US households paid 62% more for drinking water in 2025 than in 2015, Food & Water Watch found after analyzing billing data from the 500 largest community water systems that together serve about 155 million people, or 45% of the population. The study measured an average household using 60,000 gallons paying $531 a year in 2025, with annual bills ranging from $133 to $1,416. Water prices rose 1.6 times faster than inflation between 2015 and 2025; consumer prices rose 39% while water bills rose 62%, and water increases outpaced groceries (30%) and eggs (28%). Water bills grew 19% faster than the national median household income between 2014 and 2024. Mary Grant, Food & Water Watch’s water program director, cited corporate water abuses, federal disinvestment and climate change as factors driving rate hikes. The study found a large gap between ownership types: corporate-owned utilities charged an average $823 per household versus $494 for publicly owned systems, and corporate systems made up 11% of systems but 44% of the 25 most expensive systems. State-level extremes included New Hampshire up 177%, Oregon up 114% and West Virginia up 95%; water bills exceeded the study’s affordability threshold in 93% of systems, with low-income households in West Virginia spending about 11% of income and in Puerto Rico roughly 20%.
