YourEconomy.org - State and Local Small Business Data

The Edward Lowe Foundation has released YourEconomy.org, a free research website that allows users to examine small business data on a state, MSA (metropolitan statistical area) and county level. 

There are two main sections to the site.  The composition section sorts the data into 3 types of small business and 4 sizes. The size classifications are 1-9, 10-99, 100-499 and 500 and greater employees.  You can also view the data by industy.

The growth section contains data on small business activity (opening, closings, etc.) and shows how this activity affects job gains and losses. 

The user interface is organized around maps with the user drilling down from state to local data. 

The data source is the Nets database, which is derived from D&B data.  There is a complete description of the database on the site.