Personal Consumption Expenditures includes expenditures made on behalf of households such as healthcare premiums paid by businesses and housing assistance from non-profits and the government. As a result, healthcare and housing expenditures are larger and account for a larger share of total expenditures than in the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which only examines direct household expenditures. Transportation as a percentage of personal consumption expenditures is the most useful measure for discussions about household needs because it includes all of the expenditures that society makes to meet household needs. At the same time, transportation as a percentage of household expenditures is the most useful measure for discussions about household budgets.

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2016