One of our primary objectives at SmallBusiness.com is to discover and share information with a neutral point-of-view that helps those who own and run small businesses make better decisions throughout every day. We are constantly amazed to discover new tools and resources that contain just such information. Unfortunately, that help can often be buried deep within a government agency database or in a seemingly hidden part of a report. Thanks to the folks at the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy for making us aware of many of the data sources found on this list.
USDA | Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Government Business Data Sources
Key | √ = Source has small business data on this topic
| 1 | Demographics | 5 | Firm Size Data | 9 | Industry / Geography |
| 2 | Employment | 6 | Firms / Establishments | 10 | Taxes |
| 3 | Exports / International | 7 | Health and/or Pensions | 11 | Training |
| 4 | Finance | 8 | Income / Sales / Expenses |
| Agency | Available Data | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | Agricultural Data and Stats | √ | √ | |||||||||
| Economic Research Service | Agricultural Farm and Rural Data | √ | |||||||||||
| Rural Development Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans | √ |
U.S. Department of Commerce | Wikimedia Commons
| Agency | Available Data | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce / Bureau of Economic Analysis | Corporate Profits Proprietors' Income GDP | √ | √ | |||||||||
| Commerce / Census | Annual Capital Expenditures Survey | √ | ||||||||||
| Business Dynamics Statistics | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||||||||
| Business Expenses | √ | √ | ||||||||||
| County Business Patterns | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||||||||
| Nonemployer Business Statistics | √ | √ | √ | |||||||||
| Statistics of U.S. Businesses | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | |||||||
| Survey of Business Owners | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||||
| Survey of Income & Program Participation | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | |||||||
| Commerce / Int. Trade Admin. | Importers and Exporters | √ | √ | |||||||||
| Census & Bureau of Labor Stat. | Current Population Survey | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
Key | √ = Source has small business data on this topic
| 1 | Demographics | 5 | Firm Size Data | 9 | Industry / Geography |
| 2 | Employment | 6 | Firms / Establishments | 10 | Taxes |
| 3 | Exports / International | 7 | Health and/or Pensions | 11 | Training |
| 4 | Finance | 8 | Income / Sales / Expenses |
Federal Reserve | Wikimedia Commons
| Agency | Available Data | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Courts | Bankruptcy Filings | √ | ||||||||||
| FFIEC | Community Reinvestment Act data | √ | ||||||||||
| FDIC/FFIEC | Call Report Data / Outstanding SB Loans | √ | ||||||||||
| Federal Proc. Data System | Small Business Goaling Report | √ | ||||||||||
| Federal Reserve Board | Flow of Funds | √ | ||||||||||
| Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey | √ | |||||||||||
| Survey of Consumer Finances | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||||||||
| Survey of Small Business Finances | √ | |||||||||||
| Survey of Terms of Business Lending | √ | |||||||||||
| Health and Human Services | Medical Expenditure Panel Survey | √ |
Key | √ = Source has small business data on this topic
| 1 | Demographics | 5 | Firm Size Data | 9 | Industry / Geography |
| 2 | Employment | 6 | Firms / Establishments | 10 | Taxes |
| 3 | Exports / International | 7 | Health and/or Pensions | 11 | Training |
| 4 | Finance | 8 | Income / Sales / Expenses |
SBA | Wikimedia Commons
| Agency | Available Data | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor / Bureau of Labor Statistics | Business Employment Dynamics | √ | √ | √ | ||||||||
| Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey | √ | √ | ||||||||||
| Survey of Employer-Provided Training | √ | |||||||||||
| Links to Much more BLS Data | √ | √ | √ | |||||||||
| Labor / Employee Benefits Sec. Admin. | Private Pension Plan Bulletin etc. | √ | ||||||||||
| Securities & Exchange Commission | EDGAR Database of Publicly Traded Cos. | √ | ||||||||||
| Small Business Administration | SBA Lending Data | √ | √ | √ | ||||||||
| SBA Weekly Lending Reports | √ | √ | √ | |||||||||
| Small Business Investment Company | √ | |||||||||||
| SBA Office of Advocacy | Small Business Research & Data | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Social Security Administration | Employment and Pension Data | √ | √ | √ | ||||||||
| Treasury / IRS / SOI | Statistics of Income | √ | √ | √ |
Key | √ = Source has small business data on this topic
| 1 | Demographics | 5 | Firm Size Data | 9 | Industry / Geography |
| 2 | Employment | 6 | Firms / Establishments | 10 | Taxes |
| 3 | Exports / International | 7 | Health and/or Pensions | 11 | Training |
| 4 | Finance | 8 | Income / Sales / Expenses |
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