The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2018 County Business Patterns (CBP). This annual series of statistics provides subnational economic data by industry. These data show detailed annual information on the number of establishments, employment during the week of March 12, and first quarter and annual payroll at the national, state, metropolitan area, combined statistical area, and county and congressional district levels for nearly 1,200 industries defined by the current 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). CBP also includes data for Puerto Rico and the Island Areas at the state and county equivalent levels.
The data are useful for studying economic activity of small areas. Federal agencies use the data to determine employee concentrations and trends by industry. Private businesses use the data to analyze market potential, measure the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, set sales quotas, and develop budgets. State and local government offices use the data to assess business changes, develop fiscal policies, and plan future policies and programs.
CBP basic data items are from the Business Register (BR), a database of all known single- and multi-establishment employer companies maintained and updated by the Census Bureau.
The tables are available on the Census Bureau’s website at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/data.html>.