Annual Business Survey (ABS) API - Complete Variable Reference

Annual Business Survey (ABS) API - Complete Variable Reference

API Overview

Endpoint: https://api.census.gov/data/{year}/abscs or https://api.census.gov/data/{year}/abscb

Description: Provides data on business characteristics, owner demographics, employment, payroll, and receipts. Combines data from multiple surveys including the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE) and Survey of Business Owners (SBO).

Survey Types:

  • abscs - Annual Business Survey (characteristics and statistics)
  • abscb - Annual Business Survey (business characteristics)

Update Frequency: Annual

Use Cases for Business Initiative:

  • Business owner demographics (race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status)
  • Business characteristics (technology use, financing, operations)
  • Employment and payroll by owner demographics
  • Minority-owned business statistics
  • Women-owned business statistics
  • Veteran-owned business statistics
  • Business practices and adaptations

Core Variables

Employment Variables

FIRMPDEMP

  • Description: Number of firms with paid employees
  • Data Type: Integer
  • Use Case: Count of businesses with employees (excludes sole proprietorships without employees)
  • Example: 1,234,567 (firms with paid employees)

FIRMPDEMP_PCT

  • Description: Percentage of firms with paid employees
  • Data Type: Decimal
  • Use Case: Proportion of businesses that have employees

FIRMPDEMP_PCT_S

  • Description: Standard error for percentage of firms with paid employees
  • Data Type: Decimal
  • Use Case: Statistical reliability measure

EMP

  • Description: Number of employees
  • Data Type: Integer
  • Use Case: Total employment count
  • Example: 15,234,567 (total employees)

EMP_PCT

  • Description: Percentage of total employment
  • Data Type: Decimal
  • Use Case: Employment share

EMP_PCT_S

  • Description: Standard error for employment percentage
  • Data Type: Decimal

Payroll Variables

PAYANN

  • Description: Annual payroll (in dollars)
  • Data Type: Integer
  • Use Case: Total annual payroll, wage analysis
  • Example: $450,000,000,000 (annual payroll)

RCPPDEMP

  • Description: Receipts per paid employee
  • Data Type: Decimal
  • Use Case: Revenue efficiency, productivity measure
  • Example: $125,000 (receipts per employee)

Firm Count Variables

FIRM

  • Description: Total number of firms
  • Data Type: Integer
  • Use Case: Business count

ESTAB

  • Description: Number of establishments
  • Data Type: Integer
  • Use Case: Business location count

Owner Demographics Variables

Race Variables

RACE_GROUP

  • Description: Race group of business owner
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Values:
    • 00 - All races
    • 01 - White alone
    • 02 - Black or African American alone
    • 03 - American Indian and Alaska Native alone
    • 04 - Asian alone
    • 05 - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone
    • 06 - Some other race alone
    • 07 - Two or more races
  • Use Case: Minority-owned business analysis, diversity statistics

Ethnicity Variables

ETH_GROUP

  • Description: Ethnicity group of business owner
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Values:
    • 00 - All ethnicities
    • 01 - Not Hispanic or Latino
    • 02 - Hispanic or Latino
  • Use Case: Hispanic/Latino-owned business analysis

Gender Variables

SEX

  • Description: Sex of business owner
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Values:
    • 00 - All sexes
    • 01 - Male
    • 02 - Female
  • Use Case: Women-owned business statistics, gender analysis

Veteran Status Variables

VETSTAT

  • Description: Veteran status of business owner
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Values:
    • 00 - All veteran statuses
    • 01 - Veteran
    • 02 - Nonveteran
  • Use Case: Veteran-owned business statistics

Business Characteristics Variables

BUSCHAR (Business Characteristic)

BUSCHAR

  • Description: Business characteristic code
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Common Values:
    • 001 - All business characteristics
    • Various codes for specific characteristics (technology use, financing, operations, etc.)
  • Use Case: Filter by business practices, characteristics

BUSCHAR_LABEL

  • Description: Descriptive label for business characteristic
  • Data Type: String
  • Use Case: Human-readable characteristic name

QDESC (Question Description)

QDESC

  • Description: Question description code (specific survey question)
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Use Case: Filter by specific survey questions/responses

QDESC_LABEL

  • Description: Descriptive label for question
  • Data Type: String
  • Use Case: Human-readable question text

Common QDESC Categories:

  • Technology adoption
  • Financing sources
  • Business operations
  • COVID-19 adaptations
  • E-commerce activities
  • Export activities

Industry Variables

NAICS2022

  • Description: 2022 North American Industry Classification System code
  • Data Type: String (2-6 digits)
  • Format:
    • 2-digit: Sector (e.g., 54 - Professional Services)
    • 3-digit: Subsector
    • 4-digit: Industry group
    • 5-digit: Industry
    • 6-digit: National industry
  • Use Case: Industry-specific analysis

NAICS2022_LABEL

  • Description: Descriptive label for NAICS code
  • Data Type: String
  • Use Case: Human-readable industry name

Employment Size Variables

EMPSZFI (Employment Size of Firm)

EMPSZFI

  • Description: Employment size category of firm
  • Data Type: Categorical code
  • Values:
    • 001 - 1-4 employees
    • 002 - 5-9 employees
    • 003 - 10-19 employees
    • 004 - 20-49 employees
    • 005 - 50-99 employees
    • 006 - 100-249 employees
    • 007 - 250-499 employees
    • 008 - 500-999 employees
    • 009 - 1000+ employees
  • Use Case: Analyze by business size

Geography Options

National Level

  • us:* - United States total

State Level

  • state:* - All states
  • state:06 - California (2-digit FIPS code)
  • Multiple: state:06,36,48

County Level

  • county:* - All counties (within state)
  • state:06&county:* - All counties in California
  • state:06&county:037 - Los Angeles County, CA

Metropolitan Areas

  • metropolitan statistical area/micropolitan statistical area:* - All MSAs
  • metropolitan statistical area/micropolitan statistical area:31080 - Los Angeles MSA

Year Parameters

  • Required: Yes
  • Format: 4-digit year
  • Range: 2017 to present (varies by survey)
  • Note: Data availability varies by year and characteristic

Example API Calls

Example 1: Women-Owned Businesses by State (2022)

GET https://api.census.gov/data/2022/abscs
Parameters:
  get: FIRMPDEMP,EMP,PAYANN
  for: state:*
  SEX: 02
  key: YOUR_API_KEY

Example 2: Minority-Owned Businesses (California, 2022)

GET https://api.census.gov/data/2022/abscs
Parameters:
  get: FIRMPDEMP,EMP,PAYANN,RACE_GROUP
  for: state:06
  RACE_GROUP: 02,03,04
  key: YOUR_API_KEY
  • RACE_GROUP 02: Black or African American
  • RACE_GROUP 03: American Indian and Alaska Native
  • RACE_GROUP 04: Asian

Example 3: Business Characteristics - Technology Use (2022)

GET https://api.census.gov/data/2022/abscb
Parameters:
  get: FIRMPDEMP,EMP,PAYANN,QDESC,QDESC_LABEL
  for: us:*
  BUSCHAR: 001
  key: YOUR_API_KEY

Example 4: Veteran-Owned Businesses by Industry (2022)

GET https://api.census.gov/data/2022/abscs
Parameters:
  get: FIRMPDEMP,EMP,PAYANN,NAICS2022,NAICS2022_LABEL
  for: us:*
  VETSTAT: 01
  NAICS2022: 54
  key: YOUR_API_KEY

Example 5: Small Businesses (1-4 employees) by State (2022)

GET https://api.census.gov/data/2022/abscs
Parameters:
  get: FIRMPDEMP,EMP,PAYANN
  for: state:*
  EMPSZFI: 001
  key: YOUR_API_KEY

Common Variable Combinations for Business Initiative

Women-Owned Business Analysis

Variables: FIRMPDEMP, EMP, PAYANN
Geography: state:* or county:*
Filter: SEX=02
Use: Women-owned business statistics, gender equity analysis

Minority-Owned Business Analysis

Variables: FIRMPDEMP, EMP, PAYANN, RACE_GROUP
Geography: state:* or metropolitan statistical area/micropolitan statistical area:*
Filter: RACE_GROUP (02,03,04,05,06,07)
Use: Minority business ownership, diversity statistics

Veteran-Owned Business Analysis

Variables: FIRMPDEMP, EMP, PAYANN
Geography: state:* or us:*
Filter: VETSTAT=01
Use: Veteran entrepreneurship, veteran business support

Business Characteristics Analysis

Variables: FIRMPDEMP, EMP, PAYANN, QDESC, QDESC_LABEL
Geography: us:* or state:*
Filter: BUSCHAR, QDESC
Use: Technology adoption, financing patterns, business practices

Industry by Demographics

Variables: FIRMPDEMP, EMP, PAYANN, NAICS2022
Geography: us:* or state:*
Filter: NAICS2022, SEX, RACE_GROUP, VETSTAT
Use: Industry-specific demographic analysis

Data Suppression Codes

  • S: Suppressed (too few firms to report)
  • N: Not available
  • D: Data withheld for disclosure avoidance
  • X: Not applicable

Important: When suppression codes are present, numeric values may be 0 or null.

Data Limitations & Notes

  1. Coverage: ABS combines multiple surveys; coverage varies by characteristic
  2. Time Lag: Data typically available 1-2 years after reference year
  3. Suppression: Small cell counts are suppressed for confidentiality
  4. Sample Size: Estimates are based on survey samples, not complete counts
  5. Standard Errors: Use _S suffix variables for statistical reliability
  6. Year Availability: Not all characteristics available for all years

MCP Tool Usage

Tool Name: fetch_census_abs_data

Example Call:

{
  "year": 2022,
  "variables": ["FIRMPDEMP", "EMP", "PAYANN"],
  "geography": "state:06",
  "filters": {
    "SEX": "02",
    "NAICS2022": "54"
  }
}

References

  • Official Documentation: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/abs.html
  • Survey Information: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/abs.html
  • API User Guide: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/guidance/api-user-guide.html
  • Variable Definitions: https://api.census.gov/data/2022/abscs/variables.html