More Than One Census

Upon hearing the word “census,” the decennial census, which concerns itself primarily with the characteristics of the nation’s residents, is likely what comes to mind. However, two other major censuses have recently released data: the Census of Agriculture and the Economic Census. Both of these censuses occur every five years, covering years ending in “2” and “7.”

The Census of Agriculture

Conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the 2007 Census of Agriculture covers all things farm and livestock related, providing the only source of uniform county-level agricultural data for the entire nation. Among other things, it looks at land use, ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures. Data and maps are available at http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/.

The following are just a few Indiana highlights:

  • With 60,938 farms, Indiana had a 1 percent increase in the number of farms since 2002, but a 2 percent decrease in the number of acres farmed. Indeed, the average farm size decreased slightly to 242 acres. However, it is worth noting that 33 percent of farms are much smaller, harvesting less than 50 acres.
  • Over half of the harvested cropland was devoted to corn, with soybeans accounting for an additional 40 percent. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the county-level percentages for these crops nationwide.
  • The state ranks third in the nation in the number of layers (i.e., chickens) raised, fourth in the number of acres devoted to soybeans and fifth in acres devoted to corn (see Table 1).
  • In terms of dollar value, the grains, oilseeds, dry beans and dry peas category made up 61 percent of Indiana farm sales in 2007. Hogs and pigs ranked second at 12 percent, closely followed by the poultry and eggs category.

Figure 1: Acres of Corn Harvested for Grain as a Percent of Harvested Cropland Acreage, 2007

Figure 1: Acres of Corn Harvested for Grain as a Percent of Harvested Cropland Acreage, 2007

Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture

Figure 2: Acres of Soybeans Harvested for Beans as a Percent of Harvested Cropland Acreage, 2007

Figure 2: Acres of Soybeans Harvested for Beans as a Percent of Harvested Cropland Acreage, 2007

Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture

Table 1: Indiana's Livestock and Crops, 2007

Top Livestock Inventory Items Number of Animals U.S. Rank Universe
Layers 24,238,513 3 50
Pullets for laying flock replacement 6,928,062 5 50
Turkeys 5,971,548 7 50
Broilers and other meat-type chickens 5,536,933 23 50
Hogs and pigs 3,669,057 5 50
Top Crop Items Number of Acres U.S. Rank Universe
Corn for grain 6,362,576 5 49
Soybeans for beans 4,783,821 4 40
Forage-land used for all hay and haylage, grass silage, and greenchop 546,764 33 50
Wheat for grain, all 362,571 19 47
Corn for silage 105,937 17 48

Note: Universe is number of states in U.S. with item
Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture

The Economic Census

Conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2007 Economic Census collects detailed data on the economy by industry for a variety of geographies: national, states, metro areas, counties, places and ZIP codes.
The first set of data, the Core Business Statistics Advance Report, was released in March for the national level, showing preliminary data for sectors and industries. This release will be followed by more in-depth datasets throughout the remainder of 2009 all the way through late 2011. Data are released via American FactFinder at www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census/guidance/finding-data.html
The following are some U.S. highlights from the 2007 Core Business Statistics Advance Report:

  • Retail trade had the largest number of establishments, at 1.1 million.
  • Health care and social assistance employed the largest number of people (nearly 16.9 million) followed by retail trade (see Table 2).
  • Wholesale trade and manufacturing had the largest number of sales, each exceeding $5 trillion.
  • Manufacturing had the largest numeric increase in sales ($1.4 trillion) since the 2002 Economic Census, while simultaneously experiencing the largest decline in employees in both numeric and percentage terms (see Table 3).

Table 2: National Economic Census Overview by Sector, 2007

Sector Number of Establishments Sales, Shipments, Receipts, Revenue, or Business Done ($1,000) Annual Payroll ($1,000) Number of Paid Employees for Pay Period Including March 12
Health Care and Social Assistance 779,074 1,697,230,614 665,831,857 16,859,513
Retail Trade 1,122,703 3,932,027,444 364,991,713 15,610,710
Manufacturing 293,919 5,339,345,058 612,474,100 13,333,390
Accommodation and Food Services 626,558 612,949,468 169,845,677 11,587,814
Administrative, Support and Waste Management 381,599 629,304,120 290,546,420 10,153,833
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 852,026 1,352,114,151 515,074,611 8,121,171
Construction 725,101 1,781,778,684 348,138,262 7,399,047
Finance and Insurance 503,156 3,641,082,600 494,484,693 6,562,546
Wholesale Trade 432,094 6,039,227,184 336,128,248 6,295,109
Transportation and Warehousing* 217,926 655,857,245 172,166,275 4,435,760
Other Services (Except Public Administration) 537,820 417,512,388 99,809,780 3,515,796
Information 141,034 1,075,153,974 223,376,793 3,428,262
Real Estate, Rental and Leasing 376,799 452,412,814 85,248,945 2,249,353
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 123,965 188,975,642 57,545,590 2,070,524
Mining 21,169 369,191,012 37,308,193 703,129
Utilities 16,879 581,553,952 50,893,874 632,432
Educational Services 60,689 47,241,063 14,584,076 562,210

*Railroad transportation and U.S. postal service are out of scope for the 2007 Economic Census. Large certified air passenger carriers are included in the 2007 data, not included in the 2002 data, affecting comparability for this industry.
Note: Data for management of companies and enterprises were withheld because the estimate did not meet Census Bureau publication standards
Source: 2007 Economic Census

Table 3: U.S. Numeric and Percent Change by Sector, 2002 to 2007

Number of establishments Sales, shipments, receipts, revenue, or business done ($1,000) Annual payroll ($1,000) Number of paid employees for pay period including March 12
Sector Numeric Percent Numeric Percent Numeric Percent Numeric Percent
Manufacturing -56,809 -16% 1,424,625,895 36% 43,980,075 8% -1,330,995 -9%
Wholesale Trade -3,427 -1% 1,404,472,072 30% 76,475,168 29% 416,704 7%
Retail Trade 8,066 1% 875,605,447 29% 62,878,132 21% 963,035 7%
Finance and Insurance 62,888 14% 837,227,732 30% 116,694,521 31% -16,271 0%
Construction 14,792 2% 573,045,132 47% 93,836,950 37% 205,818 3%
Health Care and Social Assistance 74,548 11% 489,930,880 41% 169,986,028 34% 1,807,258 12%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 80,721 10% 465,313,113 52% 138,984,559 37% 877,666 12%
Transportation and Warehousing* 18,308 9% 273,705,205 72% 56,177,542 48% 784,901 21%
Administrative, Support and Waste Management 31,016 9% 196,726,540 45% 84,107,091 41% 1,411,979 16%
Mining -2,918 -12% 186,279,919 102% 16,262,868 77% 228,006 48%
Information 3,356 2% 183,308,018 21% 28,706,630 15% -307,799 -8%
Utilities -224 -1% 182,646,908 46% 8,476,044 20% -30,612 -5%
Accommodation and Food Services 60,968 11% 163,450,750 36% 42,291,194 33% 1,466,863 14%
Real Estate, Rental and Leasing 53,984 17% 116,825,108 35% 25,026,361 42% 300,696 15%
Other Services (Except Public Administration) 244 0% 110,462,927 36% 16,854,841 20% 40,486 1%
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 13,652 12% 47,071,533 33% 12,376,473 27% 221,850 12%
Educational Services 11,370 23% 16,550,356 54% 4,419,698 43% 132,046 31%

*Railroad transportation and U.S. postal service are out of scope for the 2007 Economic Census. Large certified air passenger carriers are included in the 2007 data, not included in the 2002 data, affecting comparability for this industry.
Note: Data for management of companies and enterprises were withheld because the estimate did not meet Census Bureau publication standards
Source: 2007 Economic Census

Rachel Justis, Geodemographic Analyst
Indiana Business Research Center, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University