Pennsylvania is still first in the nation in sales for manufacturing glass, nonferrous metal (excluding aluminum) and anthracite mining.

And, we're tops in manufacturing envelopes (a $414 million business here), chocolate (with sales of $1.8 billion -- thanks to the folks at Hershey). We beat California and Florida to be first in the country on spending for continuing care retirement communities ($1.7 billion).

It's all part of a database created by the U.S. Census Bureau based on the 2002 economic census. The bureau is currently awaiting the return of the forms for the 2007 economic census that were sent out in the last quarter of last year and are due back on Tuesday To access the database, go to http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/tops/ or go to the www.census.gov site, click on the bug for economic census and then at the next page hit top ranked states by industry.

Think of the slogans Pennsylvania can develop with the information on this site: "I got licked in PA" as a nod to the envelope manufacturers; "Roll over to PA" (we lead the nation with manufacturing $2.8 billion in railroad rolling stock, such as locomotives and cars and the parts for them); or "Pennsylvania can take care of you."

The possible slogans related to chocolate are too numerous to list.

They are all better than any slogan that can be applied to one of West Virginia's top industries by per capita spending -- death care services (which includes funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories -- a $148 million business). The state's population drops every time they spend that money.

There is a lot of information that you would expect to see. For instance, West Virginia leads the country in terms of mining with $4.5 billion in receipts for the industry, which excludes oil and gas.

But there also is the information you can find nowhere else.

California, the most populous state with 36 million people, leads the country in overall sales in more than 500 industry categories, but you can really see the effect of the car culture by the fact that Californians spend the most on towing, (an average of $21.61 a person), car washes ($24.91 for every resident, and they don't even use salt on their roads) and drive-in movies ($0.95 -- the confluence of cars and the other big industry, movies).

New York, which boasts the anti-car culture of New York City, leads the country in spending on limousines ($808 million a year or $42.20 per person). While New York has Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and concerts in Central Park, the population still spends more on cable television and subscription programming (an average of $518 per person) than any other state. New Yorkers also lead the country in leasing nonresidential buildings ($10.6 billion a year) and residential buildings ($10.5 billion a year).

And, of course, the Big Apple leads the country in sales for securities and commodities ($107 billion), investment banking ($77 billion), legal services ($27 billion), newspapers, periodicals, book and directory publishing ($27 billion) and broadcasting, except Internet, ($21 billion).

While New Yorkers are spending on their limousines (see the bankers, lawyers and security brokers above), people in New Jersey are leading the nation in spending on interurban and rural bus transportation ($516 million).

New Jersey residents also lead the nation in spending on transit and ground passenger transportation ($233 per person) to get to their jobs in New York. That is probably a good thing, given their reputation as some of the nation's worst drivers. They also could be the nation's worst cooks, spending more per person on caterers ($43.53) than the residents of any other state. At least they eat better than Texans, who are first in the country for cafeterias, a $908 million business which amounts to spending of $41.74 for every resident.

Our neighbors just across the line in Ohio still live in a heavy manufacturing state, leading the nation in making soap, cleaning compounds and toilet preparations (they clean up to the tune of $7.3 billion), plastics and rubber products ($15.3 billion), and electrical equipment, appliances and components ($8.3 billion). Ohio leads the nation in manufacturing in 41 categories, including vacuum cleaners and iron and steel forging.

And while Pittsburgh may have the Steelers, Indiana has the steel. That state has sales of $10.6 billion for iron, steel and ferroalloy manufacturing. Pennsylvania comes in second in that industry with $7.2 billion in sales.

There also is information in the database that shows how public policies affect various states. For instance, New Hampshire, which has no sales tax, logs the highest per capita spending on retail of any state, with $16,350 spent for every resident, more than 50 percent higher than the national average of $10,608 in per capita retail spending. New Hampshire, which lines its borders with sales-tax-free state liquor stores, also has the highest per capita spending on food and beverage stores, though Massachusetts has tried to stop its residents from escaping its state liquor taxes by staking out New Hampshire state store parking lots and catching residents with cases of liquor as they cross the border (you can't make this stuff up).

As Pennsylvania adds slots to the business landscape, it may want to look to the effects of Nevada, which ranks first for accommodations with a $16.3 billion business; first for casino hotels, a $15.8 billion business; and first in per capita spending for repossession services. It's just something to note.