Cost of Youngstown household bills increasing; still paying less than U.S. average
This article originally appeared on Mahoning Matters
A network called doxo is reportedly one of the most expansive websites in the U.S. for service providers to charge households for their monthly bills. For doxoINSIGHTS, there’s a database created comparing each state’s household bills on average every year. The doxoINSIGHTS Household Bill Pay dataset outlines which states and cities pay the most and least in household bills each year. They use data from 97% of U.S. zip codes and 45 bill pay service categories, like rent, mortgages, utilities, insurance and cable and Internet. On average, Americans are paying $2,126 a month, or $25,513 each year, for all of these household expenses. It’s an increase of 4% for 2024. The most expensive states for utilities are Maine and Hawaii, according to MarketWatch. Some of the “more affordable” states for managing household bills are South Dakota and Mississippi. OHIO In Ohio, the average household pays $22,434 every year, or $1,870 a month, according to the doxoINSIGHTS Household Bill Pay dataset. That’s 32% of their income; it’s number 39 for the most expensive states in the U.S. That gives Ohioans an extra $3,078 compared to the U.S. average. Ohio is number 39 for the most expensive states on this list for household bills. YOUNGSTOWN Youngstown’s one of the less expensive Ohio cities to live in, according to the doxoINSIGHTS Household Bill Pay dataset. It’s number 190 on the list of most expensive Ohio cities. The average is increasing 4.8% in 2024, compared to the 4% average increase at the national level. Youngstown households spend 34% of their income on household bills. The average household pays $1,451 per month, or $17,406 per year on household bills. Each year, these expenses for residents in Youngstown are $8,106 lower than the other cities’ across the U.S. That’s 31.8% less than the U.S. average. Other Ohio cities were listed as some of the least expensive cities to live in, like Cleveland and Dayton, according to the doxoINSIGHTS report by CNBC’s Celia Fernandez. Clevelanders are spending 41% of their income on household bills, while Dayton’s rate is closer to 32% of their yearly income.