Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Distribution

The primary source for household commodity purchases across the nine different IMPLAN household income classes is the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES).

CES is the source for splitting household commodity purchases and tax payments into nine income segments. The U.S. Census Bureau's household count by income level estimates are used to define the number of households in each of the nine income categories at the state and county level. However, the CES income estimation is based on money income as opposed to the REA personal income. To resolve the discrepancy, CES income is adjusted to REA income totals.

A residence adjustment is also necessary to make the income data a place-of-residence value. Household income received from industries is an establishment-based value because an industry pays wages and salaries to employees where the employees work, regardless of where those employees live. Household expenditures, however, are residence-based. Once the adjustment is made, the data elements are all balanced to the national SAM totals to ensure consistency across the regions. In this way, state and county totals are consistent with the BEA's National Income and Product Accounts.