The survey measured the number of State, Local and Federal civilian government employees and their gross payrolls for the pay period including March 12, 2004.

The survey provided data on full-time and part-time employment, part-time hours worked, full-time equivalent employment, and payroll statistics by governmental function (elementary and secondary education, higher education, police protection, fire protection, financial administration, central staff services, judicial and legal, highways, public welfare, solid waste management, sewerage, parks and recreation, health, hospitals, water supply, electric power, gas supply, transit, natural resources, correction, libraries, air transportation, water transport and terminals, other education, state liquor stores, social insurance administration, and housing and community development).

The sampling frame contains 83,767 local governments (county, city, township, special district, school districts) in addition to 50 state governments and the District of Columbia. The survey sample is taken from the 2002 Census of Governments and contains approximately 11,000 local government units. This frame was slightly different from the Annual Finance Survey sampling frame.