The Bureau of the Census doesn’t just count the number of people in the United States; that happens once every ten years. In the interim, the Census Bureau prepares loads of other useful demographic information about businesses as well as individual people and this can be a fantastic resource for market research. These statistics are useful information that could be very useful to the budding entrepreneur or new business person. The Catalog of the United States Census Publication is a great place to start; this document is published monthly, with quarterly and annual compiling, and contains a list of all publications produced by the Bureau of the Census, along with the appropriate descriptions of each. Another useful resource is the Census Bureau website, found at http://www.census.gov/.
Census Bureau Publications
The following list will help to give you a working knowledge of the information from the Census Bureau that is available to the general public. Larger libraries will have these publications available for examination.
1.The Population Census is done every ten years and is updated annually by the Current Population Report. This document lists population statistics on state and county characteristics, standard metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAs), and census tracts; the demographics reported include age, occupation, race, sex, level of education, family composition, and employment income.
2.The Statistical Abstract of the United States is an annual publication. This document is a great source for finding both current and past statistics about numerous aspects of life in America; the information reported includes statistics on population, education, income, prices, environmental conditions, law enforcement, labor force, local government, and many more relevant topics.
3.The County and City Data Book is published every five years as a supplements to the Statistical Abstract of the United States; this provides information organized by region, division, state, and SMSA for banking, income, capital expenditures, retail and wholesale sales, manufacturing, population, and a host of other factors. There is also a State and Metropolitan Area Data Book that also supplements the Statistical Abstract to the United States; it provides similar information as the county and city data book, but on the state level.
4.The publication on County Business Patterns is an annual publication that includes a summary of the statistics on the number and type of business establishments, employment, and taxable payroll; information is separated by industry and county.
5.The Census of Selected Services is published in years ending with two or seven, and updated monthly by the Monthly Selected Services Reports; the publication lists statistics for several different types of retail service organizations like hotels or auto body repair shops.
6.The Census of Retail Trade is also published in years ending with two or seven, and is updated monthly by the Monthly Retail Trade; the publication lists statistics for several different types of retail establishments, specifically, by state, metro area, county, and community. Information provided includes the number of outlets, total sales, payroll, and employment.
7.The Census of Wholesale Trade is also published in years ending in two or seven and is updated monthly by the Monthly Wholesale Trade. This publication lists numerous different wholesaler categories; statistics include number of establishments, warehouse space, end-of-year-inventories, and other pertinent information.
8.The Census of Manufacturers is published in years ending in two or seven, and is updated annually by the Annual Survey of Manufacturers. This publication lists 450 classes of manufacturing industries; statistics include information on capital expenditures, number of establishments, employment data, material costs, inventories, and other relevant data.
Case Study of Census Bureau Research
Why don’t we examine some of the information you can get from federal government research tools. In this case, let’s presume the new business is a restaurant in Alachua, County, in Florida. The good news is that most of this information is easily available with normal Internet Searches, which will make your research process quicker and easier. The federal government constantly compiles a massive quantity of information. Some of that information will be extremely valuable, other information won’t be necessary. But the information that is valuable to you will be a great starting point when you start planning for your new business.
Several of the following statistics would be useful information for planning to open a restaurant in Alachua, County, but all the information that we found about Alachua County could very easily be found for your location, as long as you are able to read and sift through useless and useful information to find out what you need to know.
2002 Economic Census
In Alachua County in 2002 there were 352 eating and drinking establishments with total sales of $239,119,000.
There were 134 Full Service Restaurants with $126,858,000 in total sales. These full service restaurants had 3,844 paid employees and an annual payroll of $36,916,000.
There were 151 Limited Service Restaurants with $101,604,000 in total sales. These limited service restaurants had 3,067 paid employees and an annual payroll of $26,546,000.
There were 20 Drinking Establishments that provide alcoholic beverages exclusively, with $5,774,000 in total sales. These drinking establishments had 150 paid employees and an annual payroll of $1,251,000.
Population Demographics
In Alachua County there were 223,852 people in 2005, with the overall state population being 17,789,864.
A little over 80% of the population was over the age of 18. The median age in Alachua county is 30.2 years, which is ideal for the target demographic of the new restaurant, if the target demographic is people between the ages of 20 and 40.
There were 104,613 housing units in Alachua County in 2005.
The median household income in 2003 was $33,056.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
In 2005 there were 9,306,000 people employed in accommodation and food service positions.
The average annual wages and salary of those employed in accommodation and food service in 2004 totaled about $19,934.
There will be a projected increase of food preparation and food serving workers, including fast food, of 17.1% by 2014, according to the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
There will be a projected population increase in the state of Florida by 79.5%, an increase by some 12,703,000 people between the years 2000-2030. This means that the number of customers will likely increase over time.
County and City Data Book
Alachua county covers an 874 square mile area
In 1997 in Alachua County there were 2,504 births and 1,523 deaths
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