1. Decennial Census
2. REIS (Regional Economic Information System) Data since 1969 on one CD-ROM. "Data include: personal income by major source and labor and proprietors' earnings by standard industrial classification (SIC) two-digit industry; employment, measured as the sum of the number of full-time and part-time jobs, by SIC division (the "one-digit" level of classification); Regional Economic Profile, which contains general economic data by place of residence and place of work, derived from the more detailed tables; Transfer payments (payments by government and business to individuals and nonprofit institutions) by major program; Farm income and expenses, including broad categories of gross receipts and expenses of all farms and four different measures of net farm income. In addition, REIS offers BEARFACTS, a two-page narrative summary of economic information and changes in the economy. Also, Projections of employment, earnings, population and personal income to the year 2045 are available at the national, state, MSA, and Economic Area level with Gross State Product available for state and national levels." Geographical areas: U.S., state, county, metropolitan area, BEA economic area.
3. County Business Patterns Data covering most of the economic divisions of the economy; i.e., agricultural services, mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation, public utilities, wholesale trade, retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, and services. Summary data are provided on number of employees for the mid-March pay period, first quarter total payroll, total annual payroll, number of establishments, and the number of establishments by employment-size class. Data are tabulated by detailed kinds of businesses based on SIC codes. Geographical areas: U.S., state, county. See also ZIP Code Business Patterns.
4. Economic Census Economic Censuses are taken every five years in years ending in "2" and "7". Davis Library has all economic censuses. The 1997 Economic Census covers the following industries: mining, utilities, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, finance and insurance, real estate and rental and leasing, professional, scientific, and technical services, management of companies and enterprises, administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, educational services, health care and social assistance, arts, entertainment and recreation, accommodation and food services, and other services. Includes for all industries the number of establishments (or companies); number of employees; payroll; and measure of output (sales, receipts, revenue, value of shipments, or value of construction work done). Geographical areas, depending on industry: U.S., state, county, place, metropolitan area, ZIP code.
5. ES-202 The Covered Employment and Wages program, a.k.a. ES-202, "is a comprehensive and accurate source of employment and wage data, by industry, at the national, State, and county levels. It provides a virtual census of nonagricultural employees and their wages. In addition, about 44 percent of all workers in agricultural industries are covered."
6. TIGER/Line, TIGER (spatial data) "The TIGER/Line files are a digital database of geographic features, such as roads, railroads, rivers, lakes, political boundaries, census statistical boundaries, etc. covering the entire United States. The data base contains information about these features such as their location in latitude and longitude, the name, the type of feature, address ranges for most streets, the geographic relationship to other features, and other related information. They are the public product created from the Census Bureau's TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) data base of geographic information. TIGER was developed at the Census Bureau to support the mapping and related geographic activities required by the decennial census and sample survey programs."
7. County and City Data Book (compendium) Demographic, economic, and governmental data from both the Federal government and private agencies. Geographical areas: State, county, place; CD-ROM has information on more small places than print.
8. State and Metropolitan Area Data Book (compendium) "The Data Book contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States at the State and metropolitan area levels." Geographical areas: state, region, division, metropolitan area, and selected data for component counties and central cities of metropolitan areas.
9. USA Counties (compendium) A variety of demographic, socio-economic, and economic statistics. Demographic, economic and governmental data are presented for 2,844 variables for the purpose of multi-county comparisons or single county profiles; includes some historical statistics. Geographical areas: U.S., state, county.
10. and when all else fails... Statistical Universe (print equivalent: ASI, SRI, IIS) The standard, and best, index to statistics produced by the U.S. Federal government (ASI), other statistics produced in the U.S. by units other than the Federal government (SRI), and statistics produced by international agencies (IIS).

For more resources: Major Sources of Statistical Data for Geographical Areas Smaller than State

1. Type What do the statistics count and what tables and variables are provided?
• about people - demographic, e.g., race, age, sex
• about people - socio-economic, e.g. education, poverty, median household income
• about businesses or industries, e.g., number of retail stores, sales in dollars
• about the economy, e.g. employment, unemployment
• about transportation, e.g. miles of streets, number of airports
2. Geography For what geographical area(s) are statistics provided? For example: U.S., all counties in North Carolina, all counties in U.S.
3. Years For what years are statistics provided? For example: 1969-present, 1992-1994.
4. Currency How current are the statistics? There may be a very short or very long time span between the time the statistics are collected and the time that they are made available.
5. Frequency If a time series, how frequently are the statistics issued? For example: quarterly, annually, every 5 years, every 10 years.
6. Withheld data Does the source of statistics withhold statistics because of privacy or confidentiality concerns or does the source use some other means to ensure confidentiality? If so, how?
7. Source What is the source of the statistics? Some example sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Department of Labor.
8. Medium In what media are the statistics available? Examples: web, CD-ROM, print, microfiche.
9. Location Where does one have to go to get the statistics? For example: Davis Library, Odum Institute, a local agency or organization, the web, etc.
10. Definitions What are the definitions of subject characteristics and geographical areas associated with the statistics? Example: what is the difference between a household and a family?
11. Methodology How were the statistics collected? Examples: census, survey, administrative records.

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