U.S. Cities With the Most Expensive Household Bills

Like rent or mortgage costs, common monthly living expenses vary by metropolitan area.

U.S. Cities With the Most Expensive Household Bills

The online bill pay service doxo recently released its report summarizing the 2018 costs of the nine most commonly paid bills in the United States. Data was obtained from the company’s 2.5 million customers.

Unlike consumer surveys, doxo’s report represents what people actually pay and provides a way to compare costs across the nation, with a focus on major metropolitan areas. While the bill payer collects data on 45 different bill categories, the report highlights the nine most common: utilities (water, electric, gas and waste), cable and phone, mobile phone, auto loans, auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, and alarm and security.

These are the 20 most expensive metro areas, listed from lowest to highest average monthly expenses across those nine common bill categories.

20. Salt Lake City, Utah

Monthly average expenses: $923

Percentage of household income: 17 percent

Bottom Line: Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City’s economy is predominantly service-oriented, with major sectors in government, trade, transportation, utilities, and professional and business services.

Though the city has the highest monthly cost for mobile phone services, it also has the lowest cost for cable and satellite, and dental insurance.

Insurance of all kinds, as well as utilities, are also well below average. Auto loans, on the other hand, cost considerably more in Salt Lake City than other major metropolitan areas.

19. Minneapolis, Minnesota

Monthly average expenses: $923

Percentage of household income: 15 percent

Bottom Line: Minneapolis, Minnesota

In 2018, The Economist ranked Minneapolis as the third most expensive city in North America.

The city has 40 miles of dedicated bike lanes, which are used by 10,000 cyclists each day, and in 2017, the city was named the most bike friendly of the 50 largest cities in the U.S.

Residents’ cost for auto loans and insurance, alarm and security systems, and utilities are slightly less than other metropolitan areas, but health insurance rates, at $212 monthly, are the highest of those surveyed.

18. Columbus, Ohio

Monthly average expenses: $940

Percentage of household income: 20 percent

Bottom Line: Columbus, Ohio

Over the past decade, Columbus has ranked at or near the top on several "best places" lists, including Forbes’ Best Places for Business and Careers.

Bicycling has been on the increase as a method of transportation in the city, which has a lower-than-average percentage of households without a car.

The city has the lowest life and dental insurance rates of any metropolitan area on this list as well as considerably lower health insurance rates and lower-than-average auto insurance and loan rates.

17. Sacramento, California

Monthly average expenses: $941

Percentage of household income: 18 percent

Bottom Line: Sacramento, California

Sacramento is known for its food and beverage culture. The city adopted the title "America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital" in 2012, and it boasts over 60 microbreweries.

The city’s residents have the lowest cost for auto insurance, at $171 monthly, and have lower-than-average costs for all categories except dental insurance, auto loans and utilities.

16. Orlando, Florida

Monthly average expenses: $949

Percentage of household income: 23 percent

Bottom Line: Orlando, Florida

While Orlando is known primarily for its theme parks, it’s also a major industrial and technology center, including the nation’s seventh-largest research park, Central Florida Research Park.

Auto insurance rates here are 18 percent higher-than-average, but all other bills surveyed come in lower than average.

The largest savings for residents is for dental insurance and utilities, which at an average of $171 are the lowest on this list.

15. Seattle, Washington

Monthly average expenses: $958

Percentage of household income: 16 percent

Bottom Line: Seattle, Washington

With 62 percent of its residents age 25 or older holding a bachelor’s degree, Seattle is the U.S. city with the highest percentage of college graduates.

Over the past decade, it has experienced rapid population growth and rising housing costs. Seattle has the third-highest cost of alarm and security systems of any metropolitan area mentioned here.

On average, residents also have higher-than-average costs in all categories except health insurance costs, which are 21 percent lower.

14. Chicago, Illinois

Monthly average expenses: $976

Percentage of household income: 18 percent

Bottom Line: Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is an international economic player with a diverse and balanced economy where no single industry is responsible for employing more than 12 percent of the workforce.

The city’s residents pay $17 more than other major metropolitan cities to use their mobile phones.

While residents of the Windy City pay more than average for almost all categories, they have slight savings on health insurance and utilities, which both cost considerably below the average.

13. Portland, Oregon

Monthly average expenses: $989

Percentage of household income: 19 percent

Bottom Line: Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon, is known for being environmentally conscious and its more than 10,000 acres of public parks. The city consistently ranks high on quality of life lists.

Possibly due to the fact it has among the highest crime rates in Oregon (but keep in mind that the state’s crime rate as a whole is 9 percent below the national average), residents spend 38 percent more than average on alarm and security systems.

Costs for health and dental insurance are also slightly more, while life insurance costs are $23 less a month than the average of other cities on this list.

12. Dallas, Texas

Monthly average expenses: $991

Percentage of household income: 19 percent

Bottom Line: Dallas, Texas

The largest inland metro area with no navigable link to the sea, Dallas is a transportation hub with major railroad lines, interstates, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.

While AT&T has its headquarters in Dallas, residents spend $7 more on average on mobile phone bills, but their life and auto insurance bills are considerably lower than average.

11. Denver, Colorado

Monthly average expenses: $1,015

Percentage of household income: 17 percent

Bottom Line: Denver, Colorado

Denver’s economy takes advantage of being equidistant from major metropolitan areas in both the Midwest and West Coast, making it an ideal storage and distribution location for many corporations.

Residents’ average household income sits in the top 10 on this list while average expenditures rank in the bottom 10.

Costs for dental insurance and auto loans are above average, but slightly less on health insurance, alarm and security systems, and utilities.

10. Boston, Massachusetts

Monthly average expenses: $1,036

Percentage of household income: 16 percent

Bottom Line: Boston, Massachusetts

The largest city in New England, Boston has a higher-than-average percentage of households without a car and possibly the highest percent of residents who commute on foot.

Auto and health insurance, as well as mobile phone costs, are slightly lower than average, and dental costs are 23 percent higher than other cities.

Residents also pay more for cable and satellite services of any city on this list.

9. Houston, Texas

Monthly average expenses: $1,037

Percentage of household income: 19 percent

Bottom Line: Houston, Texas

The largest city in the United States by total area, Houston residents have a lower-than-average cost for life, health and dental insurance.

An automobile-dependent city — more than 77 percent of commuters drove alone to work in 2016 — auto loans cost $43 more a month than the average.

8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Monthly average expenses: $1,056

Percentage of household income: 23 percent

Bottom Line: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is consistently listed among the nation’s most livable cities and among America’s safest cities.

Its residents pay more on average for utilities than any other city on this list while mobile phone costs, averaging $70, are the lowest.

Life insurance and auto loans rates are also slightly below average.

7. Detroit, Michigan

Monthly average expenses: $1,061

Percentage of household income: 22 percent

Bottom Line: Detroit, Michigan

The largest U.S. city on the Canadian border and the second-largest metropolitan area, Detroit is known for its manufacturing and also, with three international border crossings, as a transportation hub.

Residents have one of the lowest average household incomes on this list, but pay 57 percent more for health insurance than other metropolitan areas.

However, when it comes to oral health, the average payment of $20 per month for dental insurance is the lowest on the list.

6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Monthly average expenses: $1,062

Percentage of household income: 19 percent

Bottom Line: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In 2017, Philly was ranked the fifth most walkable major city and fifth transit-friendly city.

Philadelphia’s primary industries include health care, health education and research, but residents still pay 43 percent more than average for health insurance.

Residents pay slightly less than average for alarm and security systems, dental insurance and auto loans.

5. Washington, D.C.

Monthly average expenses: $1,070

Percentage of household income: 15 percent

Bottom Line: Washington, D.C.

The sixth-largest major metropolitan area in the U.S., Washington, D.C., has an economy that is largely dependent on the federal government.

It has the nation’s second-busiest rapid transit system and some of the worst road congestion. Residents pay 27 percent more than average for auto insurance and more than average in almost every other category as well.

They do get a break on auto loans, however, which are 12 percent lower than average.

4. San Francisco, California

Monthly average expenses: $1,073

Percentage of household income: 15 percent

Bottom Line: San Francisco, California

The second most densely populated city in the nation, San Francisco also has the second-highest number of college graduates and was recently named the top American city in Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking (No. 34 worldwide).

The city has the highest dental insurance costs and the second-highest auto loan costs.

At $86 per month, mobile phone costs are 12 percent below average.

3. Los Angeles, California

Monthly average expenses: $1,096

Percentage of household income: 20 percent

Bottom Line: Los Angeles, California

The most populous city in California and second in the nation, Los Angeles has some of the most congested roads in the U.S.

Despite the fact that the average household income is less than the national average, Los Angeles residents' bills are higher than average in almost every category.

Forty percent of monthly payments go toward auto loans, the highest average in the country.

2. New York, New York

Monthly average expenses: $1,126

Percentage of household income: 18 percent

Bottom Line: New York, New York

The most populous city in the United States, New York spends $142 more per month than the $984 per month average.

Alarm and security costs make up more than 10 percent of New Yorkers’ bills, more than any other major metropolitan area on the list. They also spend more than any other area on life insurance, which the report indicates they purchase more than other cities.

Slight savings come from paying less than average on health insurance and auto loans.

1. Miami, Florida

Monthly average expenses: $1,157

Percentage of household income: 26 percent

Bottom Line: Miami, Florida

While Miami is one of the smallest of major U.S. cities in land area, it ranks in the top 10 when it comes to population.

Though Miami’s average household income is 19th on this list, its residents spend more than any other major metropolitan area on monthly household expenses, particularly on auto insurance.

This is only slightly offset by the fact they spend a less-than-average amount on cable and satellite, and dental insurance.