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 presents economic information such as business revenue, expenses, payroll, and employment with greater geographic detail than previous surveys. While some sectors previously only had national-level data, the new release includes statistics at national, regional, and divisional levels. State-level estimates are also provided 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.”
This publication replaces preliminary First Look data released in July 2025. It features sample statistics from each census region but notes that any ordering of industries by numerical estimates is coincidental and not statistically tested.
Key findings 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 workers with an annual payroll of $8.8 billion.
– Hospitals earned about $300.6 billion in revenue and employed roughly 1,337,057 people.
– Grocery Stores brought in an estimated $337.5 billion in revenue with an annual payroll of $32.1 billion.
– Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution employed about 202,720 workers with a payroll of $24.4 billion.
– Telecommunications recorded revenues near $155.9 billion with an annual payroll of $19.6 billion.
– Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services employed around 258,344 workers with a payroll totaling $30.4 billion.
The survey covers domestic private sector nonfarm employer businesses operating during part or all of 2023 within the United States or District of Columbia that have paid employees and are classified under one of nineteen sectors defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Approximately 385,000 businesses were sampled based on geography and industry classification.
Estimates have not been adjusted for price changes and may be affected by sampling variability or other errors; more details can be found at the 2023 AIES Methodology page.
The Census Bureau reviewed these data products to ensure proper confidentiality protections are applied.
