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Understanding Industry Classifications

Overview

Places are categorized using a proprietary extension of Standard Industry Classification (SIC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Use categories to determine a place's lines of business.

SICs

Data Axle models categories using two attributes:

sic_code_ids - The lines of business represented by Standard Industrial Classification codes.
primary_sic_code_id - The primary line of business represented by a Standard Industrial Classification code.

Data Axle SICs vs. US Government SICs

The US Government created the SIC system using 4-digit codes. Data Axle coding system adds granularity with a 2-digit extension.

For example, the government 4-digit SIC of 5511 (Motor Vehicle Dealers (New and Used)) is broken down into the following 6-digit Data Axle sic_code_ids:

551102 (Automobile Dealers-New Cars)
551103 (Automobile Dealers-Used Cars)
551104 (Four Wheel Drive Vehicles)
551105 (Truck Dealers)

Primary SIC

Every place is assigned a primary_sic_code_id based on the primary activity of the business. When a businesses has multiple SICs, the primary_sic_code_id is verified during compilation or automatically assigned by hueristics.

NAICS

SICs are mapped to two attributes to accommodate users of NAICS:

naics_code_ids - The lines of business represented by North American Industry Classification System codes.
primary_naics_code_id - The primary line of business represented by a North American Industry Classification System code.

NAICS vs. SIC

The United States replaced the SIC system with NAICS in 1997. A SIC classifies businesses based on products and services the produced whereas NAICS classifies businesses based on the process used to create the products and services.

NAICS was created in cooperation by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. NAICS uses 6-digits: the first five digits are common among the three participating countries and the sixth digit allows each country to recognize specific activities important within their border.

Data Axle adds additional digits to the NAICS. For example, the government 6-digit NAICS of 722511 (Full Service Restaurants) is divided into the following 8-digit Data Axle NAICS:

72251101 (Chow Mein & Chop Suey)
72251102 (Box Lunches)
72251103 (Chicken Dinners)
72251104 (Chili Parlors)
...
72251118 (Barbecue Restaurants)

Tags

Tags provide additional details about each SIC on the record. There is a 1:1 mapping of tags to SICs.