U.S. Census Bureau

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Company Statistics Programs

The Census Bureau's Company Statistics Division (CSD) provides data for six major statistical programs:

Every 5 years:
The Survey of Business Owners (SBO), part of the Economic Census, provides the only comprehensive, regularly collected source of information on U.S. business owners by gender, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race. Data are collected for years ending in 2 and 7.

The Economic Census of Island Areas provides periodic, comprehensive data on the economic structure and activity of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Data are collected for years ending in 2 and 7.

Annually:
The Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES) provides detailed and timely information on capital investment in new and used structures and equipment by nonfarm businesses. ACES data cover the period 1993 to the present.

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Survey, a supplement to the ACES, collects information on technology investments falling below a company's capitalization threshold. ICT data cover the period 2003 to the present.

Quarterly:
The Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) provides timely, accurate data on business financial conditions of public and private companies. QFR data cover the period 1947 to the present.

Statistics of U.S. Businesses:
The Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) program provides business performance data by enterprise size, geographic area, and industry. These data cover most of the country's economic activity for U.S. paid employer firms and can be used to derive statistics on small businesses. SUSB data cover the period 1988 to the present.


Protection of Information about Individual Companies:
The Census Bureau is committed to protect the confidentiality of the data it collects. Title 13, U.S. Code, prohibits disclosure of Census data on individual businesses to the public and to any other government agency, including the Internal Revenue Service, for a period of 30 years. For more information, go to Data Protection and Privacy Policy.
Notes on the Data:
Enterprise vs. Establishment Data:  In contrast to many other economic statistics programs, CSD programs collect data at the company rather than the establishment level. An establishment is a single physical location at which business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. An enterprise is a business organization consisting of one or more domestic establishments under common ownership or control.

Employer vs. Nonemployer Data:  Some CSD programs like SUSB provide data only for U.S. paid employer firms. For a total of all companies, data from SUSB must be combined with Nonemployers.
  

New Releases

bullet image  Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and
     Trade Corporations -- Second Quarter 2008   PDF icon

bullet image  Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and
     Trade Corporations -- First Quarter 2008   PDF icon

Press Releases

9/08/08 Second Quarter 2008 Data from the Quarterly Financial Report U.S. Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations  PDF icon
7/09/08 First Quarter 2008 Data from the Quarterly Financial Report Large U.S. Retail Trade Corporations  PDF icon
6/16/08 First Quarter 2008 Data from the Quarterly Financial Report U.S. Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations  PDF icon


Special Projects

bullet image 2007 Capital Spending Report: U.S. Capital Spending
    Patterns, 1999-2005 PDF icon

bullet imageCharacteristics of Veteran-Owned Businesses: 2002

bullet imageCharacteristics of Veteran Business Owners: 2002

Custom Tabulations on Request

In addition to regularly published data, Bureau staff prepare special tabulations on a cost basis. Data in these tabulations are summaries subject to the same rules prohibiting disclosure of confidential company-specific information that govern regular Census Bureau publications.

bullet image Email your custom data request to csd@census.gov


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Other Sources of Statistics about Companies:

Economic Census  The Economic Census profiles American business every 5 years, from the national to the local level for years ending in 2 and 7. As part of the 2002 Economic Census, Establishment & Firm Size Reports were published at the national level. These reports classify data by the employment size of the firm- that is, that part of the enterprise within the industry category shown, not the employment size of the entire enterprise as shown in Statistics of U.S. Businesses.

Nonemployer Statistics  The Nonemployer Statistics summarize the number of establishments and receipts of businesses without paid employees. Most nonemployers are self-employed individuals operating very small unincorporated businesses, which may or may not be the owner's principal source of income.


Research and Development Survey icon The R&D Survey reviews trends in research and development (R&D) performed by industry within the United States. It includes analytical information on R&D funded from companies' own resources and sales and employment reported by R&D -performing firms.


Related Sites:

County Business Patterns  County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides sub national economic data by industry. The series is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark for statistical series, surveys, and databases between economic censuses

Business Help Site  The Economic Directorate's Business Help Site provides information for businesses to aid their completion of survey forms. This information includes frequently asked questions, online services such as form remails and time extensions, as well as other kinds of assistance.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)  The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the Bureau's current framework for reporting economic data by industry. It replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997 and was revised in 2002 and again in 2007.

American Fact Finder  American Fact Finder (AFF) is a database system that gives users access to Economic Census data in formats other than the published PDF's. Users of Fact Finder can search directly for the data they want, display data for all available sectors at once, and download the results for further manipulation.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Company Statistics Division