The U.S. Census Bureau has published the main release of data from the 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), providing for the first time a comprehensive annual overview of employer businesses in the United States.
The AIES delivers economic data such as business revenue, expenses, payroll, and employment at more detailed geographic levels than previously available for many sectors. The current release offers information at national, regional, and divisional levels, with state-level estimates included for selected industries.
Lisa Donaldson, assistant director for Economic Programs at the Census Bureau, stated: “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 survey results replace preliminary data released in July 2025 and present sample statistics from each census region. Highlights include estimated revenues and employment figures across several industries:
– Automobile dealers generated about $278.2 billion in revenue and employed roughly 281,789 workers.
– Drugs and druggists’ sundries merchant wholesalers reported $298.6 billion in sales.
– Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing employed an estimated 78,565 people with an annual payroll of $8.8 billion.
– Hospitals earned approximately $300.6 billion in revenue while employing around 1,337,057 individuals.
– Grocery stores brought in about $337.5 billion in revenue with an annual payroll totaling $32.1 billion.
– Electric power generation, transmission and distribution had a workforce of 202,720 with a payroll of $24.4 billion.
– Telecommunications reported $155.9 billion in revenue and a payroll of $19.6 billion.
– Data processing, hosting, and related services employed about 258,344 people with an annual payroll of $30.4 billion.
The AIES covers domestic private sector nonfarm employer businesses operating during some part of 2023 within the 50 states or District of Columbia that have paid employees and are classified under one of nineteen sectors as defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The survey sampled approximately 385,000 businesses based on industry type and location.
Estimates are not adjusted for inflation and may be subject to sampling variability or other errors; further details regarding methodology can be found on the Census Bureau’s website.
The Census Bureau has reviewed all released data products to ensure confidentiality protections are maintained.
