Average Water Bill by Region: What US Households Pay Each Month for Water and Sewer
The short answer
US households that pay for water separately spent a median of $57 and a mean of $71 a month on water and sewer in 2023, according to the American Housing Survey. Among the 15 largest metros, average bills run from $109 in San Francisco and $105 in Seattle to $57 in Atlanta. About half of households, 67 million, pay nothing separately because water is in their rent or fees. Tenants who do pay separately for water can still find ways to lower a high sewer bill.
Where the index stands
Most water bill figures come from utility rate surveys, which price a fixed amount of water at published tariffs. The American Housing Survey asks the other side: what households actually paid for water supply and sewage disposal over the past year. That captures real consumption, real household size and real rates, and it reveals how many households never see a water bill at all.
| Monthly water and sewer cost (households paying separately) | Households (thousands) | ± |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $25 | 10,054 | 320 |
| $25 to $49 | 16,380 | 479 |
| $50 to $74 | 15,805 | 509 |
| $75 to $99 | 7,752 | 347 |
| $100 to $149 | 10,630 | 378 |
| $150 to $199 | 2,822 | 174 |
| $200 or more | 2,782 | 188 |
| Median | $57 | ±3 |
| Mean | $71 | ±1 |
| Water included in rent or fees, or free | 67,006 | 907 |
Source: Census Bureau, AHS 2023 Table Creator estimates, Housing Costs table, occupied units. These are the published figures; Census adds noise to dollar amounts on the public file, so breakdowns below use PUF means, which reproduce the published mean.
The underlying series, sourced
- Households paying for water and sewer separately: 66,225,000 (±938,000). Source: AHS 2023.
- Households with water included in rent, site rent, condo fee or other fee, or provided free: 67,006,000 (±907,000). Source: AHS 2023.
- Median monthly cost: $57 (±$3). Mean: $71 (±$1). Source: AHS 2023.
- Households paying $150 a month or more: 5,604,000. Source: AHS 2023, sum of published rows.
- Highest division mean: Pacific, $99 (±2); lowest: East South Central, $52. Source: calculated from AHS 2023 PUF.
- Highest metro mean: San Francisco, $109; lowest: Atlanta, $57. Source: calculated from AHS 2023 PUF.
- Mean for one-person households: $55; five or more people: $89. Source: calculated from AHS 2023 PUF.
- Mean for homes on public sewer: $75; on septic: $52. Source: calculated from AHS 2023 PUF.
- Share of owners paying separately: 60.2 percent; of renters: 30.0 percent. Source: calculated from AHS 2023 PUF.
Reading the series
| Census division | Mean monthly cost | ± |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific | $99 | 2 |
| Mountain | $72 | 3 |
| West North Central | $70 | 4 |
| West South Central | $69 | 3 |
| New England | $68 | 4 |
| East North Central | $67 | 2 |
| Middle Atlantic | $66 | 3 |
| South Atlantic | $64 | 2 |
| East South Central | $52 | 3 |
| Metro area | Mean monthly cost | ± |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $109 | 4 |
| Seattle | $105 | 4 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino | $98 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $88 | 4 |
| Boston | $82 | 4 |
| Washington DC | $79 | 3 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $73 | 5 |
| Detroit | $73 | 3 |
| Houston | $73 | 4 |
| Miami | $72 | 4 |
| Philadelphia | $71 | 4 |
| New York | $71 | 5 |
| Chicago | $68 | 4 |
| Phoenix | $65 | 3 |
| Atlanta | $57 | 2 |
| Household size | Mean monthly cost |
|---|---|
| 1 person | $55 |
| 2 people | $70 |
| 3 people | $77 |
| 4 people | $86 |
| 5 or more people | $89 |
How the index is constructed
The Pacific pays half again as much
Formula. Pacific division mean monthly water and sewer cost divided by the national mean.
Calculation. $99 / $71 = 1.40.
Finding. Households in the Pacific states pay about 40 percent more than the national average. Seattle and San Francisco lead every big metro.
Limitations. Means are pulled up by large bills. Medians on the public file are rounded and noise-protected, so means are used for comparison.
Half the country never sees a water bill
Formula. Households with water included in other payments or free, as a share of all occupied households.
Calculation. 67,006,000 / 133,231,000 = 50.3 percent.
Finding. Only 30 percent of renters pay for water separately, against 60 percent of owners. Most renters face no price signal for their water use, which matters for leak repair: a running toilet in a rental often costs the landlord, not the tenant.
Limitations. Owners with wells and no sewer bill also report zero or near-zero water costs; they are counted among payers only if they paid something.
Bigger households pay more, but not proportionally
Formula. Mean monthly cost for five-or-more-person households against one-person households.
Calculation. $89 against $55.
Finding. A household of five or more pays about 62 percent more than a single person, far less than the difference in people. Fixed meter and sewer charges make up much of a typical bill, which is consistent with that. Our guide to why a water bill runs high walks through the leaks, usage changes and billing errors behind a sudden jump.
Limitations. Household size is correlated with home size and owner occupancy.
The number to quote
- The median US household paying for water separately spends $57 a month on water and sewer; the mean is $71 (AHS 2023).
- San Francisco households average $109 a month, the most of any big metro.
- 67 million households have water included in rent or fees.
Download the data
Mean monthly cost with margin, and the noise-protected PUF median. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Attribution: The Plumbing Brief.
How this report was built
Methodology
Source. 2023 American Housing Survey National Public Use File v1.1, downloaded from the Census Bureau on 4 October 2026.
Universe. Occupied housing units paying for water supply and sewage disposal separately (WATERAMT of $4 or more, the Census convention).
Items used. WATERAMT (average monthly cost for water supply and sewage disposal, the past 12 months’ cost divided by 12), DIVISION, OMB13CBSA, TENURE, NUMPEOPLE, SEWTYPE, PERPOVLVL.
Estimation. Weighted with the PUF final weight (WEIGHT) and its 160 replicate weights. Margins of error are 90 percent, from successive difference replication (variance = 4/160 × Σ(replicate − full)²), the method that reproduces the Census Bureau’s published margins exactly. National totals quoted in this report match the Bureau’s published Table Creator estimates.
Derived figures. All breakdowns by metro, region, tenure, income and housing type are calculated by The Plumbing Brief from the public use file.
Retrieval date. 4 October 2026.
Data limitations
- Self-reported by households. Problems a household did not notice or recall are not counted.
- The 2023 AHS is one cross-section. It shows differences between places and groups, not change over time.
- Metro areas use 2013 OMB delineations as coded on the PUF, which differ slightly from current metro boundaries.
- Where two margins of error overlap, the difference between the groups should not be treated as established.
- Costs are reported by the household from memory or bills and are not verified against utility records.
- The amount combines water and sewer and cannot be split.
- Census rounds and adds noise to dollar amounts on the PUF. Published medians and means are authoritative; PUF medians shown in the CSV are rounded.
- For a long-run view of how water and sewer prices have risen, see our water and sewer bill inflation report.
Source quality ranking
Tier 1. US Census Bureau and HUD, American Housing Survey 2023, National Public Use File v1.1; AHS 2023 Table Specifications and PUF Estimates for User Verification; AHS 2023 Definitions.
Tier 2. None used. Tier 3. None used.
Briefing note
US households that pay for water separately spent a median of $57 and a mean of $71 a month on water and sewer service in 2023, according to the American Housing Survey. About 67 million households, half of all occupied homes, have water included in their rent or other fees. An analysis of the survey’s public use file by The Plumbing Brief found the highest average bills among the 15 largest metros in San Francisco ($109) and Seattle ($105) and the lowest in Atlanta ($57); by region, the Pacific states averaged $99 and the East South Central states $52.
Story angles
- What Americans actually pay for water
- San Francisco has the priciest water bills of any big metro
- Half of US households never see a water bill
- The Pacific pays half again as much for water
- Water bills by city, ranked
Common questions about the index
What is the average water bill in the US? $71 a month for water and sewer combined; the median is $57 (AHS 2023, households paying separately).
Which region has the highest water bills? The Pacific division, averaging $99 a month.
Which big city has the highest water bills? San Francisco, averaging $109 a month among the 15 largest metros.
Which has the lowest? Atlanta, at $57.
Do renters pay for water? Usually not separately: 30 percent of renters pay a separate water bill, against 60 percent of owners.
Does this include sewer? Yes. The AHS amount covers water supply and sewage disposal together.
How to cite this report
The Plumbing Brief, “Average Water Bill by Region: What US Households Pay Each Month for Water and Sewer”, https://theplumbingbrief.com/average-water-bill-by-region/, accessed [date].
Last reviewed: 2026-10-04.
