About this Program

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About this Program

Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB) is an annual series that provides subnational economic data by establishment industry & enterprise size.

Tabulations providing data by employment size of enterprise have been assembled as far back as 1988. These data were developed in cooperation with, and partially funded by, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Purpose

SUSB provides annual statistics for U.S. business establishments with paid employees by geography, industry, and enterprise size. This program is authorized under the United States Code, Titles 13 and 26.

Coverage

Statistics are available on establishments at the U.S. level and by state, U.S. territory, county, Metropolitan/Micropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and Congressional District level. SUSB covers most NAICS industries excluding Crop and Animal Production (NAICS 111,112); Rail Transportation (NAICS 482); Postal Service (NAICS 491); Pension, Health, Welfare, and Other Insurance Funds (NAICS 525110, 525120, 525190); Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (NAICS 525920); Offices of Notaries (NAICS 541120); Private Households (NAICS 814); and Public Administration (NAICS 92). SUSB also excludes most establishments reporting government employees.

Content

Data are presented by geographic area, industry detail, legal form of organization (U.S. and state only), and enterprise size. Annual data consist of number of firms, number of establishments, employment during the week of March 12, and annual payroll. In addition, receipts data are included for years ending in 2 and 7.

Dynamic data, which were historically created from the Business Information Tracking Series (BITS), consist of the number of establishments and corresponding employment change for births, deaths, expansions, and contractions. Subsequent to the release of 2015-2016 tabulations, the SUSB program has ceased production of all tabulations consisting of dynamic data. For historic tables, see SUSB Tables. For similar time series data spanning recent years, see the Business Dynamics Statistics.

Precautions are taken to avoid disclosing the operations of an individual employer.

Data Representation on the Internet

SUSB Tables:

U.S. and state annual data tables start in 1988
- Legal form of organization (LFO) data added in 2007 (U.S.) and 2018 (states)
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) annual data tables added in 1997 and Micropolitan areas defined in 2003
County annual data tables added in 2000
Congressional District annual data tables added in 2015
U.S. and state employment change data tables start in 1997, discontinued in 2016
MSA employment change data tables added in 2002, discontinued in 2016
County employment change data tables added in 1999, discontinued in 2016
Puerto Rico & Island Areas annual data table added in 2020

SUSB Datasets:

U.S. and state annual datasets start in 1997
MSA annual datasets start in 1997 and Micropolitan areas defined in 2003
U.S. and state employment change datasets added in 2008, discontinued in 2016

Frequency

Tabulations providing data by employment size of enterprise have been assembled annually as far back as 1988.

Methods

A compilation of data extracted from the Business Register (BR). The BR contains the Census Bureau's most complete, current, and consistent data for U.S. business establishments. The BR is updated continuously and incorporates data from: the Census Bureau's economic censuses and current business surveys, quarterly and annual Federal tax records, and other departmental and federal statistics.

Products

SUSB data are available approximately 24 months after each reference year. Data are released as spreadsheets and in comma-delimited format.

Uses

The data are the standard reference source for small business statistics.

Private businesses use the data for market research, strategic business planning, and managing sales territories. State and local governments, as well as, budget, economic development, and planning offices use the data to assess business changes, develop fiscal policies, and plan future policies and programs.