The U.S. Census Bureau has released the main data set from the 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), marking the first time a single, comprehensive annual overview of U.S. employer businesses is available.
The AIES offers detailed economic data such as business revenue, expenses, payroll, and employment. For many industries, this level of geographic detail was previously limited to national figures. The new release includes statistics at national, regional, and divisional levels, with state-level estimates for selected sectors.
“This release of data represents a significant step forward in the Census Bureau’s efforts to adapt to our ever-changing economy and transform our business statistics,” said Lisa Donaldson, assistant director for Economic Programs. “By combining breadth of coverage with new geographic detail, the AIES provides insights that will shape decisions across the public and private sectors.”
The latest data replaces preliminary estimates published in July 2025. It features sample statistics from each census region but does not test numerical orderings for statistical significance.
Highlights from selected industries include:
– Automobile dealers generated an estimated $278.2 billion in revenue and employed about 281,789 workers.
– Drugs and druggists’ sundries merchant wholesalers reported approximately $298.6 billion in sales.
– Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing employed around 78,565 people with an annual payroll near $8.8 billion.
– Hospitals earned roughly $300.6 billion in revenue and had about 1,337,057 employees.
– Grocery stores brought in an estimated $337.5 billion in revenue with an annual payroll of about $32.1 billion.
– Electric power generation, transmission and distribution firms employed around 202,720 workers with a payroll totaling $24.4 billion.
– Telecommunications businesses earned about $155.9 billion in revenue and had a payroll of nearly $19.6 billion.
– Data processing, hosting, and related services employed roughly 258,344 people with an annual payroll close to $30.4 billion.
The survey covers domestic private sector nonfarm employer businesses operating at any point during 2023 within all fifty states or Washington D.C., provided they have paid employees and are classified under one of nineteen sectors defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). About 385,000 businesses were sampled based on industry type and location.
Estimates have not been adjusted for inflation and may be affected by sampling variability or other errors. More information on methodology is available on the Census Bureau’s website.
The Census Bureau stated it has reviewed these data products to ensure confidentiality protections are maintained.
