Data Axle

Esri uses business data supplied and licensed by Data Axle to create three ArcGIS Places datasets: a Business Locations dataset for Canada, a Business Locations dataset for the United States, and a Business Summary dataset for the United States.

These datasets consist of the following records:

The Esri Business Locations datasets contain approximately 1 million Canadian business records and more than 13 million U.S. business records, respectively.
The Esri Business Summary dataset aggregates the U.S. business records from the Business Locations dataset by both geography and industry-standard classification groups using 62 unique North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code industry groups.

Note:

In June 2026, Esri discontinued support for Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) categories in Business Summaries. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) categories continue to be supported.

Visit Introduction to ArcGIS Places for more information about using these datasets and visit ArcGIS Places data methodology for information about how these datasets are created.

Release date and vintage

The November 2026 release uses vintage August 2026 data from Data Axle.

Note:

See Data sources, vintages, and update frequency in the Introduction to ArcGIS Places topic for more information.

Update frequency

Datasets that are accessed through an ArcGIS Online account are updated three times per year; local data installations are updated once per year.

Note:

See Access methods in the Introduction to ArcGIS Places topic for more information.

Location accuracy

These datasets are geographic point data derived from latitude and longitude coordinates provided by Data Axle. Most businesses can be located to rooftop or street centerline accuracy, but some can only be placed to city or postal code centroid-level accuracy. Therefore, not all points have an exact location.

NAICS and SIC

Data Axle adds two proprietary digits at the end of the standard government-provided North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. These extra two digits, which produce an eight-digit NAICS code and a six-digit SIC code, provide additional detail about the business type.

Note:

Data Axle uses the NAICS 2022 vintage.

For standard government NAICS and SIC code definitions, see the NAICS website and the SIC Manual. Data Axle's proprietary codes are available to Esri customers on request only.

As stated previously, SIC categories are no longer supported in the Business Summary dataset. However, the Primary SIC attribute will continue to be provided to support the transition to NAICS for relevant customers.

Tip:

Primary SIC codes are available in that dataset for reference purposes only.

To support the transition from SIC to NAICS categories, Esri has created a table that compares these industry categories and descriptions at a high level. You can view this table online or download a spreadsheet (XLSX format) of the data.

Attributes

The Esri Business Locations datasets are available for Canada and the United States; a subset of these attributes is available in ArcGIS Pro. The following table contains a description of each attribute and the location or product to which it applies. See ArcGIS Places - Canada and ArcGIS Places - United States for more information about these datasets, such as use cases and related documents.

Attribute	Description	Example	Canada	U.S.	ArcGIS Pro
Company or Business Name	The name by which the place (location or business) is known or conducts business.	Lake Centre Dental Group
Street	The street name of the place (primary business address), typically without a number.	Jasper Ave NW
Address	The physical address of the place (cannot be used for direct mailing purposes).	123 Jasper Ave NW			—
City	The town or municipality for the place (linked to the physical address).	Fort McMurray
State or province name	The full name of the state or province.	Saskatchewan
State or province abbreviation	The two-letter abbreviation of the state or province.	SK
Forward sortation area (FSA)	The three-character FSA postal code.	T9H		—
Postal or ZIP code	FSA, Local Delivery Unit (LDU), or USPS five-digit ZIP code.	T9H 1L2
ZIP +4 Extension	USPS ZIP + 4 code.	34229 5101	—
Primary NAICS	Eight-character proprietary NAICS code that identifies the primary line of business.	54194009
NAICS Code Description	A description associated with the Primary NAICS code.	Physicians & Surgeons; Optometrists
All NAICS Codes	Any possible line of business affiliated with the place by Primary NAICS code.	81211206, 81211202
NAICS Industry Sector	Provided by Esri and based on the first two digits of the NAICS code. This indicates the general economic activity category of the business.	Retail Trade
Primary SIC	Six-character proprietary SIC code that identifies the primary line of business affiliated with the place.	641112
Affiliated Orgs	Organizations that the place is registered or affiliated with.	IDA
Chain Name	Any corporate chain associated with the place.	Econo Lodge			—
Brands	A list of brands sold by the place. A business can be an independent, licensed seller of certain brands, or can be directly owned by a brand or manufacturer.	Bryant
Headquarters Name	Any direct headquarters of the place within a corporate family.	Canada Diagnostic Centres
Landmark Name	The name of a location (such as a campus, building, mall, and so on) in which the place is located.	Midtown Medical Park			—
Location Parent	The primary business (when the place is at a location with multiple places).	International Stone and Tile			—
Corporate Parent Name	An Esri-created value that identifies the largest retail companies in the U.S. by sales volume. Includes subsidiary chains and child companies of the retailer.	The Kroger Co.	—		—
Location Parent Relationship	The place's relationship to the primary business (when the place is at a location with multiple places).	Primary business			—
Location Confidence	An Esri-created value that ranks the accuracy of a place's address. For example, addresses at a site level—such as a parcel centroid—are ranked with High confidence. Addresses that can be placed to a general location—such as a Postal or ZIP code—have a Low confidence rank. High Medium Low	High
Location Name	The level of spatial accuracy for each location, ranging from parcel centroid (most accurate) to Postal or ZIP code centroid (least accurate).	Parcel Centroid			—
Business Category	Branch—The business belongs to a headquarters and is not a headquarters of other places. Headquarters—The business is a headquarters of other places and may belong to a headquarters. Independent—The business does not belong to a headquarters and has no branch locations. Kiosk—The location does not have staff, such as an ATM.	Branch
Specialty	An Esri-created value—based on multiple values provided by Data Axle—that provides additional information about the place, such as professional specialty and religious affiliation. This field can contain multiple values.	Residential & Commercial			—
Square Footage	The estimated square footage of the place: 1–1,499 square feet 1,500-2,499 square feet 2,500-4,999 square feet 5,000-9,999 square feet 10,000-19,999 square feet 20,000-39,999 square feet 40,000-99,999 square feet 100,000+ square feet	2,500-4,999 square feet	—
Square Foot Minimum	The estimated minimum square footage of the place (shown as an integer).	10,000	—		—
Square Foot Maximum	The estimated maximum square footage of the place (shown as an integer).	19,999	—		—
Employee Count	The estimated number of employees for the place. Actual numbers are used where available. When unavailable, estimates are based on Data Axle modeling.	20
Sales Volume	The estimated sales revenue or assets in dollars based on a Data Axle model that estimates sales volume. This is typically available for places that provide location employment figures; verifiable sales volume figures can be difficult to obtain from private businesses.	$347,000
Esri Category	An Esri-created six-character code representing a standardized classification system that groups places together based on common attributes.	DD1030			—
Esri Category Description	A description of the Esri Category code.	Cafeterias & Buffets			—
Source	The primary data source from which the place record is derived; the source is always Data Axle.	Data Axle
Esri PID	A 32-character unique identifier of the place, assigned by Esri; this identifier is perpetual over time.	41b3ec3348a-2315f7e41a9-3af2efeabb			—

Data notes

The following information may help you understand how Esri creates the Business Locations and Business Summary datasets sourced from data supplied by Data Axle:

The Esri Business datasets sourced from data supplied by Data Axle contain the attributes that Esri is licensed to provide to customers within Esri software. This does not include all the attributes that are available on Data Axle's platform.
Before each release, the data goes through an Esri quality check to remove business records that do not meet requirements. These include records with missing attributes—such as records without a business name or a street address, spatial issues—such as missing coordinates or locations outside geographic boundaries, or records that are clearly duplicates.
Several attributes—including Corporate Parent Name, NAICS Industry Sector, Esri Category, Specialty, and Location Confidence—are derived by Esri from Data Axle source fields and are not directly distributed by the vendor.
See the ArcGIS Places data methodology or What's new in ArcGIS Places topics for information about changes with each release, including updates to Data Axle's models.
For more information about Data Axle, refer to the Data Axle documentation site.

Note:

Esri's ArcGIS Places datasets are not precisely comparable to the place data available from Data Axle. Refer to ArcGIS Places data methodology for details about how Esri creates datasets sourced from content supplied by Data Axle and to Frequently asked questions about ArcGIS Places for answers to some of the most common questions about these datasets.