SIC/NAICS Codes
The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code number was established in order to promote the comparability of statistics. The SIC code has been revised over the years and some code numbers have changed.
It is important to be careful when comparing data from different publishers and over a long period of time. Beginning with the 1997 Economic Census, the Census Bureau began using a new North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) (pronounced "nakes") which is more closely aligned with international codes.
Many commercial publications have converted to NAICS, but some still use SIC codes.
Finding SIC/NAICS codes
Use the websites below to find SIC or NAICS codes for a particular industry. Also, many company profiles provide the SIC and/or NAICS code for the industry or industries a particular company belongs to.
- North American Industry Classification System Canada - 2017NAICS Canada 2017 replaces NAICS Canada 2012. The changes brought to NAICS for the 2017 version were made to account for the changing economies of Canada, the United States and Mexico. The revisions were minor in nature and occurred at the lower levels of the classification. Among the most notable changes are those relating to oil and gas extraction, telecommunications, and arts and sports.
- North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2007)Find the U.S. descriptions of the different codes on this site.
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System SearchFind descriptions of the different codes on this site.
- Bridge Between SIC and NAICS: Correspondence TablesLocate the bridge codes on this site. In the 1997 Economic Census, the U.S. Census Bureau began providing a bridge between the SIC codes and the NAICS.
Using NAICS codes
You can search for articles regarding a particular industry by their NAICS code(s) in the databases Proquest One Business and Business Source Complete.
Searching by NAICS in Business Source Complete
