This week, bill pay service doxo released its annual Household Bill Pay report, which breaks down how much the average U.S. household spends on essentials, including auto loans, utilities, health insurance, rent and mortgages. The average amount consumers spend per year on household bills grew 4% year over year.
The doxo report found that 40% of households in the U.S. have to pay a monthly mortgage and that the average monthly payment is $1,402. It was the most expensive common household bill, with Americans spending an average of $885,000,000,000 a year on it.
Doxo used U.S. Census mortgage data, inclusive of taxes and homeowners insurance, to rank the states with the highest and lowest average monthly mortgage payments.
The U.S. state with the highest average monthly mortgage: California
Not only is California the state with the second-highest average rent payment, but it also boasts the highest average monthly mortgage payment, according to doxo's report.
The average monthly mortgage in the West Coast state is $2,576, which is $1,174 above the national average. The average cost of bills in California is 38.7% above the national average, according to a 2023 doxo report.
These numbers show that California is indeed one of the most expensive states to live in.
The cost of living in California is 38% higher than the national average and housing is 97% higher than the national average, according to RentCafe.
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Some of the most expensive cities to live in the state include Sunnyvale, San Jose, and San Francisco. All of these cities have deep ties to the tech industry, which is a big reason for the higher cost of living.
Sunnyvale's cost of living is 63% higher than the state average and 125% higher than the rest of the U.S. The city is home to tech giants like Google, LinkedIn and Oracle.
10 U.S. states with the highest average monthly mortgage payments
- California
- New Jersey
- Hawaii
- Massachusetts
- New York
- Connecticut
- New Hampshire
- Maryland
- Washington
- Colorado
New Jersey has the second-highest average monthly mortgage payments — residents of the state pay around $2,460. Driven in part by its proximity to New York City, New Jersey has pretty high home prices compared to other places in the U.S. The median home value in the state is $497,292.
New Jersey is home to two of America's wealthiest counties, Hunterdon and Somerset, according to SmartAsset. Housing in the state is 30% higher than the national average, while the cost of living is 11% higher.
The U.S. state with the lowest average monthly mortgage: West Virginia
West Virginia has the lowest average monthly mortgage — the average payment is $961, according to doxo. Residents of the state also pay the lowest average monthly rent.
The most expensive city in the state is Clarksburg, where the cost of living is 5% higher than the state average. The cheapest major city in West Virginia is Charleston, with the cost of living 5% lower than the state average and 14% lower than the national average, according to RentCafe.
West Virginia is poor in personal income and overall economic development. according to Britannica. The median household income in the U.S. is $74,580, while in West Virginia, it is $55,217, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
10 U.S. states with the lowest average monthly mortgage
- West Virginia
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- Ohio
- New Mexico
- Iowa
Arkansas ranked as the No. 2 state with the lowest average monthly mortgages. Households pay an average of $1,022 a month, according to doxo. The state also has the second-lowest average monthly rent payment in the U.S.
While Arkansas has a lower mortgage rate than other places in the U.S., the sales tax is higher.
According to SmartAsset, Arkansas is also considered a tax-friendly state. The state does not tax Social Security retirement benefits and property taxes are among the lowest in the U.S.
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