Up 4% year-over-year, new data shows Hawaii is the most expensive state for household bills while West Virginia ranks as most affordable

doxo’s Latest State by State Bill Pay Report Reveals Household Bills Take a 34% Bite Out of U.S. Household Income, Averaging Nearly $26k Annually

Dotted Line Communications for doxo
Jenny Davis
press@doxo.com

A new report released today by doxo reveals that the average U.S. household spends $25,512 annually on the most essential household bills. This annual bill spend of roughly $2,126 per month takes up 34% of the U.S. household median income of $74,755. With many states ranking well above or below the national average, the 2024 State by State Bill Pay Market report reveals Hawaii, California, Massachusetts and New Jersey are the most expensive states to live in, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky are the most affordable.

doxo’s proprietary and comprehensive dataset — based on actual bill payments across 97% of U.S. zip codes and 45 bill pay service categories, enables precision much greater than typical survey-based estimates of market size and consumer spend. This latest state-level breakdown of household bill expenses provides more detail on how bills contribute to the overall cost of living in all 50 states. Doxo’s Cost of Bills Index™, introduced in its inaugural report earlier this year, provides a consistent basis of comparison for any location in the country. The 2024 State by State Bill Pay Market report provides resolution at the state level, enabling the deepest and most complete picture of The Bill Pay Economy™ across the 50 states.

This unique view of relative expenses, and how much of household income is required to cover bills in each state, is especially relevant given continued strains on household budgets. In fact, a recent doxoINSIGHTS report revealed that three in four consumers (74%) have made changes to their spending and savings habits this year, and the vast majority of Americans (85%) remain worried about their ability to pay their household bills.

“With ongoing economic uncertainty, Americans continue to feel the pressure on their household budgets, especially as these bills eat up more than a third of the average median income,” said Liz Powell, Senior Director of INSIGHTS at doxo. “With doxoINSIGHTS, we’re arming Americans with the data transparency needed to make more informed decisions about their budgets and expenses, providing the broadest data available on actual household spending for critical bills. Offering clear and concise data through our recurring doxoINSIGHTS reports, including our annual State by State reports, doxo is proud to be shaping more informed bill payers across the nation.”

The findings outlined in the 2024 State by State Bill Pay Market report include, for each state, the total monthly spend for bills each month, as well as a breakout of each of the ten most common household bills including: Mortgage; Rent; Auto Loan; Utilities (electric, gas, water & sewer, and waste & recycling); Auto Insurance; Cable & Internet; Mobile Phone; Health Insurance (consumer paid portion); Alarm & Security; and Life Insurance.

The report shows that Hawaiians spend $3,091 each month on the 10 most common household bills, which is +45% above the national average. At the other end of the spectrum, households in West Virginia spend an average of $1,596 across the top ten categories, -25% below the average nationwide. The 10 most expensive and least expensive states to live are outlined below.

10 Most Expensive States for Household Bills

10 Least Expensive States for Household Bills

*Household Bill Pay Expense averages shown above reflect the ten most common bills paid, including housing (rent/mortgage). See report for details.

**For the Cost of Bills Index (COBI), the number 100 represents the national average and then, states, counties and cities are assigned a number, either above or below 100, based on how they compare to the national average.

To view more from doxoINSIGHTS and its 2024 State by State Bill Pay Market report including a full breakdown of the amount paid in household bills across all of the 50 states, click here.

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 experience for consumers, billers and financial technology providers. For over 10M consumers, doxo’s all-in-one bill pay makes it simple to organize and pay any bill on any device through a secure checkout. 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.

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