Americans are paying 62% more for water than a decade ago. Here
Americans aren't only paying more for food amid stubbornly high inflation — the cost of washing it down has also surged.
Federal support for the nation's water infrastructure has declined. The 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, an evaluation by the American Society of Civil Engineers, said that since fiscal year 2022, Congress has appropriated at least $1 billion below the authorized funding levels for a federal fund that supports state water infrastructure projects.
Food and Water Watch based its findings on data from 500 of the largest community water systems around the country that serve a combined 155 million people. More specifically, Food and Water Watch looked at how much utilities charged for 60,000 gallons of water, the estimated amount households use for drinking, showering, laundry and similar purposes in a year. The study did not include bills for wastewater or stormwater, which are managed by separate utilities.
The average water bill across the 500 systems Food and Water Watch studied was $531 last year. However, the amount someone pays can vary widely depending on where they live. The government-run water system in Hempstead, New York, charged people an average of $133 a year last year, the lowest rate of the systems examined in the study.
On the other end of the spectrum is San Jose, California, where the private-sector company San Jose Water charged residents an average of $1,416 in 2025, up 163% from a decade ago, the group found.
The state with the lowest overall bills was Idaho, where three of its largest water systems charged an average of $286 in 2025. West Virginia, which has some of the highest poverty rates in the country, had the highest bills. The two largest systems there, owned by American Water, charged an average of $1,383 a year, according to Food and Water Watch.
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Dive deeper
- Americans aren't only paying more for food amid stubbornly high inflation — the cost of washing it down has also surged.
- Federal support for the nation's water infrastructure has declined. The 2025 Infrastructure Report Card, an evaluation by the American Society of Civil Engineers, said that since fiscal year 2022, Congress has appropriated at least $1 billi
- Food and Water Watch based its findings on data from 500 of the largest community water systems around the country that serve a combined 155 million people. More specifically, Food and Water Watch looked at how much utilities charged for 60
- The average water bill across the 500 systems Food and Water Watch studied was $531 last year. However, the amount someone pays can vary widely depending on where they live. The government-run water system in Hempstead, New York, charged pe
- On the other end of the spectrum is San Jose, California, where the private-sector company San Jose Water charged residents an average of $1,416 in 2025, up 163% from a decade ago, the group found.