Non-Profit Institutions Primarily Serving Households (NPISH)

*This definition only applies to the Canadian and International Data Sets*


Non-Profit Institutions Primarily Serving Households (NPISH) are private organizations with tax-exempt status that primarily provide services to households in one of the following categories: religious and welfare (including social services, grant-making foundations, political organizations, museums and libraries, and some civic and fraternal organizations); medical care; education and research; recreation (including cultural, athletic, and some civic and fraternal organizations); and personal business (including labor unions, legal aid, and professional associations).


In the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs), Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) figures include the purchases of goods and services by households and by NPISHs. The PCE figures also include the expenses incurred by NPISHs in providing services on behalf of households, such as hospital care and education, and the expenditures financed by third-party payers on behalf of households, such as employer-paid health insurance and medical care financed through government programs. However, for international data sets, the NPISH expenditure values are reported separately from household PCE expenditure values. These two institutions are kept separate in IMPLAN’s international data sets.