Single Family Residential, 1004 Condominium Unit (Residential) and 7001 Farm land.

Treat each code as a label to look up, not a number to compare. The residential flag in particular is its own field: read residential, or filter on it, rather than inferring it from the first digit.

Vacant land runs from 8000 Vacant Land (General) through 8017 Vacant Land - Exempt, with codes such as 8001 Residential-Vacant Land and 8002 Commercial-Vacant Land in between. [Where can I find vacant land and parcel lot size data by API?](https://www.realie.ai/info/where-to-find-vacant-land-and-lot-size-data) covers acreage and lot size.

Since August 19, 2026, Realie’s code table has been append-only: a published code keeps its meaning, and new codes take the next free number. A parcel can still move to a different code when a newer source delivery classifies its use differently.

**Where each group of Realie use codes starts**

| Code | Label in Realie’s feature key | Examples under it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1000 | Residential (General) (Single) | 1001 Single Family Residential; 1002 Townhouse (Residential); 1004 Condominium Unit (Residential) |
| 1100 | Residential Income (General) (Multi-Family) | 1101 Duplex (2 units, any combination); 1110 Multi-Family Dwellings (Generic, 2+) |
| 2000 | Commercial (General) | 2006 Grocery, Supermarket; 2012 Restaurant |
| 3000 | Commercial Office (General) | 3003 Office Bldg (General); 3006 Medical Bldg/Clinic |
| 4000 | Recreational/Entertainment (General) | 4028 Golf Course |
| 5000 | Industrial (General) | 5001 Manufacturing (light); 5003 Warehouse (Industrial) |
| 6000 | Heavy Industrial (General) | 6001 Transportation; 6014 Quarries |
| 6500 | Transportation & Communications (General) | 6501 Airport & related |
| 7000 | Agricultural / Rural | 7001 Farm land; 7002 Ranch |
| 8000 | Vacant Land (General) | 8001 Residential-Vacant Land; 8017 Vacant Land - Exempt |
| 8500 | Special Purpose | 8504 Centrally Assessed |
| 9000 | Exempt (full or partial) | 9101 Religious, Church, Worship (under 9100 Institutional); 9203 Public School (under 9200 Governmental/Public Use) |

Labels as written in Realie’s v3 Property Feature Field Key, checked November 13, 2026. The table holds more than 360 use codes; decode the full set there.

## How to search parcels by use code

Property search takes useCode as a filter beside state, county, city and ZIP code, and both property search and location search take residential=true or residential=false. Send your API key in the Authorization header.

```bash
curl -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY" "https://app.realie.ai/api/public/property/search/?state=TX&county=TRAVIS&useCode=1001&limit=100&cursor=start"
```

The Realie CLI’s realie search command takes the same filters as kebab-case flags, and the MCP server’s property_search tool takes the same parameters, so an agent can run the same query.

```bash
realie search --state TX --county TRAVIS --use-code 1001 --limit 100 --json
```

Vacant and rural parcels often have no street address, and search skips parcels without one unless you add includeUnassignedAddress=true. To walk a whole county, pass each response’s metadata.nextCursor back as cursor, as [How do I query county parcel data by API?](https://www.realie.ai/info/how-to-query-county-parcel-data-by-api) describes.

## Sources

- [Realie v3 Property Feature Field Key](https://docs.realie.ai/api-reference/v3/feature-key)
- [Realie v3 property data schema (propertyClassification)](https://docs.realie.ai/api-reference/v3/property-data-schema)
- [Realie flat property data schema (useCode, residential)](https://docs.realie.ai/api-reference/property-data-schema)
- [Realie Property Search (v3 API reference)](https://docs.realie.ai/api-reference/v3/property/property-search)
- [Realie v3 OpenAPI specification](https://docs.realie.ai/api-reference/v3/openapi.json)
- [Realie CLI](https://docs.realie.ai/realie-cli)
- [American Planning Association: Land Based Classification Standards (LBCS)](https://www.planning.org/lbcs/)

## Frequently asked questions

### What does land use code 1001 mean?

In Realie’s use code table, 1001 is Single Family Residential. Nearby codes include 1002 Townhouse (Residential), 1004 Condominium Unit (Residential) and 1022 Single Family Residential w/ADU. A county’s own scheme may use 1001 for something else, so read countyLandUseCode within its county.

### What is a property use code?

Another name for a land use code: the classification of how a parcel is used. On a Realie record, propertyUseCode, repeated as useCode, is the 4-digit code from Realie’s national table, and countyLandUseCode is the county’s own code as the assessor recorded it.

### What is LBCS?

LBCS, the Land-Based Classification Standards, is a land use classification model from the American Planning Association. It classifies land along separate dimensions: activity, function, building type, site development character and ownership. Realie’s use codes are the 4-digit codes in Realie’s own feature key; decode Realie’s useCode values with that table.

### Is a land use code the same as a zoning code?

No. A zoning code says what the local zoning rules allow on a parcel; a land use code says how the assessor classifies its use. Realie returns zoning in zoningInfo, separately from the use codes in propertyClassification.

### Can I filter properties by land use code?

Yes. Property search takes useCode, such as useCode=1001, and both property search and location search take residential=true or residential=false. useCode takes one code, so run one query for each code you need.

### Why did a parcel’s use code change?

A newer delivery from the county or source can classify the parcel’s use differently, for example after a vacant lot is built on. The code’s meaning does not change: since August 19, 2026, every published Realie code keeps its meaning.

## Related Questions

- [Where can I find nationwide property zoning and land use data by API?](https://www.realie.ai/info/where-to-find-nationwide-zoning-and-land-use-data)
- [Where can I find vacant land and parcel lot size data by API?](https://www.realie.ai/info/where-to-find-vacant-land-and-lot-size-data)
- [How do I query county parcel data by API?](https://www.realie.ai/info/how-to-query-county-parcel-data-by-api)
- [What is an APN (assessor’s parcel number), and how do I look up a property by APN?](https://www.realie.ai/info/what-is-an-apn)
- [What are the types of deeds in property records (warranty, grant, quitclaim and others)?](https://www.realie.ai/info/types-of-deeds-in-property-records)
- [What is the difference between a property’s situs address and the owner’s mailing address?](https://www.realie.ai/info/situs-address-vs-owner-mailing-address)