The U.S. Census Bureau has released the main set of data from the 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), providing a comprehensive annual overview of U.S. employer businesses for the first time. The AIES includes economic data such as business revenue, expenses, payroll, and employment across detailed geographic levels, expanding beyond what was previously available only at the national level. The new release offers information at national, regional, and divisional scales, with some state-level estimates for selected sectors.
Lisa Donaldson, assistant director for Economic Programs at the Census Bureau, said: “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. By combining breadth of coverage with new geographic detail, the AIES provides insights that will shape decisions across the public and private sectors.”
The current release replaces preliminary data published in July 2025 and features sample statistics from each of the four census regions. For example:
– Automobile Dealers generated an estimated $278.2 billion in revenue and employed about 281,789 workers.
– Drugs and Druggists’ Sundries Merchant Wholesalers earned approximately $298.6 billion in sales.
– Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing employed around 78,565 workers 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 about $337.5 billion in revenue with an annual payroll estimated at $32.1 billion.
– Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution employed approximately 202,720 workers with a payroll close to $24.4 billion.
– Telecommunications reported revenues of about $155.9 billion and an annual payroll near $19.6 billion.
– Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services employed around 258,344 workers with a payroll estimated at $30.4 billion.
The survey covers domestic private sector nonfarm employer businesses that operated during part or all of 2023 within any U.S. state or the District of Columbia and paid employees while being classified under one of nineteen sectors defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). About 385,000 businesses were sampled based on location and industry.
Estimates are not adjusted for inflation and may be subject to sampling variability or other errors. More details regarding methodology can be found on the Census Bureau’s website.
The Census Bureau reviewed these data products to ensure proper access controls and confidentiality protections.
For further information about how AIES data is used to inform economic understanding and decision-making processes across various sectors, additional resources are available through official Census Bureau communications.
