Industry Classification
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. It was developed to allow for a high level of comparability in business statistics among the three North American countries. NAICS is based on a production-oriented concept, meaning that it groups establishments into industries according to similarity in the processes used to produce goods or services.
In this Section
- NAICS Structure
- Sector Definitions
- Codes Not Covered
- The 2022 Economic Census statistics are published based on the 2022 NAICS vintage. For additional information on NAICS and NAICS changes, visit:https://www.census.gov/naics.
NAICS Structure
NAICS uses a hierarchical structure. A "hierarchy" is the relationship of one item to a particular category.
The organization of NAICS is as follows:
- Sector: 2-digit code
- Subsector: 3-digit code
- Industry Group: 4-digit code
- NAICS Industry: 5-digit code
- National Industry: 6-digit code
- NAICS Industry: 5-digit code
- Industry Group: 4-digit code
- Subsector: 3-digit code
Note: Three sectors are represented by a range of 2-digit codes. These include Manufacturing (31-33), Retail Trade (44-45) and Transportation and Warehousing (48-49).
Example
| Level | NAICS Code | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | 44-45 | Retail Trade |
| Subsector | 441 | Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealer |
| Industry Group | 4412 | Other Motor Vehicle Dealers |
| NAICS Industry | 44122 | Motorcycle, Boat, and Other Motor Vehicle Dealers |
| National Industry | 441222 | Boat Dealers |
Note: Some Economic Census tables also display data at the 7- and 8-digit levels. Although these codes are NAICS-based codes, they are not included in the official classification system.
Sector Definitions
There are twenty sectors included in the NAICS. All sectors, except 92, have full or part representation in the economic census.
| Sector | Description |
|---|---|
| 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting |
| 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction |
| 22 | Utilities |
| 23 | Construction |
| 31-33 | Manufacturing |
| 42 | Wholesale Trade |
| 44-45 | Retail Trade |
| 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing |
| 51 | Information |
| 52 | Finance and Insurance |
| 53 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing |
| 54 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services |
| 55 | Management of Companies and Enterprises |
| 56 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services |
| 61 | Educational Services |
| 62 | Health Care and Social Assistance |
| 71 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation |
| 72 | Accommodation and Food Services |
| 81 | Other Services (except Public Administration) |
| 92 | Public Administration (not covered in economic census) |
Codes Not Covered
The following NAICS codes are not covered in the economic census.
Those industries marked with "CBP" are included in County Business Patterns and in Statistics of U.S. Businesses, which both use NAICS.
| NAICS | Industry categories excluded from the economic census | Coverage in CBP |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (Exception:The 2022 Economic Census includes NAICS 1151 Support Activities for Crop Production and NAICS 1152 Support Activities for Animal Production.) | CBP (except 111,112) |
| 111 | Crop Production | |
| 112 | Animal Production and Aquaculture | |
| 113 | Forestry and Logging | |
| 114 | Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping | |
| 1153 | Support Activities for Forestry | |
| 482 | Rail Transportation | |
| 491 | Postal Service | |
| 525 | Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles | CBP (except 5251, 52592) |
| 6111 | Elementary and Secondary Schools | CBP (private schools only) |
| 6112 | Junior Colleges | CBP (private schools only) |
| 6113 | Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools | CBP (private schools only) |
| 8131 | Religious Organizations | CBP |
| 81393 | Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations | CBP |
| 81394 | Political Organizations | CBP |
| 814 | Private Households | |
| 92 | Public Administration |
Exclusion of Government-Owned Establishments
The economic census does not generally include government-owned establishments, even when their primary activity would be classified in industries covered by the economic census. Because of these exclusions, economic census data for industries in many sectors might appear to be incomplete.
| Sector | Illustrative Governmental Activities Excluded |
|---|---|
| Utilities | Public electric, gas, water and sewer utilities |
| Construction | Highway construction performed by government employees |
| Retail Trade | Post exchanges, ship stores and similar establishments operated on military posts by agencies of the federal government |
| Transportation and Warehousing | Publicly-operated buses and subway systems |
| Information | Public libraries |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | Municipal trash removal |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | Municipal ambulance services and County or city nursing care services |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | Public museums or zoos |
In addition, certain industries dominated by government activity are excluded from the scope of the economic census.
At the same time, exceptions have been made to include certain governmental activities in the economic census:
- Hospitals
- Government-owned liquor stores
- University press publishers
- Federal Reserve Banks
In addition, the economic census does include the activities of private contractors that may be carrying out governmental functions on contract. For example:
- Highway construction contractors
- Privately operated prisons
- Private firms contracting to provide services to government
- Government-owned/contractor-operated (GOCO) plants
There is a separate Census of Governments, which provides some data on revenue, expenditures, and employment for various governmental functions, such as streets and highways, solid waste management, sewerage, electric power, transit, and local libraries. At the same time, these data are not reported on an establishment basis and are not classified by NAICS.
