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 employer businesses in the United States for the first time. The new data includes details on business revenue, expenses, payroll, and employment at national, regional, and divisional levels. For selected sectors, state-level estimates are also available.
“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.”
The AIES replaces previous preliminary “First Look” data released in July 2025 with final estimates. The survey covers domestic, private sector, nonfarm employer businesses operating in 2023 within all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Businesses included must have paid employees and be classified under one of nineteen sectors as defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). About 385,000 businesses were sampled based on location and industry.
Key findings from this release show that 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 estimated at $8.8 billion.
Hospitals reported an estimated $300.6 billion in revenue and employed roughly 1,337,057 people. Grocery stores brought in about $337.5 billion in revenue with an annual payroll near $32.1 billion.
Other sectors highlighted include electric power generation, transmission and distribution employing around 202,720 workers with a payroll of $24.4 billion; telecommunications earning about $155.9 billion in revenue with a payroll of $19.6 billion; and data processing, hosting, and related services employing approximately 258,344 workers with a payroll of $30.4 billion.
The Census Bureau noted that these estimates are not adjusted for price changes and may be subject to sampling variability or other errors. Additional information on methodology is available on their website.
The bureau has reviewed these data products to ensure confidentiality protections are maintained.
