The following pie chart, drawn from the Census Bureau’s 2021 business patterns survey, shows the importance of retail, accommodations and food services, and health care in in the Geneva economy.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

However, the graphic can mislead. When the local economy was dominated by manufacturing, many companies maintained large payrolls. American Can Company, for example, employed hundreds of workers.

Smaller companies are now the rule in Geneva. The following list shows the percentage of companies in each sector employing fewer than 5 workers.

Source: American Community Survey, 2021

If we reverse our data prism, and examine Geneva employment from the perspective of workers rather than businesses, we get the following graphic. Health care, education, accomodations and food, and retail, lead the list.