How do your bills compare? In Jacksonville, mostly more than others
This article originally appeared on My Journal Courier
By Marco Cartolano
Jacksonville residents pay slightly less than the national average each month in typical bills, but more than the state average, according to data retrieved from propriety bill pay of residents’ billing amounts by bill pay service Doxo.
Doxo released the data showing household bills across the nation that analyzed aggregate bill payment data for more than 37,000 U.S. ZIP codes and observed payment activity in more than 45 recurring service categories.
For each city, the company calculated monthly bills from the nine most common non-housing-related bills — auto loans; auto insurance; utilities; health insurance; life insurance; cable, internet and phone; mobile phone; alarm and security; and dental insurance — to come up with the average amount paid in each category.
Jacksonville is ranked 10th out of 27 from the data collected in terms of billing. Data from average bill costs of residents was $910 a month, around 2% lower than the national average of $927 a month.
According to Jim Kreyenhagen, vice president of marketing and consumer services for doxo, Jacksonville residents pay more in all but one of the most common bill pay categories, compared to the national average.
Kreyenhagen cited auto insurance and utilities as areas where Jacksonville residents pay more than the national average. Jacksonville residents pay an average of $201 — $20 more than the national average of $181 — for auto insurance and an average of $310 — $20 more than the national average of $290 — for utilities.
Colder weather is a factor for both of the higher averages, Kreyenhagen said.
“We see that (higher auto insurance billing) is often the case in colder climates, where residents tend to own bigger, more durable and expensive vehicles designed to withstand inclement weather,” Kreyenhagen said. “Weather also likely plays a factor (in utility costs). Hot summers and cold winters mean an increase in both air conditioning and heat — expenses that add up quickly over time.”
Jacksonville residents pay less than average for health insurance, though that says more about employers than residents, because employers cover more health insurance costs, Kreyenhagen said.
Common Jacksonville service providers that receive bill payments include Ameren, Mediacom, Trash Queen and Frontier Communications.
Bill payment nationwide has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kreyenhagen said. A separate doxo study released in October found that 42% of consumers has missed at least one bill payment in the past seven months because of financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.