The Economic Census is the official measure of the Nation’s businesses and economy. Conducted every five years, the survey serves as the statistical benchmark for current economic activity, such as, the Gross Domestic Product and the Producer Price Index.

Data collected from individual business establishments on physical location, type of business activity (industry), employment, payroll, and revenue by type of service or product and more provides vital information on the changes in the ownership and organizational structure of American businesses and industries. Some inquiries apply to certain industries but not others, such as, materials consumed and franchising.

Economic Census data is important to everyone. For example, businesses use the data to make decisions about where to locate, local communities use the data to attract new businesses, and individuals use the data to identify emerging markets. For more information on how the data is used, see Purposes and Uses of Economic Census Statistics.

The data released from the 2022 Economic Census will include a few structural and content changes. These include:

• An accelerated release schedule allowing statistics to be available sooner than ever before. See 2022 Economic Census Release Schedule.
• The “Geographic Area Statistics” will now be a single release – every sector and geography will be  available on the same day. In previous years it was released on a flow basis by sector and state.
• The order of two releases was changed to better fit the needs of data users. The release of the “Comparative and Bridge Statistics” datasets have been moved up to immediately follow the “Geographic Area Statistics,” and “Establishment and Firm Size Statistics” will be released before the “Product Statistics.”
• There will be new statistics on: 
  • selected Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry (NAICS 115)
  • cooperatives (at 2 – 6 digit NAICS levels)

To learn more about updates to industry codes, product codes, and geographies see What’s New for 2022.