doxo Report Ranks States by Household Bill Burden, From Highest to Lowest
doxo’s data shows California is the most expensive state for household bills, while West Virginia remains one of the most affordable
SEATTLE, August 14, 2025 –The newly released 2025 State-by-State Bill Pay Market Report from doxoINSIGHTS offers an in-depth look at how household bill costs vary across the nation. The report reveals that Americans spend a median of $2,058 per month—approximately 31% of the U.S. median household income of $84,583—on essential bills.
Costs vary widely by state, with California, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Massachusetts among the most expensive, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma rank as the most affordable.
Leveraging doxo’s proprietary dataset, which covers 97% of U.S. ZIP codes and 45 bill pay service categories, the report provides Americans with a more accurate and detailed picture. It analyzes median monthly bill payments rather than relying on industry averages or survey-based market estimates. This state-level breakdown reveals how household bills contribute to the overall cost of living across all 50 states.
doxo’s Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI) provides a consistent basis for comparison nationwide. The 2025 State-by-State Bill Pay Market Report offers resolution at the state level, providing the most comprehensive view into the Bill Pay Economy™.
The 2025 report details:
- Monthly and annual household bill median costs for each state.
- Breakdowns of the 13 most common household bills: Mortgage, Rent, Auto Loan, Utilities (Electric, Gas, Water & Sewer, Waste & Recycling), Auto Insurance, Cable & Internet, Mobile Phone, Health Insurance (consumer-paid portion), Alarm & Security, and Life Insurance.
Key findings include:
- Californians spend a median of $2,854 each month on the thirteen most common household bills, which is 39% higher than the national median.
- In contrast, residents of West Virginia spend a median of $1,149 each month, 44% below the national median.
Full rankings of the most expensive and most affordable states to live in are available in the complete report. A list of the 10 most expensive and least expensive states is outlined below.
10 Most Expensive States for Household Bills
| State | MedianMonthly Bill¹ | Cost of BillsIndex (COBI)² | % ofHH Income | % +/-National Median |
| California | $2,854 | 139 | 33% | + 39% |
| Hawaii | $2,712 | 132 | 33% | + 32% |
| New Jersey | $2,621 | 127 | 29% | + 27% |
| Massachusetts | $2,614 | 127 | 29% | + 27% |
| Maryland | $2,505 | 122 | 28% | + 22% |
| Washington | $2,453 | 119 | 29% | + 19% |
| New York | $2,412 | 117 | 31% | + 17% |
| Colorado | $2,391 | 116 | 30% | + 16% |
| Connecticut | $2,354 | 114 | 28% | + 14% |
| Alaska | $2,276 | 111 | 30% | + 11% |
10 Least Expensive States for Household Bills
| State | MedianMonthly Bill¹ | Cost of BillsIndex (COBI)² | % ofHH Income | % +/-National Median |
| West Virginia | $1,149 | 56 | 23% | – 44% |
| Mississippi | $1,502 | 73 | 32% | – 27% |
| Arkansas | $1,539 | 75 | 30% | – 25% |
| Oklahoma | $1,543 | 75 | 28% | – 25% |
| New Mexico | $1,581 | 77 | 29% | – 23% |
| Kentucky | $1,587 | 77 | 29% | – 23% |
| Alabama | 1,601 | 78 | 29% | – 22% |
| Indiana | $1,620 | 79 | 27% | – 21% |
| Iowa | $1,622 | 79 | 26% | – 21% |
| Kansas | $1,624 | 79 | 25% | – 21% |
¹Median Monthly Bill shown above reflects the Median Household Bill Pay Expense for the thirteen most common bills paid monthly, including housing (rent/mortgage). See full report for details.
²For the Cost of Bills Index (COBI), the number 100 represents the national median, and then, states, counties, and cities are assigned a number, either above or below 100, based on how they compare to the national median.
Data is sourced from the doxoINSIGHTS 2025 U.S. Household Bill Pay Report, reflecting consumer payment data from March 2024 to March 2025. For the latest analysis of U.S. household bill expenses, please visit www.doxo.com/w/explore and select a state to explore state, county, and city data.
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 levels.
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 8,000 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.
2025 State-by-State Bill Pay Market Report
A state by state look at the $4.55 trillion U.S. consumer bill pay market, with a specific emphasis on the 13 most common household bill pay categories.