By Kade Grafel, Research Analyst
The IMPLAN Data Library is a relatively recent addition to the IMPLAN ecosystem. The Data Library is essentially a database containing a wealth of economic and demographic data at the national, state, and county level: IMPLAN industry data (output, value added, employment, etc.), population, household income, tax data, trade flow estimates, and much more. Much of this data is available for previous years, going as far back as 2001, which allows us to easily view changes over time.
At a national level, the table below shows the IMPLAN industries with the greatest increase in output in 2023 (the most recent data year available) when compared to their output1 from 10 years prior. All values shown are in 2025 dollars using IMPLAN’s inflation adjustment factors. The industry that has grown the most over the past 10 years is scientific research and development services with a growth in output of nearly $500 billion. Unsurprisingly, many of the fastest growing industries are related to computer technology, such as data processing and hosting, internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals, software publishers, and computer systems design services. Additionally, both limited service (i.e., fast food) and full service restaurants grew by around $200 billion in output.
Not all industries have grown over the past 10 years. The petroleum refineries industry had a decrease in output of more than $200 billion between 2013 and 2023. Many other petroleum-related industries also saw declines, such as petrochemical manufacturing, fossil fuel power
generation, and natural gas distribution. A major reason for this is the price of oil, which was around $130 in 2013 compared to $80 in 20232 (adjusted for inflation).
For production agriculture, changes in output depend greatly on the commodity. Beef cattle, oilseeds, and “all other crops” (a miscellaneous category that includes alfalfa) all saw significant increases in output between 2013 and 2023. Meanwhile, grains, vegetables, tree nuts, and milk production all saw output decreases over that span. Many sectors, such as other animal production (which is primarily hog production), tobacco farming, and fruit farming were mostly unchanged after adjusting for inflation.
The IMPLAN Data Library is a powerful tool, and the examples shown above are just a sample of the data it contains. Similar comparisons could be made for all 50 states or even individual
counties, and comparisons could be made using different economic indicators like value added, labor income, or employment.