The 2017 Economic Census of Island Areas, which covers the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

The 2017 Economic Census of Island Areas uses direct data collection supplemented by data from federal administrative records to compile statistics on approximately 51,000 business establishments in industries defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) operating in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

The Economic Census provides the only source of comprehensive, comparable data for the Island Areas at a geographic level similar to U.S. counties. It produces basic statistics by industry for number of establishments, sales/value of shipments/revenue, payroll, and employment.  It also yields a variety of industry-specific statistics, including sales/value of shipments/revenue by product line as defined by the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS), depreciable assets, selected purchased services, inventories, capital expenditures, size of establishments, and other industry-specific measures.

This information collection is part of the 2017 Economic Census, which is required by law under Title 13, United States Code (USC). Section 131 of this statute directs the taking of a census at 5-year intervals. Section 224 makes reporting mandatory.  Section 9 of the same law ensures confidentiality.

The Economic Census of Island Areas is the major source of statistics about the structure and functioning of the economies of each Island Area, and features the only recognized source of data at a geographic level similar to U.S. counties.  Economic Census statistics serve as part of the framework for the national accounts of the Island Areas and provide essential information for government, business, and the general public.  The governments of the Island Areas and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) rely on the economic census as an important part of the framework for their income and product accounts, input-output tables, economic indices, and other composite measures that serve as the basis for economic policymaking, planning, and program administration.  Further, the Economic Census contributes critical source data for current estimates of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Island Areas.  Finally, industry, business, academia, and the general public use information from the Economic Census for evaluating markets, preparing business plans, making business decisions, developing economic models and forecasts, conducting economic research, and establishing benchmarks for their own sample surveys.

Key statistics produced

Products from this collection summarize data by kind of business for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The information collected is used to produce statistics on the number of establishments, sales/value of shipments/revenue, annual payroll, first-quarter payroll, and employment for the pay period including March 12, 2017.  Tabulations also summarize information by sales size, employment size, and industry composition by legal form of organization.  A variety of geographic area-specific tabulations for industry-specific statistics will also be included.

Frequency of data products

Data for the Economic Census of Island Areas is collected every five years—for years ending in “2” and “7.”

Geographic detail

The level of geographic detail covered varies by island. Data may be presented for:

• The Island (American Samoa (AS), the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam (GU), Puerto Rico (PR) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (VI))
• County-equivalent areas (districts (AS), municipalities (CNMI and GU), municipios (PR), and islands (VI))
• Place-equivalent areas (counties (AS) and towns (VI))
• Planning Regions (Presented only for PR Industry Series)
• Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Presented only for PR Industry Series, including Combined Statistical Areas (Combined Areas) Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Metro Areas), and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (Micro Areas).) Almost all geographic areas (including places, counties, planning regions, and metropolitan areas) will be published in the 2017 Economic Census as of January 1, 2017. Therefore, if a geographic entity has changed boundaries since that date, those changes will not be reflected in the 2017 Economic Census tabulations.

Publication level of detail

The level of industry detail covered varies by island and by table. Basic data are typically presented by two and three-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) detail for American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Basic data are typically presented by five-digit NAICS detail for Puerto Rico. Across all islands, industry-specific data are typically presented at higher, less detailed NAICS levels.

Data dissemination

2017 Economic Census of Island Areas data will be released on data.census.gov, the new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The first release of 2017 data products, for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is scheduled to occur in January 2020, and all data dissemination should be complete by the fourth quarter of 2020.  In the event of an unplanned data revision, revised statistics may be made available under “Updates” or under “Latest Data.”

You may contact us by phone at 301.763.3314 or email us at csd.ia@census.gov.