States Where People Pay the Highest Bills
This article originally appeared in 247 Wall St
The cost of living in the United States is well below the cost of living in several other developed countries, including the Nordic nations as well as New Zealand and Australia. Still, living expenses in the U.S. are higher than in much of the world. According to a recent study from Doxo, a bill paying platform, American households spend an average of $2,003 a month on bills – or about 37% of what the typical household earns in a month. (Here is a look at the least affordable rich countries.)
Of course, cost of living varies from state to state, and in some parts of the country, monthly bills are far higher than they are on average nationwide.
Using data from the United States of Bill Pay, a report from Doxo, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the highest household bills in 2022. States are ranked by the average monthly expenditure per household on the 10 most common bills, such as housing, cable, and health insurance, among others.
Among the 50 states, total expenditures on bills like rent, auto insurance, and cell phones range from an average of less than $1,500 a month to nearly $3,000. The 10 most expensive states are split between the Western and Northeastern United States, while the 10 least expensive states are concentrated in the South. Here is a look at the most expensive cities to rent a home.
States with higher than average bills also generally have median household incomes that exceed the $64,994 the typical American household makes, while incomes tend to be lower in the least expensive states. Still, higher incomes are more likely to offset higher costs of living, as households in states with the lowest average monthly bills are more likely to spend a higher than average share of their income on bills than households in the more expensive states.