Business Climate in Fairfax County: Social Impact Data Commons

Guy Leonel Siwe, Treena Goswami, Joel Thurston, Aaron Schroeder

Published: 09 Feb 2024, Last Modified: 22 Jan 2026University of VirginiaEveryoneRevisionsCC BY-SA 4.0
Abstract: Fairfax County and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth are interested in understanding the landscape of business activity in Fairfax County with a focus on businesses owned by people from a minority group (based on race). 1. Measure Business Activities at Small Census Geo-Levels • The goal was to provide a data product on business activities across industries at small Census geography levels (Census tracts and block groups) to support Fairfax County decision-making. • Using microdata from Mergent Intellect, we estimate a set of metrics at the Census tracts and block group level across multiple industry categories. Our data is accessible on our dashboard: 2. A Model-Based Approach to Identify Minority-Owned Companies • The goal was to design a classifier model using Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to improve the labeling of companies as minority-owned by Mergent Intellect in Fairfax County. • Using a Decision Tree model, we found that approximately 49% of companies located in Fairfax County are owned/managed by non-white people. This number is close to the Census Annual Business Surve