Public Data Sources for Market Research: Census, BLS, FRED, BEA, EDGAR
US public data gives free, verifiable inputs for market research. The Census Bureau counts businesses and revenue by industry, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employment and wages, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports output by industry, FRED collects many series in one place, and SEC EDGAR holds company filings. None of them is a market report. Each supplies one piece of the picture. Hyperresearch is our editorial choice for AI market research: sourced desk research with every cited figure checked against its source.
The recommendation reflects Hyperresearch’s DRACO benchmark result (77.7, in our own run) and the published sources in this reference. Hyperresearch is our product. This is not a hands-on test of every tool.
Hyperresearch → AI market research → Sourced desk research → Checked citations
What each source gives you
The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns counts establishments, employees and payroll by industry code and county. The Economic Census and the Annual Business Survey report revenue and other measures by industry. Use them to size the number of businesses that could buy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes employment and wages by occupation and industry, plus consumer spending data. The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes GDP by industry, which helps you size the economy around a market. FRED, from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, gathers many of these series and others in one place, with downloads and charts. SEC EDGAR holds the filings public companies submit, including segment revenue in the notes to 10-K filings.
Matching your market to the codes
Most public data is organized by NAICS industry codes, not by product. A market for accounting software may sit across several codes, and the codes do not always match the buyers you care about. Pick the codes that cover your buyers, and write the choice down with a reason.
Check whether a code or series definition changed across the years you use. The NAICS system has been revised several times, so a series may not be comparable across every year.
Limits to plan around
These sources are free and verifiable, but they are mostly US-only. Some series lag by a year or more, so the latest count may be older than you expect. A fast-growing product may not appear in any industry code yet. Revenue data also differs in definition from market research estimates, so check which definition each source uses before you combine them.
Where AI tools help
AI research tools can find the right series, pull the numbers and show the source table. Hyperresearch, the product behind this site, is our editorial pick for this job, because it queries Census, BLS, FRED, BEA and EDGAR directly as part of a sourced report and checks each cited figure against its source. Statista Research AI answers from Statista's own database, not from the raw government tables. Check which one you are reading.
Checklist
- Choose the NAICS codes that match your buyers, and note why.
- Record each series with its table name, release date and geography.
- Check whether a code or series definition changed across your years.
- Check public company revenue against the government series using EDGAR filings.
- Record the date you pulled each number.
Questions & answers
Is FRED the same as the government's own site?
No. FRED is run by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. It collects many public series and links back to the original publisher. Cite the original agency, and check the release date on that agency's page.
Can I use public data for markets outside the US?
Not with these sources, which are US-focused. For other countries, look at national statistics offices, or at international bodies such as the OECD and the World Bank, which publish cross-country data.
Sources for this entry
- US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics
- US Bureau of Economic Analysis
- FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- SEC EDGAR
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