Business and Economic Surveys

Census Bureau conducts numerous business and economic surveys and programs that capture important data in-between Economic Censuses taken every seven years. This section provides links to select resources on the Census website for current data and some surveys for past business data that are in print or their digitized surrogates. Please note that some surveys and programs get discontinued or consolidated into new ones over time, and new surveys are administered to improve data availability and timeliness. Some data products are in an experimental stage and continuation is not guaranteed.

Current Surveys

Annual Business Survey (ABS)
The Annual Business Survey (ABS) provides information on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status.
"The ABS replaces the five-year Survey of Business Owners (SBO) for employer businesses, the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE), the Business R&D and Innovation for Microbusinesses survey (BRDI-M), and the innovation section of the Business R&D and Innovation Survey (BRDI-S)."
Business and Economy Surveys: Complete List
These are monthly, quarterly, or annual surveys and programs taken in-between economic censuses that provide interim information critical for understanding changes in the nation's economic structure and performance.
Business and Economy Topics
Major topics in business and economy: follow the links to access data, publications and more information on each of them.
Business and Workforce Dynamics
See the list of surveys that contribute to understanding business and workforce dynamics.
Business Formation Statistics
BFS provide timely and high frequency information on new business applications and formations in the United States.
Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS)
The Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) provides insight into the state of the economy by providing timely data for key economic measures and business expectations about future conditions. By providing detailed geographic and subsector data, BTOS provides local, state, and federal officials near real-time data for policy and decision-making including after natural disasters or during economic crises. The BTOS provides insight into recovery after these events.
County Business Patterns
This is an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. This series includes the number of establishments, employment during the week of March 12, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. This data is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark for other statistical series, surveys, and databases between economic censuses.--Census CBP web page.
E-Commerce Statistics (E-STATS)
This is the Census Bureau's "site devoted exclusively to "Measuring the Electronic Economy." This site features recent and upcoming releases, information on methodology, and background papers."
Economic Indicators
Provides a list of economic indicators, release dates, links to program pages and data.
Small Business Survey and Programs
Links to surveys and programs that allow users to find business categories, by size, including small businesses, and opportunities for small businesses, such as government contracts.
Survey of Business Owners
This survey, conducted every 5 years between 1972 and 2012, provided comprehensive, regularly collected data on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status. After 2012 it was replaced by Annual Business Survey.
Trade by Industry and Product Statistics (TIPS)
The Trade by Industry and Product Statistics (TIPS) is an experimental data product that provides granular-level information about the U.S. industries that import and export by type of product.

Historical surveys

The following are Census series that provide data on companies and their owners that go back to the 1960's. The links will provide a list of print reports in the series. Each record will lead to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Enterprise Statistics by United States. Bureau of the Census.
Published/Created: 1958-1992
Full text available from Hathi Trust External.
The Enterprise Statistics program provided key measures of comprehensive company-wide data, including company support organization and selected financial activities. The program was suspended between 1992 and 2007. The later reports can be found on the Census website.
Minority-Owned Business Enterprises by United States. Bureau of the Census.
Published/Created: [1969-1997]
Some issues are available online in full-text from Hathi Trust External and Google Books External
"The Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises was first conducted as a special project in 1969 and was incorporated into the economic censuses in 1972. It provides basic economic data on businesses owned by Blacks, persons of Spanish or Latin American ancestry, and persons of American Indian, Asian, or other minority origin or descent. The published data cover number of firms, gross receipts, number of paid employees, and annual payroll. The data are presented by geographic area, industry, size of firm, and legal form of organization of firm."--From Introduction to 1982 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises.

U.S. Census Connections: A Resource Guide

Business and Economic Surveys

Current Surveys

Historical surveys