Public sources
Each entry tells you who published the information, what it is called, when it applies, when we accessed it, what it covers, and its most important limit.
U.S. Department of the Treasury / USAspending.gov
The federal record marks the award recipient as Black American owned and shows recent federal award activity. This is our strongest general public source for both Black ownership and recent business activity.
Open original source ↗U.S. Small Business Administration
We checked all 13 official national files. We include a record when the borrower chose Black or African American in the race field. We label the record as old unless another public source shows that the business is still operating.
Open original source ↗Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Current federal regulator roster restricted to Black or African American ownership type 1.
Open original source ↗National Credit Union Administration
The federal label may be based on current members, board members, or the community served. It does not always prove Black ownership. We do not label these credit unions as Black-owned without a separate source.
Open original source ↗Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
We matched active carriers to older records using the business name, street, ZIP code, and state. This source supports recent business activity. It does not prove Black ownership by itself.
Open original source ↗USDA Food and Nutrition Service
We matched current authorized food retailers to older records using the business name, street, ZIP code, and state. This source supports recent business activity. It does not prove Black ownership by itself.
Open original source ↗U.S. Census Bureau
We include Census places in the 50 states and Washington, D.C., with an estimated population of at least 50,000. We keep the official place ID, published estimates, and margins of error for each field we use.
Open original source ↗U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
We show a selected group of jobs with the federal job code, estimated number of workers, average yearly pay, and median hourly pay. We do not show every job in the full federal table.
Open original source ↗Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council / Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The original federal source provides totals for loans made, home-purchase loans, denials, and records for Black applicants and borrowers. Each area is the country or a metro area, not a city.
Open original source ↗U.S. Census Bureau
Black or African American-owned businesses with employees, grouped by sales. We keep the published counts, sales, exports, employees, payroll, uncertainty, and notes about hidden values.
Open original source ↗U.S. Census Bureau
This table groups Black or African American-owned businesses by number of employees. It does not include businesses with no paid employees.
Open original source ↗National Center for Education Statistics
We include every college marked both active and historically Black in the 2024 federal college directory. Each record includes the college name, location, public or private control, level, website, and map coordinates.
Open original source ↗National Center for Education Statistics
We matched each college to its total, undergraduate, and graduate student count across twelve months by using the school’s federal college ID.
Open original source ↗National Center for Education Statistics
We add degree totals for each college and subject area. Computing uses the federal subject group numbered 11. All degree totals use the federal record for all subject areas.
Open original source ↗