Average Utility Costs in California

Typical monthly utility costs in California are about $509.49/mo, based on 1,000 kWh of electricity and 5,000 gallons of water (plus sewer and trash where available). Compare California cities below to find cheaper vs more expensive areas.

How to save on utility bills in California →

Average Monthly Utility Costs in California

The average utility bill in California is estimated at $509.49 per month, a typical total assembled from median city estimates for electricity, water, sewer, and trash. To reflect a more typical bill across cities (and reduce the impact of outliers), these "average" values use the median of city estimates.

Electric (1,000 kWh)

$385.70

Median city estimate

Water (5,000 gal)

$47.98

Median of non-$0 cities

Sewer

$38.17

Median of non-$0 cities

Trash

$37.64

Median of non-$0 cities

Typical total (assembled from medians)

$509.49

Alternate view: Median of city totals: $507.61

See full California city comparison →•How we calculate estimates →

Assumptions: 1,000 kWh/month and 5,000 gallons/month (where applicable). "Average" values represent the median city estimate; water/sewer/trash medians exclude $0 entries when service or published rates vary by address. Actual bills vary by usage, fees, and provider.

Check Internet pricing & availability in California

Internet service varies widely—many providers, different plans, introductory offers, and bundles make it hard to compare apples to apples. That's why we don't estimate internet on this page like we do for electric, water, sewer, and trash. Use our tool to compare providers for your address or ZIP code.

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Why California utility bills can be so high

California utility bills are shaped by an unusually complex mix of electric provider territory, climate, water scarcity, and local service structures. That is why cities in the same state can have very different total monthly utility costs even when the same 1,000 kWh and 5,000 gallon assumptions are used.

Investor-owned versus municipal utilities. California includes large investor-owned utilities such as PG&E, Southern California Edison, and SDG&E, but also municipal systems like LADWP and SMUD.
Time-of-use and tiered pricing are common. Electric bills can vary more by usage pattern and local rate design than in many other states.
Climate differences matter. Inland areas with more cooling demand can behave very differently from coastal cities, even when both are in high-cost regions.
Water, sewer, and trash are highly local. Drought pricing, regional infrastructure, and city-level fees can materially change the all-in bill.

How California electric service works

California is generally a regulated market, not a statewide retail-choice market like Texas. Most residents are served by the utility assigned to their area rather than choosing among many competing retail electric providers.

For searchers comparing cities, that means the main drivers are utility territory, local pricing structure, climate, and city services, not plan shopping. This is one reason cities such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose can look quite different on an apples-to-apples comparison.

In practice, California comparisons often come down to whether a city is served by a major IOU or a municipal utility, plus how water and local service fees are structured.

Utility providers in California

In the cities we cover, electric is provided by Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) (Anaheim); City of Corona Department of Water and Power (Corona); Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) (Bakersfield, Berkeley, Clovis, Fremont, Fresno, Modesto and 8 more); Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) (Pasadena); Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) (Riverside); Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) (Elk Grove, Sacramento); San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) (Chula Vista, San Diego); Southern California Edison (SCE) (Garden Grove, Irvine, Long Beach, Oxnard, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino and 4 more) California rates are among the highest in the nation, with tiered and time-of-use structures common. Water, sewer, and trash are set by city, county, or regional providers. Our estimates use each utility's published rate at 1,000 kWh. City pages show sources and last-verified dates.

See which electric, water, sewer, and trash providers serve different areas of California, along with typical residential rate information and sources.

View utility providers in California →

California utility bill quirks to know

TOU and tiered pricing can change the picture

California electric pricing often depends not just on how much you use, but when you use it and how your utility structures tiers and peak periods.

Municipal utilities can be meaningful outliers

Cities served by systems like LADWP or SMUD can compare differently from nearby investor-owned utility cities, even in the same broader region.

Water and sewer can be unusually location-sensitive

Conservation pricing, imported water, local infrastructure, and drought-related rate design can make non-electric utilities vary more than many users expect.

Top electric providers in the California cities we cover

These providers appear most often in the California cities currently in our dataset. They are a helpful starting point if you want to understand why city pages in California can differ so much.

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)

investor owned utility

Serves 14 covered California cities.

Example cities: Oakland, Bakersfield, Stockton and 11 more.

Southern California Edison (SCE)

investor owned utility

Serves 10 covered California cities.

Example cities: Long Beach, Santa Ana, Irvine and 7 more.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)

municipal utility

Serves 2 covered California cities.

Example cities: Sacramento, Elk Grove

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)

investor owned utility

Serves 2 covered California cities.

Example cities: San Diego, Chula Vista

Anaheim Public Utilities (APU)

municipal utility

Serves 1 covered California city.

Example cities: Anaheim

California cities to compare first

Start with the largest covered metros if you're comparing California utility costs or moving between regions. These city pages represent a useful mix of investor-owned utility territories, municipal systems, coastal markets, and inland heat-driven demand.

San Diego

San Diego County • San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)