Pittsburgh has the third most expensive utility bills of any city in the U.S., according to a new report.
The annual report from doxo, a third-party online bill payment service, examines how much households in more than 4,000 cities spend on electric, gas, water and waste bills each month, and found that the Steel City’s prices outpace most major metro areas. Findings are based on the spending activity of the more than 10 million consumers that utilize doxo to pay their bills.
The average price for utilities has increased significantly over the past two years in Pittsburgh, which was ranked 10th-most expensive in the 2022 report.
Households in Pittsburgh spent an average of $502 a month on utilities in 2023, according to the this year’s report, about 35% more than the state and national averages.
According to the report, Pittsburgh residents are paying more than any other city in the Keystone state — or in the U.S., aside from New York City and Milwaukee.
On average, Pittsburgh households spend 6% of their income on utilities, according to Liz Powell, senior director of insights at doxo.
What’s behind the high prices?
In Pittsburgh, the city’s bills are typically higher than other places in part because of the weather, Ms. Powell said.
“For a place like Pittsburgh, where it is cold in the winter and hot in the summer, it is not surprising that utilities are expensive,” she said.
In November, utility regulators with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved rate increases for customers of several providers in the state.
The monthly bill of an average residential customer of West Penn Power, one of five FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Co. utility districts, rose from $156.36 to $166.07, an increase of 6.2%. West Penn serves about 746,000 customers around southwestern and central Pennsylvania.
Customers of Penn Power, which has 173,000 customers in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and other parts of Western Pennsylvania, will see a smaller, 4.5% hike. Their average residential bill will go from $180.59 a month to $188.72.
Downtown-based Duquesne Light, which serves around 600,000 customers in portions of Allegheny and Beaver counties, increased costs by about 4% following PUC approval. New rates for customers went into effect on Dec. 20, bringing monthly bills to $135.88, up from $130.67. Duquesne Light will not ask for another increase until at least March 20, 2026.
The increases are likely to show up in next year’s doxo report, Ms. Powell said.
How do utility costs compare to other household bills?
In other household bill categories, costs in Pittsburgh are below the national average. That includes mortgage and rent payments, auto loans, and phone, cable and internet bills.
But the city’s average auto insurance and health insurance monthly bills are higher, according to the doxo report.
Overall, Pittsburgh residents use 34% of their income to pay household bills, spending an average of $2,099 a month total — slightly below the national average, but above the state’s average.
Though Pittsburgh’s utility bills beat other Pennsylvania cities, its overall cost of living remains lower than most, doxo found. Pittsburgh is the 102nd most expensive city in Pennsylvania, while Chester Springs takes first place.
First Published: December 26, 2024, 8:44 p.m.
Updated: December 26, 2024, 11:04 p.m.