Where every number comes from.
Data as of November 2026
Corner is built only from public statistics and open map data. No personal data is used: every figure is an aggregate for an area or a business place.
Sources
| Source | Year | What we use it for |
|---|---|---|
| ZIP Code Business PatternsU.S. Census Bureau | 2023 | Businesses by ZIP Code and industry (NAICS): the count in each market. |
| County Business PatternsU.S. Census Bureau | 2023 | County totals that bound the ZIP Code counts the Census does not publish. |
| American Community Survey, 5-yearU.S. Census Bureau | 2020–2024 | Households and household income of each ZIP Code. |
| LEHD Origin-Destination Employment StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau | 2023 | Jobs by workplace. Latest year published by each state: Michigan 2021, Alaska 2016. |
| ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, cartographic boundariesU.S. Census Bureau | 2020 | Shapes of the ZIP Codes on the map and the 5 km markets. |
| Metropolitan statistical areas and population estimatesU.S. Census Bureau | 2024 | The 195 metros of 250,000 people or more. |
| Overture Maps placesOverture Maps Foundation | Release 2026-10-21 | Business locations, names and brands; clusters and corridors; placing suppressed counts. |
| BasemapOpenStreetMap contributors, Protomaps | November 2026 | Streets, places and labels under the data layers. |
Attribution and licenses
- This product uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. Census data are in the public domain.
- Places: © Overture Maps Foundation, under the CDLA Permissive 2.0 license and the attributions of its contributing sources.
- Basemap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License; map tiles in the Protomaps schema.
- ZIP Codes on the map are the Census Bureau's ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate USPS ZIP Code delivery areas. ZIP Code is a trademark of the United States Postal Service.
What the readings mean
A ZIP Code's market is the ZIP Code and those within 5 km of it. For each business type, a statistical model describes how many businesses markets with the same households, income, jobs and density usually have in the covered metros. A market has fewer than similar markets when its count is in the bottom 20% of those markets, more when it is in the top 20%, and is in line otherwise. When the usual count is below two, there is no comparison.
The Census does not publish ZIP Code counts of fewer than three businesses. Those counts are estimated, bounded by the county totals, and each reading says how firm it is: solid when it holds for every count the hidden data allow, estimated when it depends on counts placed with the businesses on the map, and rough when it depends on counts placed by population.
Potential, not a forecast. Between 2019 and 2023, markets with fewer businesses than their demand usually supports did not tend to close that gap. Use the readings to compare places, not to predict openings, sales or success.
Corrections
If you find a number that looks wrong, write to info@gemedet.com. We review every report and note what changed and when.