New Report Reveals Utility Bills on the Rise as Consumers Spend $362 Per Month, Up 3% Since Last Year
doxoINSIGHTS finds Americans spend $451 billion on utility bills annually; breaks down the most expensive states and cities for utility usage in the U.S.
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new report released today from doxo reveals that Americans spend an average of $362 per month on utilities, up 3% from last year. Through a statistical analysis of actual household payments toward utilities across 97% of U.S. zip codes, doxoINSIGHTS’ U.S. Utilities Market Size and Household Spend Report for 2024 reveals that Americans spend $451 billion annually on utility bills. The findings uncover that 79% of U.S. households with a utility bill spend $362 per month, or $4,344 per year – which equates to $3,432* per year when averaging across all U.S. households. The report breaks out the U.S. household spending market size for utilities; the percentage of households that pay the bill; and the average monthly and annual bill pay cost by state, largest 50 U.S. cities and cities in the U.S. with more than 40k households.
These doxoINSIGHTS findings come as electricity prices have mostly kept pace with inflation over the past decade but surpassed inflation rates in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail prices of electricity will continue to increase across all customer segments in 2025. In line with this forecast, doxo’s data reveals that payments to Utility bills as a whole were up 3% year over year, suggesting that Americans could continue to be in for an expensive winter in terms of paying bills.
“Americans continue to be hit with factors that impact their utility bills, whether that’s due to the inflation we’ve seen in recent years or the hot temps that drove higher prices over the summer,” said Liz Powell, Senior Director of INSIGHTS at doxo. “Giving consumers transparency to this data through doxoINSIGHTS empowers them to budget as we head into winter and another peak usage period.”
The doxoINSIGHTS 2024 Utilities Market Size and Household Spend Report Findings
doxoINSIGHTS leverages doxo’s unique, aggregate, anonymized bill pay data consisting of actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service providers across the country. The Utilities Market Size and Household Spend Report, inclusive of electric, gas, water & sewer, and waste & recycling, breaks out the U.S. household spending market size for utilities; the percentage of households that pay the bill; and the average monthly and annual bill pay cost by state, largest 50 U.S. cities and cities in the U.S. with more than 40k households. Key findings include the following:
- Total Market Size: $451 billion spent per year
- Average Monthly/Annual Cost: $362 spent per month; $4,344 spent per year
- Percent of Households: 79% of U.S. households pay Utility bills
- Average Annual Cost per U.S. Household: $3,432 per year*
- Percent of Annual Income: Utility bills amount to 5% of consumers’ income per year
States with the Highest Utility Bills
|
State |
Monthly Amount |
Average Yearly Amount* |
Percentage of Households w/ Bill |
|
$634 |
$4,793 |
63% |
|
|
$498 |
$3,406 |
57% |
|
|
$489 |
$4,108 |
70% |
|
|
$474 |
$4,095 |
72% |
|
|
$456 |
$3,666 |
67% |
Access Utility Household Bill Pay Data for all 50 states here.
Largest US Cities With the Highest Utility Bills
|
City |
Monthly Amount |
Average Yearly Amount* |
Percentage of Households w/ Bill |
|
$626 |
$4,207 |
56% |
|
|
$591 |
$4,397 |
62% |
|
|
$502 |
$4,759 |
79% |
|
|
$499 |
$4,012 |
67% |
|
|
$494 |
$3,912 |
66% |
Access Utility Household Bill Pay Data for the Top 50 Largest US Cities here.
For more information, or to view the additional doxoINSIGHTS reports, visit doxo.com/w/insights/.
*Average Monthly Bill x % of Households with Bill x 12 months per year = Average Annual Cost per U.S. Household.
About doxoINSIGHTS
doxoINSIGHTS provides direct insight into The Bill Pay Economy™ by leveraging consumer surveys and doxo’s unique aggregate bill pay data set, comprising actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service providers across the country. doxo data brings together the broadest available data set for analyzing actual household bill payment activity, pulling from over 10 million paying consumers across over 97% of U.S. zip codes. doxo’s payment network covers over 120,000 billers in 45 different service categories and enables payments using bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards. This uniquely broad statistical foundation powers doxoINSIGHTS reports – uncovering key trends for household financial health and bill payment behavior. Uncovering an even deeper level of insight into Americans’ cost of living, doxo’s proprietary Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI), a new feature of doxoINSIGHTS, provides a consistent basis of comparison at the state, county and city level.
About doxo
doxo delivers innovation that transforms the Bill Pay Economy™ for consumers, billers and financial technology providers. For over 10M consumers, doxo’s all-in-one bill pay makes it simple to organize all bills, track all due dates, and pay any bill on any device through a secure checkout. doxo empowers consumers to avoid or eliminate hidden bill pay costs that average more than $1400 per household each year. For billers, doxo’s network-driven platform enables online and mobile payments with a ridiculously simple integration, radically lower costs, and game-changing features that are unavailable with legacy bill pay vendors. For fintech partners, doxo delivers financial innovations to consumers across 97% of US Zip Codes, paying from more than 5,000 financial institutions to over 120,000 billers in 45+ service categories. For employees, doxo is a creative, ever-learning team that is passionate about building fintech tools that dramatically improve the bill pay experience. For investors, doxo provides an extraordinary opportunity to invest alongside Jackson Square Ventures, MDV, and Bezos Expeditions to disrupt a market that accounts for over $4T of US Household spend. To learn more about America’s leading bill pay network, visit doxo.com.
Contacts
Press Contact
Dotted Line Communications for doxo
Jenny Davis
