Data Sources
Every number in our reports comes from federal statistical databases. You can verify any claim.
Why source transparency matters
When a report says "the market is worth $1.6 trillion," you should be able to verify that. Our reports cite the exact federal dataset, year, and table for every key metric. If a number is estimated or projected, we say so — and show the methodology.
County Business Patterns
Annual data on business establishments, employment, and payroll organized by NAICS industry code and geographic area. The foundation for establishment counts and employment analysis.
Statistics of US Businesses
Firm-level data including revenue/receipts, firm size distributions, and enterprise statistics. Primary source for market sizing.
Economic Census — Concentration
The official share-of-sales table published every five years. Source for every concentration figure we report: CR4, CR8, CR20, CR50 and the HHI. These are measured against the full industry, public and private, which is why they cannot be derived from public-company filings.
Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages
Quarterly employment and wage data derived from state unemployment insurance reports. Provides the most current employment trends and average wage data by industry.
Federal Reserve Economic Data
Macroeconomic data including GDP, inflation rates, interest rates, and economic indicators. Used for industry context and macroeconomic analysis.
EDGAR Filings
Public company financial filings (10-K, 10-Q) used for competitive landscape analysis. Companies are matched via NAICS-to-SIC code mapping.
Foreign Trade Data
Import and export statistics by industry classification. Used in Standard tier reports for international trade analysis and trade balance context.
Questions about how often each dataset is refreshed or how we handle reporting lags? See the FAQ on data freshness and sources.
Want to query this record yourself? The published figures for 1,766 industries, each with its source agency and year, are available free to Claude and other AI assistants through our MCP connector — no account required.