San Jose ranks No. 1 for U.S. cities with highest household bills

San Jose residents pay more for household bills than residents in any other major U.S. city, according to a new report — with annual costs reaching nearly $45,000 when housing is included.

San Jose ranks No.1 among the 50 largest U.S. cities with households spending a median of $44,947 a year on 13 common household bills, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, insurance and car loans which equated to 31% of income, according to doxoINSIGHTS, a research service operated by bill payment platform doxo. That’s 78% above the national median of $25,266. New York City ranked second at $40,794, San Francisco came in third at $39,696, San Diego was fourth at $39,345 and Boston rounded out the top five at $38,630.

San Jose also ranked first among the 50 largest U.S. cities for bills excluding housing, with households paying a median $16,329 a year — 47% above the national median.

Amber Long, a lifelong San Jose resident and mother of three, said raising her children was more manageable when they were younger, partly because childcare assistance programs helped ease the cost. Now that her children are older, she worries about families trying to raise children amid today’s high costs.

Long, 45, estimates her household spends about $4,200 a month on expenses including housing and a little less than $3,000 without rent.

“(Politicians are) missing the whole community that does not make six figures,” Long told San José Spotlight. “You’re not thinking about us and what it takes for us to survive. I can’t imagine anybody having kids right now and what they’re going through, trying to afford childcare and everything.”

Alison Cingolani, director of policy at affordable housing advocacy group SV@Home, said housing costs also drive up the price of other necessities. When workers cannot afford to live near their jobs, they may have to commute from farther away, while businesses face higher labor and service costs.

“Housing costs kind of feed into even the things that it’s not obvious that housing costs feed into,” Cingolani told San José Spotlight.

The financial pressure extends across the Bay Area. The 2026 Silicon Valley Poll commissioned by Joint Venture Silicon Valley found that 48% of residents said they could not consistently cover their monthly expenses while also saving or investing. Fifty-nine percent said they had cut back on groceries or other necessities in the previous five years, while 47% had taken on debt or relied on credit cards to cover expenses.

Some of San Jose’s highest costs extend beyond housing. Auto insurance bills in the city are 208% above the national median, while water and sewer costs are 121% higher and waste and recycling bills are 115% higher, according to the report.

Michael O’Connell, a 72-year-old resident who has lived in San Jose since 1960, said he worries about how younger generations can afford to stay in the city. His mortgage is about $1,100 a month, but he said that’s because he sold his previous home and bought a condo. Although he can cover his expenses on about $5,000 a month in retirement income, he said it took decades of working three to five jobs to establish himself in the area.

“I don’t see how people do it nowadays. Because rent’s so outrageous,” O’Connell told San José Spotlight.

For lower-income residents, rising housing costs can outpace wage growth. Cingolani said wages at the lower end of the income spectrum have not kept pace with broader income growth, leaving some renters spending more than half their income on housing.

Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, said the region’s housing shortage is also compounded by resistance to new development, as some residents want to preserve their communities while limiting growth. He points out that the high cost of living extends beyond housing.

“While housing costs can put pressure on expenses beyond rent or a mortgage, even households earning six figures can struggle to afford childcare, transportation and other necessities,” Hancock told San José Spotlight. “(Current residents are) glad that they’re here, but they don’t want anybody else to be here.”

Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email protected] or @CasasPerezRed on X.