Nearly 9 in 10 U.S. Households Pay a Mobile Phone Bill, Spending a Median $1,200 a Year

doxo's analysis of actual bill payments sizes the U.S. mobile phone market at $172 billion a year; breaks down the most expensive states and cities by spend

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. households pay a median $100 a month for mobile phone service — $1,200 a year — according to the 2026 doxoINSIGHTS U.S. Mobile Phone Report, released today by doxo. Built on actual bill payment activity spanning 97% of U.S. ZIP codes, the report finds that 88% of households carry the bill — a market worth $172 billion.

That makes the phone bill the second most common household expense in America, behind only electricity, which reaches 90% of homes. It is in more households than cable and satellite (74%), water and sewer (73%), or natural gas (67%). And the competition for the category is widening: Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile added a combined 854,000 lines in the second quarter, even as both companies lost television customers.

Key findings:

• Total market size: $172 billion
• Median monthly bill: $100
• Median annual cost per household: $1,200
• Percent of households: 88% pay a mobile phone bill

"Our phones have become essential to how we work, navigate, organize and interact. With that, the phone bill has gone from discretionary to obligatory — it’s become a foundational expense of modern life," said Steve Shivers, Co-founder and CEO at doxo. "But the expense has continually crept up while nobody was watching. That's the reason we put these numbers out. A bill you never question is exactly the one worth checking."

Top 5 States with the Highest Mobile Phone Bills ¹

State	Median Annual Bill	Total Market Size
Delaware	$1,630	$708M
Montana	$1,545	$635M
Alaska	$1,500	$382M
Kentucky	$1,434	$2.73B
New Jersey	$1,361	$4.85B

Top 5 Large U.S. Cities with the Highest Mobile Phone Bills ¹

City	Median Annual Bill	Total Market Size
San Diego, CA	$2,035	$924M
Memphis, TN	$1,976	$443M
Rochester, NY	$1,881	$369M
Birmingham, AL	$1,658	$332M
Philadelphia, PA	$1,543	$1.05B

For more information, or to view the entire report, visit: https://www.doxo.com/doxoinsights-2026-mobile-phone-report-2/

¹ Data is sourced from the doxoINSIGHTS 2026 U.S. Household Bill Pay Report. For the latest analysis of U.S. household bill expenses, visit www.doxo.com/u/insights and select a state to explore state, county, and city data.

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. Uncovering an even deeper level of insight into Americans’ cost of living, doxo’s proprietary Cost of Bills Index™ (COBI), a new feature of doxoINSIGHTS, provides a consistent basis of comparison at the state, county and city level.

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 8,000 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.