Annual Business Survey
As part of NCSES's ongoing website redesign project, the Annual Business Survey page has been reimagined. Beginning in May 2023, only survey data published from the 2021 cycle or earlier will be available on this page. Data from all subsequent cycles will be published on our new Annual Business Survey (ABS) page.
The Annual Business Survey (ABS) is conducted by the Census Bureau in partnership with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation. The ABS collects data on research and development (for businesses with one to nine employees), innovation, technology, intellectual property, and business owner characteristics, with additional rotating content that changes from year to year.
Survey Description
Questionnaires
Overview: ABS
This overview provides a brief introduction to the Annual Business Survey, general details on the type of information collected, and how to access the data.
- Annual Business Survey: 2022 (Data Year 2021) - Data Update 2
DATA TABLES | NSF 24-303 | September 13, 2024 - Annual Business Survey: 2022 (Data Year 2021) - Data Update 1
DATA TABLES | NSF 24-303 | June 18, 2024 - Annual Business Survey: Tables for Data Year 2017
Detailed Statistical Tables | NSF 21-303 | November 24, 2020 - See more in Business and Industry R&D →
(A): Archived Publication
- Microbusinesses Performed $5.7 billion of R&D in the United States in 2022
InfoBriefs | NSF 25-302 | October 29, 2024 - Critical and Emerging Technologies by U.S. Businesses: Use and R&D Funding and Performance
InfoBriefs | NSF 25-307 | November 12, 2024 - Microbusinesses Performed $6.1 Billion of R&D in the United States in 2021
InfoBriefs | NSF 24-302 | October 30, 2023 - Microbusinesses Performed $5.6 Billion of R&D in the United States in 2020
InfoBriefs | NSF 23-305 | December 14, 2022 - Microbusinesses Performed $5.2 Billion of R&D in the United States in 2019
InfoBriefs | NSF 22-333 | September 20, 2022 - Microbusinesses Performed $4.5 Billion of R&D in the United States in 2018
InfoBriefs | NSF 22-309 | November 29, 2021 - Nondisclosure Agreements, Trade Secrets, and Trademarks Considered Very Important to More U.S. Businesses than Were Patents or Copyrights in 2017
InfoBriefs | NSF 22-305 | October 15, 2021 - First Comprehensive Innovation Survey for the United States: Data from the 2017 Annual Business Survey
InfoBriefs | NSF 21-334 | July 28, 2021 - Microbusinesses Had More Than $6.7 billion in R&D Costs in the United States in 2017, According to New Annual Business Survey
InfoBriefs | NSF 21-302 | November 24, 2020 - See more in Business and Industry R&D →
- Artificial Intelligence in the Business Sector: R&D, Use, and Impact on Employees
Other | NSF 25-312 | December 17, 2024 - Product Innovation Trends 2016–18 to 2018–20: Findings from the Annual Business Survey
Other | NSF 23-331 | May 24, 2023 - Among Microbusinesses, Domestic R&D Performance Increased by 24% from 2018 to 2020
Other | NSF 23-335 | May 24, 2023 - Male Majority-Owned Microbusinesses Performed 80% of Domestic R&D Costs
Other | NSF 23-334 | May 24, 2023 - Minority-Owned U.S. Businesses Account for 20% of Domestic Microbusiness R&D Performance Costs
Other | NSF 23-333 | May 24, 2023 - Product Innovation and Race or Ethnicity of Primary Business Owner
Other | NSF 23-336 | May 23, 2023 - See more in Business and Industry R&D →
- Digitalization, Cloud Computing, and Innovation in U.S. Businesses
Working Papers | NCSES 22-213 | August 25, 2022 - The Geography of Self-Reported Innovation: Results from the 2017 Annual Business Survey
Working Papers | NCSES 22-206 | April 20, 2022 - See more in Business and Industry R&D →
(A): Archived Publication
Forthcoming
Audrey Kindlon
Survey Manager
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
(703) 292-2332
Last Updated: October 2024
