doxo’s 2026 Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI) Highlights Where Bills Cost the Most—and Least—Across the U.S. as Cost Gaps Widen

From California to West Virginia, doxo’s COBI Report Maps the Growing Financial Strain on U.S. Households Cost of Living as Essential Bills Hit Record Highs

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--doxo today released its latest 2026 Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI) Report, highlighting the widening gap in essential household expenses across the United States. Drawing on doxo’s proprietary bill payment data, the 2026 report shows that costs for core household bills continue to vary significantly by location, with residents in the most expensive states—including California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts—paying up to 38% above the national median. In contrast, households in more affordable states such as West Virginia, Mississippi, and Arkansas spend as much as 47% below the median. The findings build on doxo’s recent 2026 U.S. Household Bill Pay Report, which shows the typical U.S. household now spends nearly $25,000 per year on essential bills. For more details on the COBI methodology, visit: https://www.doxo.com/w/cost-of-bills-index/.

This year’s report arrives as the cost of living continues to climb across the U.S., with household bill expenses reaching new highs and placing sustained pressure on consumer budgets. doxo’s latest 2026 U.S. Household Bill Pay Report finds that the national bill pay market has grown to approximately $5.03 trillion, with the typical household spending $2,083 per month—or nearly $25,000 annually—on essential bills alone. Amidst rising costs nationally, North Carolina saw the largest year-over-year surge in household bills with a 7% increase, followed closely by New Hampshire at 5.4%. Against this backdrop, understanding where costs are highest—and where relative affordability exists—has become increasingly critical for households navigating everyday financial decisions.

The Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI) is based on doxo’s nationwide bill payment statistics across the thirteen most common household bill categories, providing a standardized benchmark for comparing the core expenses that define cost of living across the country. Built on doxo’s unique, aggregate, anonymized bill pay data, the COBI is a core component of doxoINSIGHTS—offering a comprehensive view into the Bill Pay Economy™ at the state, county, and city level.

“As household bill expenses continue to rise, driven by increases in housing, utilities, and essential services, access to clear, localized data is critical to helping consumers better understand and manage their financial obligations,” said Steve Shivers, Co-Founder and CEO, doxo. “The Cost of Bills Index provides a single, standardized way to compare costs for the most essential household bills across any region in the country. COBI empowers consumers with the transparency needed to stay on top of bills and make more informed financial decisions.”

Providing a standard benchmark, the 2026 Cost of Bills Index (COBI) Report includes state and city breakdowns with comparisons to the national median, and uncovers the five most and least expensive U.S. states to live in, based on the COBI:

The Top 5 Most Expensive U.S. States by the Cost of Bills Index

State	Cost of Bills Index (COBI)	% Above National Median
California	138	+38%
Hawaii	131	+31%
Massachusetts	128	+28%
New Jersey	127	+27%
Maryland	122	+22%

The Top 5 Least Expensive U.S. States by the Cost of Bills Index

State	Cost of Bills Index (COBI)	% Below National Median
Oklahoma	77	-23%
Alabama	77	-23%
Arkansas	76	-24%
Mississippi	74	-26%
West Virginia	53	-47%

The Top 5 Most Expensive Largest U.S. Cities by the Cost of Bills Index

City	Cost of Bills Index (COBI)	% Above National Median
San Jose, CA	176	+76%
New York, NY	163	+63%
San Francisco, CA	161	+61%
San Diego, CA	155	+55%
Boston, MA	152	+52%

The Top 5 Least Expensive Largest U.S. Cities by the Cost of Bills Index

City	Cost of Bills Index (COBI)	% Below National Median
Pittsburgh, PA	84	-16%
Dayton, OH	82	-18%
Detroit, MI	81	-19%
Cleveland, OH	80	-20%
El Paso, TX	79	-21%

*For the COBI, the number 100 represents the national median and then, states, counties and cities are assigned a number, either above or below 100, based on how they compare to the national median. For example, the COBI for San Jose, CA is 176, meaning it's 76% above national median, while the COBI for El Paso, TX is 79, meaning it's 21% below national median.

Through the easy-to-navigate tool, doxo’s proprietary data enables three different and essential views of household cost of bills for each state, county and city:

• COBI Standard: This standard version of the COBI represents the total amount spent on the thirteen most common household bills in a given area, inclusive of mortgage and rent, as it relates to the median national income.
• COBI Without Housing: This version of the COBI represents the total amount spent on the thirteen most common household bills in a given area, excluding mortgage and rent.
• COBI Income-Adjusted: This version of the COBI represents the total amount spent on the thirteen most common household bills in a given area, including mortgage and rent, but adjusted for the median household income of each geographic area.

For more details on the COBI methodology, visit: https://www.doxo.com/w/cost-of-bills-index/.

doxoINSIGHTS Delivers Transparency Into Core Household Financial Obligations

In addition to the Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI), doxoINSIGHTS provides a comprehensive view into the composition of the thirteen most essential household bills: Gas, Electric, Waste & Recycling, Water & Sewer, Cable & Phone, Mobile Phone, Auto Loans, Auto Insurance, Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Alarm & Security, Rent, and Mortgage. Across every state, county, and city, doxoINSIGHTS delivers the following:

• Bill Spending Breakdown by Category: Local median spend for each of the thirteen essential household bill categories, benchmarked against the national median
• “Bill Pay Cost of Living” Rankings: A standardized index ranking every city, county, and state based on total household bill spend—both in absolute terms and relative to local income levels—enabling direct comparisons across regions.

Powered by Actual Consumer Payment Data at National Scale

doxo’s bill pay network enables all-in-one payments to more than 120,000 providers across 45+ service categories nationwide. Leveraging tens of millions of real bill payments across 97% of U.S. ZIP codes—and spanning all income brackets and regional demographics—the 2026 U.S. Household Bill Pay Report reflects what Americans are actually paying for their essential bills today.

Unlike traditional industry estimates, which often combine household bills with employer-paid expenses (such as health insurance and taxes) or include discretionary spending like credit card balances, doxoINSIGHTS isolates true consumer-paid, recurring household obligations. This approach delivers one of the most accurate and comprehensive views of bill payment behavior, category spend, and household penetration rates available in the market.

About doxoINSIGHTS

doxoINSIGHTS provides direct insight into The Bill Pay Economy™ by leveraging consumer surveys and doxo’s unique aggregate bill pay data set, comprising actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service providers across the country. doxo data brings together the broadest available data set for analyzing actual household bill payment activity, pulling from over 10 million paying consumers across over 97% of U.S. zip codes. doxo’s payment network covers over 120,000 billers in 45 different service categories and enables payments using bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards. This uniquely broad statistical foundation powers doxoINSIGHTS reports – uncovering key trends for household financial health and bill payment behavior.

About doxo

doxo delivers innovation that transforms the bill pay experience for consumers, billers and financial technology providers. For over 10M consumers, doxo’s all-in-one bill pay makes it simple to organize and pay any bill on any device through a secure checkout. For billers, doxo’s network-driven platform enables online and mobile payments with a ridiculously simple integration, radically lower costs, and game-changing features that are unavailable with legacy bill pay vendors. For fintech partners, doxo delivers financial innovations to consumers across 97% of US Zip Codes, paying from more than 5,000 financial institutions to over 120,000 billers in 45+ service categories. For employees, doxo is a creative, ever-learning team that is passionate about building fintech tools that dramatically improve the bill pay experience. For investors, doxo provides an extraordinary opportunity to invest alongside Jackson Square Ventures, MDV, and Bezos Expeditions to disrupt a market that accounts for over $5T of US Household spend. To learn more about America’s leading bill pay network, visit doxo.com.