The most—and least—expensive large U.S. cities based on the cost of monthly expenses like rent, utilities, and more
This article originally appeared on CNBC.
By: Celia Fernandez
In a report shared exclusively with CNBC Make It, doxo analyzed the cost of household bills and found the average U.S. household spends $2,046 a month.
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In a new report shared exclusively with CNBC Make It, doxo, a bill pay service, analyzed the cost of monthly household bills to determine the most and least expensive big cities in the United States.
To rank the cities, doxo focused on the ten most common household bill categories:
- Mortgage
- Rent
- Auto loan
- Utilities (electric, gas, water & sewer, and waste & recycling)
- Auto insurance
- Cable, internet and phone
- Health insurance
- Mobile phone
- Alarm and security
- Life insurance
The report found the average U.S. household spends $24,557 annually on bills — roughly $2,046 a month.
No. 1 most expensive large U.S. city based on monthly costs: San Jose
San Jose, California is the most expensive large city in the U.S.
Residents of the California city pay an average of $3,504 in monthly expenses, or 71.2% higher than the national average.
San Jose is most notable for its connection to Silicon Valley. Major global tech companies like eBay, PayPal and Zoom all have their headquarters in San Jose.
The average San Jose home value is $1,316,415, down 0.7% over the past year, according to Zillow.
San Jose is also one of the many cities in California that ranked among the most expensive metro areas. San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles also made the top 10.
10 most expensive large U.S. cities based on monthly costs
- San Jose, Calif.
- Boston, Mass.
- New York, N.Y.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Washington D.C.
- San Diego, Calif.
- Seattle, Wash.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- Miami, Fla.
- Portland, Ore.
On the complete opposite side of the country, Boston, Massachusetts is the second most expensive large city in the U.S., according to the doxo report.
Residents of Boston pay, on average, $3,369 in monthly bills. It’s about 57% of their household income and 64.6% above the national average.
Boston and the surrounding area is known for its standing as a global leader in higher education. Many schools in the area, like Harvard and MIT, are routinely included in the rankings of the top universities in the world.
The average Boston home value is $718,208, down 0.8% over the past year, according to Zillow.
No. 1 least expensive large U.S. city based on monthly costs: Detroit
Detroit, Michigan took the No. 1 spot on the list of the least expensive largest U.S. city for household bills.
The average monthly bill expense per household is $1,571, 23.2% lower than the national average.
Detroit is best known as the center of the automobile industry in the U.S. General Motors and Ford are headquartered in and around the Michigan City.
According to Zillow, the average Detroit home value is $65,875, down 8.1% over the past year.
The least expensive state based on monthly costs
- Detroit, Mich.
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Dayton, Ohio
- Albuquerque, N.M.
- Oklahoma City, Okla
- Rochester, N.Y
- Tucson, Ariz.
- El Paso, Texas
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Saint Louis, Mo.
The second least expensive large U.S. city based on the average cost of monthly household expenses is Cleveland, Ohio.
According to the doxo report, the average monthly bill expense in the city is $1,642, or about 19.8% percent below the national average.
Cleveland is home to major cultural institutions like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is the largest city on Lake Erie—one of the five Great Lakes in the U.S.
The average Cleveland home value is $98,314, down 0.7% over the past year, according to Zillow.
Cleveland is just one of two cities in Ohio to make doxo’s list of the least expensive large U.S. cities based on household bills. Dayton came in the No. 4 with an average cost of $1,764.
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