The U.S. Census Bureau has released the main data set from the 2023 Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), providing a comprehensive annual overview of U.S. employer businesses for the first time. The survey includes detailed information on business revenue, expenses, payroll, and employment at national, regional, and divisional levels. For selected sectors, state-level estimates are also available.
Lisa Donaldson, assistant director for Economic Programs at the Census Bureau, commented on the release: “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 AIES sample includes approximately 385,000 businesses selected by location and industry. The survey covers domestic private sector nonfarm employer businesses operating during some part of 2023 in any of the 50 states or Washington D.C., with paid employees and classified within nineteen sectors defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System.
Key highlights from this release include:
– Automobile Dealers generated an estimated $278.2 billion in revenue and employed about 281,789 workers.
– Drugs and Druggists’ Sundries Merchant Wholesalers earned an estimated $298.6 billion in sales.
– Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing employed around 78,565 workers with an annual payroll of $8.8 billion.
– Hospitals reported $300.6 billion in revenue with about 1,337,057 employees.
– Grocery Stores brought in approximately $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 totaling $24.4 billion.
– Telecommunications companies earned roughly $155.9 billion in revenue with an annual payroll of $19.6 billion.
– Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services had about 258,344 employees with a payroll reaching $30.4 billion.
These final estimates replace preliminary data released earlier in July 2025.
The Census Bureau has reviewed these data products to ensure confidentiality protections are maintained.
For more details on methodology or additional information about coverage or error sources related to this survey visit their official site for 2023 AIES Methodology.
