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NAICS codes
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes (pronounced "nakes" codes) are helpful when searching business databases. An industry can have more than one NAICS code. The longer the code, the more specific it is. For example:
722513 — Fast-food restaurants
7225 — Restaurants and other eating places
722 — Food services and drinking places
72 — Accommodation and food services
NAICS categories don't distinguish between small and large business, or between for-profit and non-profit.
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Finding NAICS Codes tutorialLearn how to use the NAICS website with this short, interactive tutorial.
Databases for industry research
Great places to start
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IbisWorldFind industry market research for the United States. It includes 700 industry reports based on NAICS codes and more than 350 niche or specialty reports. For best search results, use a NAICS code, but you can also search by company or brand.
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Business Insights: EssentialsSee Business Insights' Industries tab for industry overviews and market share reports. You can search by NAICS code or industry name.
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Business Source UltimateSearch for your industry by subject or NAICS code. This database features industry and market research reports, SWOT analyses and articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals. TIP: For industry profiles, select Industry Profile from Publication Type menu.
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ABI/INFORM CollectionTo find industry reports, try selecting Industry Report from the Document Type menu. Also find articles from academic journals, magazines, trade publications, and newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal.
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Nexis UniLexisNexis is an excellent resource for articles about industries from a broad spectrum of newspapers and trade publications.
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CB InsightsThis market intelligence platform analyzes millions of data points on venture capital, startups, patents, partnerships, and news mentions to help you see tomorrow's opportunities, today. To use this database, you'll need to set up a free account with your UA email.
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Value Line industry analysesBrowse for industry analyses.
More focused searches
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Frost & Sullivan Industry ResearchIf you're researching a high-tech industry, this is a great resource.
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BCC ResearchThis database focuses on industries related to science and technology, health care, food, the environment, and safety/security.
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Gartner ResearchProvides market research reports of the IT industry and in-depth analysis on IT issues. It also provides reports on dominant trends in the IT industry, overviews of existing and emerging technologies and analysis of products on the market. (UA NetID login is required.)
Advanced tools
See the tutorials on the Get Started tab of this course guide for quick lessons on how to use these powerful tools:
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Euromonitor's PassportYou'll need to accept the terms of use before searching (scroll down and select Accept). In the black bar at the top of the home page, select Industries. Research industry trends in the U.S. and worldwide.
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BizMinerBizMiner is a great tool for making business projections. It provides industry financial profiles, micro firm profit-loss reports, industry market reports (down to the ZIP code), and a Competitive Market Analyzer (also down to the ZIP code).
Industry snapshots
The U.S. Economic Census is done every 5 years, for years ending in "2" and "7." The most recent data are from 2012.
See the Economic Census: Industry Snapshots.
To see Industry Snapshots, enter a NAICS code in the search box (713940 for gyms, for example). Industry Snapshots provide key statistics such as:
- Number of establishments in an industry
- Revenue
- Annual payroll
- Payroll per employee
- Employees per establishment
- A map showing where sales, establishments, and populations are concentrated in the United States
Inside a snapshot, there's also a Compare Your Business link, where you can get comparisons to industry averages. (Look for the magnifying glass in the upper right of the snapshot.)
County Business Patterns provide economic data by industry. Data include the number of establishments, employment, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll.
For information on businesses without paid employees (e.g., sole proprietorships), see Nonemployer Statistics. Data consist of the number of businesses and total receipts by industry.