Economic data refer to the Economic Census of establishments and various surveys and data for establishments and firms. With very few exceptions, the public use versions for these files are limited to data presented in aggregate form. The following tables list establishment and firm based data, the survey period, the frequency of data collection, the years of data available, and the sponsoring federal agency. Access to these data will only be granted to qualified researchers on approved projects with authorization to use specific data sets. All external researcher access to restricted–use data occurs at one of the secure Federal Statistical Research Data Centers.

Some Census Bureau surveys are sponsored in whole or in part by other federal agencies. Sponsorship of data collections may also change over time. External research projects using these data may require permission of the sponsoring agency. Most economic data contain Federal Tax Information (FTI). Use of these data requires approval of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

You can apply for access to restricted-use microdata at FSRDCs via the Standard Application Process (SAP) Portal at www.ResearchDataGov.org. The SAP Portal is a web-based data catalog and common application that serves as a “front door” to apply for confidential data from any of the 16 principal federal statistical agencies and units for evidence building purposes. To learn more about the SAP, please visit the Standard Application Process Overview webpage. Information about applying for access to restricted-use Census Bureau microdata in the FSRDCs using the SAP portal is available on the Census Bureau’s Standard Application Process website.  

Note: the SAP Portal has the definitive list of restricted-use Census Bureau datasets available to potential FSRDC researchers. Datasets are added and removed from the SAP portal as their availability status changes.

Assistance from an FSRDC administrator will greatly reduce the need for future revisions to your application. If you are unsure which FSRDC to contact or have a general question, please reach out to the Census Bureau at ced.fsrdc.info@census.gov.

*All economic censuses are sponsored by Census Bureau

**Available to projects approved to use CMF

*The CSB is only available with a current Compustat license.

*Available to projects approved to use ASM

**MOPS does not contain federal tax information (FTI). These data are a supplement to the ASM and are requested for use in the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs) with the ASM.

*The Quarterly Financial Report Census Years (QFRCEN) must be used if the Economic Census data is being used for a project. The QFRCEN contains data only for the Economic Census years.

Business Research & Development and Innovation Survey (BRDIS)
(see also SIRD)