Available with Business Analyst license.
Many tools and workflows in ArcGIS Business Analyst Pro make use of authoritative Esri data exposed through local or online Business Analyst data sources. The types of data include:
- Demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral data
- Geographic boundaries
- Business and points of interest data
- Street network data
- Geocoding data
- Segmentation data
Each Business Analyst data source is a combination of different types of spatially related data and metadata for a specific country or territory. Some Business Analyst data sources provide only a subset of the data listed above.
Business Analyst data source
Business Analyst tools and workflows use the currently selected data source to perform analyses. Only one Business Analyst data source can be selected at a time, but you can also temporarily switch the data source during a geoprocessing tool session. To learn more, see Select the current Business Analyst data source.
There are two main types of Business Analyst data sources:
- Local datasets—Datasets accessed on a local drive or through a local network path
- Online data—Online GeoEnrichment services accessed through ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise
Local datasets
A local Business Analyst dataset is a set of specially formatted, linked, and licensed data and metadata files. A local dataset is typically a single folder in the file system containing data components and configuration files. To get access to a local Business Analyst dataset, you must copy its files to a single local drive or a shared network folder.
- To learn how to set up a local Business Analyst dataset, see Set up a local Business Analyst dataset.
- If you already have a local Business Analyst dataset set up and want to select it as the data source, see Select a local Business Analyst dataset as the data source.
- All Business Analyst datasets include a Documentation folder containing a variable and report list. You can use the contents of this folder to learn more about the variables in the local dataset.
Online data
When you set the Business Analyst data source to online data, Business Analyst consumes data through a portal connection, using credits. Data is accessed in the following ways:
- GeoEnrichment variables and points of interest data are accessed through the ArcGIS GeoEnrichment Service.
- Streets data is accessed through the ArcGIS Routing service.
- Geocoding data is accessed through the ArcGIS World Geocoding Service.
Online data can work with either ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise. To learn how to access an online GeoEnrichment service, see Select a portal or ArcGIS Online data source.
Semantic search
When searching for variables and points of interest, you can opt to use semantic search, an AI-enhanced smart search technology that provides improved search results. Traditional search engines work by finding exact or partial matches between a search term and variable/point of interest names, descriptions, and keywords. Semantic search supports natural or conversational language, understands the meaning in language and the connections between related words, and returns search results that provide the closest match to the meaning behind your search.
Semantic search is available in the following data-related workflows and windows:
Semantic search with local datasets
Semantic search is enabled in points of interest search and the data browser if you have chosen to install the AI Models > Semantic Search file during ArcGIS Pro installation. It may be disabled in the following scenarios:
- Semantic search for local data sources is automatically disabled on processors that do not support the AVX2 instruction set. For additional information about system requirements, see ArcGIS Pro system requirements.
- Semantic search is only available in English. If you are using an ArcGIS Pro language pack, semantic search is disabled.
- The dataset's Resources folder is missing or renamed.
- Semantic search resources in the Resources folder are missing or invalid.
Semantic search with online data
Semantic search is enabled in points of interest search and the data browser—including the data browser in the Enrich tool—if you are connected to online data. It may be disabled in the following scenarios:
- Depending on your ArcGIS Pro language settings, semantic search may be disabled.
- Older versions of Business Analyst Enterprise do not support semantic search.
U.S. 2024 Business Analyst dataset
The most recent release of Esri's downloadable data for the United States is the U.S. 2024 dataset, which can be purchased and downloaded on My Esri. To download and unpack the data, you need 148 GB of free space on the local drive you are using.
Data methodologies
Each dataset in Esri's data portfolio includes a methodology statement, which documents the provenance, vintage, and collection methods for the data.
For the U.S. 2024 dataset, the following methodologies are relevant:
- 2018-2022 American Community Survey Esri Methodology Statement
- 2020 Census Esri Methodology Statement
- 2024/2029 Esri Consumer Spending Methodology Statement
- 2024 Esri Daytime Population Methodology Statement
- 2024/2029 Esri Dependency Ratios Methodology Statement
- 2024/2029 Esri Diversity Index Methodology Statement
- 2024 Esri Market Potential Methodology Statement
- 2024 Esri Retail Demand by Industry Methodology Statement
- 2024 Esri Tapestry Segmentation Methodology Statement
- 2024/2029 Esri Updated Demographics Methodology Statement
- 2024/2029 Income Tiers and Measures of Income Inequality Esri Methodology Statement
- 2024 U.S. Business Locations and Business Summary Data Esri Methodology Statement
- 2024 Esri Vintage Time Series Totals Methodology Statement
Business Analyst documents
In addition to the methodologies above, users may be interested in the following ancillary documents, which provide descriptions of terminology, variables, reports, and Tapestry Segmentation groups: