Before you start your research, consider the following:
What industry or product are you researching? Think of narrower or broader names for your product. For example, if you were performing market research for a pizza place, a broader term might be restaurant and narrower term might be food delivery.
What is the NAICS code for your industry? NAICS can help you quickly narrow down your searches in certain web or database searches. Here is a site for NAICS codes lookup.
What kind of information do you need? For market research, you will probably need to find lots of different kinds of information. You are unlikely to find everything you need in one place. Make a list of the pieces of information you need before you start.
Market Research Guide
Looking for more information on Market Research?
Go to the Market Research guide for more details on searching and resources.
Census Business BuilderThis site lets you choose variables to customize a report on the demographics and customer base of a chosen place. Use NAICS codes to make lookup easier.
American Fact FinderDemographic information from the US government. Searchable on the state, city, county and zip code levels.
US CensusCensus data broken down in many different ways. There is a lot of information here, but it can be challenging to navigate.
Industry
IBISWorldThis link opens in a new windowIBISWorld contains industry market research, covering industries big and small, with a depth of information you can't find anywhere else. Reports are put together by IBISWorld's expert analysts - this information is not freely available on the open web.
LexisNexis UniThis link opens in a new windowLexisNexis Uni is a premier online source of approximately 5,600 local, national, and international news, business, legal, medical, and government information, mostly full-text and mostly from 1985 to the present. LexisNexis also has a company dossier and case law.
