The Economic Census covers nearly all businesses and industries in the private, non-farm U.S. Economy. For a list of industries not covered by the Economic Census - see Codes Not Covered in the 2022 Economic Census User Guide. Many small businesses with paid employees do not receive census forms - data are obtained from administrative sources. Although not every business receives a census form, the published totals reflect all covered businesses.
The Economic Census includes only businesses with paid employees. Data for businesses without paid employees are available annually in Nonemployer Statistics. To learn more about Economic Census sampling, reliability, and non-response, see methodology.
There is a separate Census of Governments and Census of Agriculture, conducted on the same schedule as the Economic Census.