2023 Report: Household Bills as a Percentage of Income in the US
How does the cost of living in your state impact your income? doxo breaks down key insights about household expenses in all 50 states, and for 4200 cities and towns across the US, breaking down localized bill pay data figures as well, and providing insight into cost of living and how it changes according to location. The data sheds light on each state and city’s cost of living through other metrics as well, such as indicating how much more or less expensive specific cities are than the national and state average.
Absolute dollar amounts don’t tell the full story, however. The “percentage of household income” metric provides a more proportional look at bill spending in a particular location. For example, Florida households spend 42% of their income on household costs, which is a higher share than many states where households pay more expensive bills. And, New Jersey residents, though they live in the third most expensive state for bills, spend just 35% of household income on them.
Louisiana residents use the highest percentage of income for household bills
Out of the 50 states in the US, residents of Louisiana use the highest amount of their income for household bills, amounting to 44% of the state’s average annual household income of $52,111. However, Louisiana ranks 32nd in the US for household expenses overall, paying an average of $1,906 per month for bills. Following Louisiana for the states where the highest percentage of income used for household bills are Hawaii, Florida, and Mississippi at 43%, 42%, and 41%, respectively.
Utah is more expensive than Louisiana for household bills, ranking 19th in the US and paying $2,097 per month on average. However, Utah is the state where residents spend the least amount of their income on household bills, with 33% of their average annual household income of $75,219 being used for household bills.
50 States Ranked Highest to Lowest on Income Used for Bills
| Rank | State | Annual Bill Spend | Average Hh Income | Percent Hh Income |
| 1 | Louisiana | $22,871 | $52,111 | 44% |
| 2 | Hawaii | $36,844 | $85,253 | 43% |
| 3 | Florida | $25,349 | $60,520 | 42% |
| 4 | Mississippi | $19,387 | $47,100 | 41% |
| 5 | Alabama | $21,267 | $53,384 | 40% |
| 6 | California | $34,055 | $85,267 | 40% |
| 7 | Idaho | $23,256 | $58,834 | 40% |
| 8 | Montana | $23,032 | $57,288 | 40% |
| 9 | New Mexico | $21,077 | $52,051 | 40% |
| 10 | Nevada | $25,491 | $63,504 | 40% |
| 11 | South Carolina | $22,238 | $55,711 | 40% |
| 12 | Arkansas | $19,618 | $49,706 | 39% |
| 13 | North Carolina | $22,959 | $58,912 | 39% |
| 14 | Oregon | $26,870 | $68,228 | 39% |
| 15 | Tennessee | $22,092 | $57,063 | 39% |
| 16 | Arizona | $24,632 | $64,335 | 38% |
| 17 | Georgia | $24,051 | $63,665 | 38% |
| 18 | Kentucky | $20,521 | $53,563 | 38% |
| 19 | Maine | $23,213 | $61,009 | 38% |
| 20 | New York | $29,936 | $78,147 | 38% |
| 21 | Rhode Island | $27,883 | $72,552 | 38% |
| 22 | Texas | $25,314 | $66,768 | 38% |
| 23 | West Virginia | $18,361 | $48,022 | 38% |
| 24 | Washington | $29,621 | $80,881 | 37% |
| 25 | Colorado | $28,956 | $77,375 | 37% |
| 26 | Oklahoma | $20,464 | $55,162 | 37% |
| 27 | Vermont | $24,433 | $65,221 | 37% |
| 28 | Wisconsin | $23,729 | $64,816 | 37% |
| 29 | Wyoming | $24,374 | $65,255 | 37% |
| 30 | Iowa | $22,341 | $62,532 | 36% |
| 31 | Alaska | $28,018 | $79,389 | 35% |
| 32 | Illinois | $25,448 | $72,703 | 35% |
| 33 | Massachusetts | $31,867 | $90,015 | 35% |
| 34 | Michigan | $21,710 | $62,531 | 35% |
| 35 | Missouri | $21,193 | $60,042 | 35% |
| 36 | New Jersey | $32,722 | $92,374 | 35% |
| 37 | Ohio | $21,468 | $60,612 | 35% |
| 38 | South Dakota | $20,918 | $59,883 | 35% |
| 39 | Connecticut | $30,051 | $87,211 | 34% |
| 40 | Delaware | $24,527 | $71,185 | 34% |
| 41 | Indiana | $20,652 | $59,951 | 34% |
| 42 | Kansas | $21,836 | $63,738 | 34% |
| 43 | Maryland | $30,828 | $91,068 | 34% |
| 44 | North Dakota | $22,107 | $64,563 | 34% |
| 45 | New Hampshire | $27,872 | $80,842 | 34% |
| 46 | Pennsylvania | $23,061 | $66,974 | 34% |
| 47 | Virginia | $27,847 | $81,856 | 34% |
| 48 | Minnesota | $24,944 | $75,868 | 33% |
| 49 | Nebraska | $21,461 | $64,332 | 33% |
| 50 | Utah | $25,159 | $75,219 | 33% |
If you are interested in learning more, doxo has infographic information on average monthly payments for the 10 most common household bill categories, state-level rankings, most common time and method of payment, and more. You can also browse similar infographics for more than 4,000 cities across the U.S., and all 50 states. Read more about our methodology here.