ForumsStarting a Business

Federal government data on businesses (Census Bureau, Treasury Department, Department of Labor) is thorough and accurate, but about three years old -- plus it isn't always compiled to break out the specifics you need. State data is more current, but obviously time-consuming to obtain (and again, probably isn't compiled with any state-to-state consistency). I don't know of a good specific source for current data in raw form, but I would suggest checking with major universities and private foundations (like economic development groups) in a given region to see if any of them have already analyzed/studied whatever you are hypothesizing or examining. (I haven't found too many things that need researching that someone hasn't already gotten a grant or project or assignment to research.) Hope that helps a little. Best wishes.