For-profit water corporations, federal cuts and climate crisis are ‘supercharging water rate hikes’, study co-author says
US households are paying 62% more for drinking water than they did a decade ago – outpacing inflation, grocery prices and household incomes, according to a new study.
Food & Water Watch, a Washington DC-based non-profit, analyzed 2025 billing data from the 500 largest community water systems in the US, which together serve about 155 million people, or 45% of the country’s population. The analysis compared current rates with data from a similar Food & Water Watch survey conducted in 2015. The study does not include wastewater or storm water charges, which are often billed separately from drinking water service.
In 2025, the average household using 60,000 gallons of water paid $531 for drinking water service, according to the study. However, costs varied widely, with annual bills ranging from $133 at the cheapest system to $1,416 at the most expensive.
Real household income or nominal?
Because reel household incomes have barely budged since 2020.
Real median household income in 2015 was $74,590, while in 2025 it was $87,460. So real median household income is up 17.25%.
The article doesn’t give what the actual average water bill was in 2015, but it says that the average in 2025 for annual water bill was $531. Using the 62% increase we can figure that the average in 2015 would have been $327 per year, which inflation adjusted is $445 in 2025 dollars, a 19.33% increase compared to the 17.25% increase in household incomes.
I guarantee that water bill barely budged prior to the pandemic. I would love to see that graph.
Idk, mine has gone up every year since I have been an adult paying my own bills. And that was loooong before the pandemic.
2020 is the pandemic year, so it’s a bit of an exception. Let’s start from 2019
2019 nominal was $68,703 which is $86,516 in 2025 dollars which is lower than $87,460, the median income in 2025
And if you say that’s a tiny difference, you’d be right. The same way 62% water price increase is not meaningfully more than the 56% increase in household income
Why are you starting before the economic shock? The problem is the economic shock has made real median incomes stagnate.