News » Who has lower bills, Davenport or Rock Island?

Who has lower bills, Davenport or Rock Island?

December 26, 2023

This article originally appeared on Our Quad Cities

By Sharon Wren

If you’ve lived in the Quad Cities long enough, you’ve heard people say that living on one side of the river is cheaper than the other. While that’s true for gas prices, what about bills?

doxo, an online bill pay service, studied actual bills paid across 97% of zip codes in the United States and 45 bill categories to determine how much people in every state pay for common bills.

The study not only included results for states but several metro areas too. Which side of the Centennial Bridge is cheaper for residents, Davenport or Rock Island?

Davenport is the 35^th most expensive city in Iowa. Residents pay an average of $1,612 per month or $19,343 annually on bills, while the national average is $2,046 monthly and $24,552 annually. That might sound bad, but they’re paying $5,214, or 21.2% less than the national average every year. They spend, on average, 36% of an average resident income of $65,605 on bills. That breaks down to:

$1,009 for an average mortgage payment (national average $1,321) or
$817 for an average rent payment (national average $1,191)
$258 for an average vehicle loan (national average $467)
$367 for average utilities (national average $351)
$219 for average vehicle insurance (national average $207)
$177 for average health insurance (national average $120)
$126 for an average cell phone bill (national average $119)
$131 for an average cable/internet bill (national average $118)
$68 for an average life insurance bill (national average $89)
$100 for an average alarm/security system bill (national average $84)

The survey says Rock Island is the 177^th most expensive city in the state. Residents pay an average of $1,618 a month or $19,419 every year on bills. That’s $5,138, or 20.9% less than the national average. The average annual income in the city is $57,415 and they spend 41% of that on bills.

That includes:

$842 for a mortgage payment (national average $1,321) or
$738 for an average rent payment (national average $1,191)
$475 for an average vehicle loan (national average $467)
$361 for average utilities (national average $351)
$206 for average vehicle insurance (national average $207)
$198 for average health insurance (national average $120)
$97 for an average cell phone bill (national average $119)
$102 for an average cable/internet bill (national average $118)
$80 for an average life insurance bill (national average $89)
$60 for an average alarm/security system bill (national average $84)

For more information on how cities in the area compare on bills, including the most expensive cities for bills in Iowa and Illinois, click here.