The 27 Data Points of a Complete Industry Analysis #
A professional industry analysis covers 27 distinct data points across five categories. Here's every one of them — what it is, where to find it, and what it tells you. This is the same methodology used in VantaInsights reports, broken down step by step so you can do it yourself.
| Category | # Data Points | Primary Source | Est. Time (DIY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market Sizing | 5 | Census SUSB, Census CBP | 3–5 hours |
| Growth & Trends | 6 | Census CBP (historical), FRED | 4–8 hours |
| Competitive Landscape | 6 | SEC EDGAR, Census CBP | 6–12 hours |
| Labor & Cost Structure | 5 | BLS QCEW/OES, Census CBP | 3–6 hours |
| Strategic Assessment | 5 | All sources combined | 4–8 hours |
| Total | 27 | 5 federal databases | 20–40 hours |
The Complete Checklist #
Market Sizing (5 data points)
| # | Data Point | Source | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NAICS code identification | census.gov/naics | Search by business activity keywords |
| 2 | Total industry revenue (TAM) | Census SUSB | data.census.gov → filter by NAICS → receipts |
| 3 | Total establishments | Census CBP | data.census.gov → CBP → filter by NAICS |
| 4 | Total employment | Census CBP | Same query, employment column |
| 5 | SAM/SOM calculation | Census CBP (state/county) | Filter by geography, calculate your share |
Growth & Trends (6 data points)
| # | Data Point | Source | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Employment CAGR (5-year) | Census CBP | Pull 5 years of data, apply CAGR formula |
| 7 | Establishment CAGR (5-year) | Census CBP | Same dataset, establishment counts |
| 8 | Revenue CAGR | Census SUSB | Compare Economic Census years (2017 vs 2022) |
| 9 | Wage CAGR | Census CBP / BLS QCEW | Annual payroll ÷ employment, year-over-year |
| 10 | Industry life cycle classification | FRED + Census CBP | Compare employment CAGR to GDP CAGR |
| 11 | Pandemic impact assessment | Census CBP | Compare 2019 baseline to current, flag recovery vs growth |
Competitive Landscape (6 data points)
| # | Data Point | Source | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Market concentration (CR4) | Census Economic Census | Look up the concentration table for your NAICS code — it publishes CR4 directly, measured against public and private firms alike |
| 13 | Top competitors by revenue | SEC EDGAR | XBRL search by SIC code, pull annual revenue |
| 14 | Average employees per establishment | Census CBP | Total employment ÷ total establishments |
| 15 | Firm size distribution | Census SUSB | Firms by employee-size class |
| 16 | Establishment entry/exit rate | Census BDS | Business Dynamics Statistics, year-over-year |
| 17 | SIC-to-NAICS mapping | Census crosswalk | Required to match SEC EDGAR (SIC) to Census (NAICS) |
Labor & Cost Structure (5 data points)
| # | Data Point | Source | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Average annual wage | BLS QCEW or Census CBP | Annual payroll ÷ mid-March employment |
| 19 | Wage trend (rising/falling) | BLS QCEW | Compare quarterly wage data over 3+ years |
| 20 | Payroll-to-revenue ratio | Census CBP + SUSB | Total payroll ÷ total receipts |
| 21 | Geographic wage variation | BLS OES (state level) | Compare median wages by state for key occupations |
| 22 | Top occupations and wages | BLS OES | Occupational employment by NAICS industry |
Strategic Assessment (5 data points)
| # | Data Point | Source | How to Get It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | SWOT analysis | All sources | Synthesize findings into 4 quadrants |
| 24 | 5-year forecast (base case) | Census CBP + CAGR | Project current trends forward using revenue CAGR |
| 25 | Bull/bear scenarios | Historical volatility | Calculate YoY standard deviation, apply ±bands |
| 26 | Geographic concentration | Census CBP (state) | Top states by employment and establishment count |
| 27 | Key risks and opportunities | All sources | Synthesize trends, competition, and macro factors |
Want the full industry analysis checklist data?
Complete data with 5-year forecasts, geographic breakdowns, and competitive analysis. Every data point sourced and cited.
The Time and Skill Reality #
| Task | Skill Required | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Finding and downloading Census CBP/SUSB data | Navigating data.census.gov (not intuitive) | 2–4 hours |
| Calculating CAGRs with pandemic adjustment | Spreadsheet formulas, judgment on time periods | 2–3 hours |
| SEC EDGAR competitive analysis | XBRL queries, SIC-to-NAICS mapping, 10-K reading | 6–12 hours |
| BLS wage benchmarking | QCEW and OES data retrieval | 2–4 hours |
| SWOT, forecasting, synthesis | Analytical judgment, writing | 4–8 hours |
| Formatting into a presentable report | Document design, chart creation | 3–6 hours |
Using This Checklist #
If you're doing it yourself:
Work through the checklist in order — market sizing first (sets the foundation), then growth trends (direction), competitive landscape (who else is here), labor/cost structure (operating reality), and strategic assessment (so what?). Save the EDGAR competitive analysis for last — it's the most time-consuming and builds on everything before it.
If you're evaluating a report provider:
Use this checklist to audit any industry report you're considering purchasing. Does it cover all 27 data points? Are the sources named? Can you verify the claims? A report that covers 15 of 27 data points isn't a complete analysis — it's a partial one priced as complete.
If you're writing a business plan or SBA application:
SBA lenders check your market analysis against NAICS industry benchmarks. This checklist maps to exactly what they're looking for — market size, growth trajectory, competitive structure, cost benchmarks, and outlook. Cover all five categories and your market analysis section will be stronger than 90% of the business plans lenders see.