The economic census provides a detailed portrait of the United States' economy once every five years, from the national to the local level.
It covers most of the U.S. economy in its basic collection of establishment statistics. There also are several related programs, including statistics on minority- and women-owned businesses.
Business establishments in the economic census are grouped into industries based on the similarity of their production processes. These industries are coded according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).