Census Business Builder Serves As a Reminder of How Important It Is to Respond to the 2020 Census

By Jim Murray | Business, Science and Technology Department, Central Library

Small businesses need access to data in order to thrive. What kind of data? Well, the kind that is collected and disseminated by the U.S. Census Bureau. Whether it is deciding where to locate, or what their market is, or who their competitors are, small businesses can make better, more profitable decisions by analyzing data that gives them a clearer picture of the social and economic characteristics of their communities. This data can be purchased from private research firms, but, thankfully, it is also available for free on the Census Bureau’s website. The bureau calls its small business database, Census Business Builder (CBB), and it is constantly being updated with new information gathered from a variety of sources. One of the bureau’s most important sources of new information is the 2020 Census. You get to the CBB from the Census Bureau’s website. It contains data gathered mostly by the bureau along with some additional data from private sources. The interface is map based, so you can look at a geographic area of interest and then select data to view that is specific to that area. The information that is acquired from CBB can be used by small business owners to help flesh out their business plan with up-to-date and accurate data that is derived from a respected source. Small business owners, however, are not the only library patrons who can benefit from CBB. Grant writers, community planners, students, or anyone needing demographic and socio-economic information to help them complete their projects can benefit from it as well.

CBB utilizes a guided search method that makes it easy to use, especially for the novice researcher. Users begin with Step 1 to select the type of business they are interested in researching from a list of six broad industry categories. If they do not feel like any of the six properly describe their business, they are also given the choice of inputting their business type in a separate search box where they can then select the NAICS code that best fits it. Step 2 is where the user selects the geography, or location, of where they want to start or expand their business. The geographies that you can choose from include state, county, city, zip code, or census tract. Once you select a location, you are taken to an interactive map of the area that displays the total population along with median household income, home ownership percentage, high school graduation percentage, and the number of establishments that fit your business category. This default data is not nearly the only information available—the user can click on a bar at the top of the screen, above the map, labeled “Select Map Variable” and then choose from a wide variety of data that fall under the broad categories of customers, business, workforce, building permits, and consumer spending. The user can also change the geography and/or type of business they are looking for by utilizing drop down menus at the top of the map page without having to go back out to the main search page. Finally, the user can apply filters that allow them to pinpoint areas on the map that meet their demographic/socio-economic criteria.

Once the user has completed their search, they can then download the results. This download can be in Excel, CSV, or a PDF. The results can be shared with anyone such as a business colleague or business lender. The results can be printed out or emailed or bookmarked. The map that the user created can also be bookmarked and shared with others via a hyperlink.

The U.S. Census Bureau has developed a helpful webinar for beginners who want to learn more about how to navigate Census Business Builder.

Of course, as impressive a resource as CBB is, it would be useless without the constant infusion of new demographic data that is up-to-date and accurate. The experts at the Census Bureau can work wonders with devising ways to improve the functions of the database, but they can’t create the raw data that allows it to operate effectively. That is where you and I come in. By responding to the 2020 Census, we can help to produce the data that makes CBB, and all of the other great Census products, such valuable research tools for our community. So take an active role in promoting, and strengthening, business and economic growth in Birmingham by completing the 2020 Census questionnaire.