Average Utility Costs in Tennessee

Typical monthly utility costs in Tennessee are about $235.89/mo, based on 1,000 kWh of electricity and 5,000 gallons of water (plus sewer and trash where available). Covered cities include major metros such as Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville—each with its own municipal or cooperative electric distributor and local water/sewer/trash fees.

Average Monthly Utility Costs in Tennessee

The average utility bill in Tennessee is estimated at $235.89 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)

$132.72

Median of city estimates; each city uses its serving local utility's rate.

Water (5,000 gal)

$33.67

Median of non-$0 cities

Sewer

$49.50

Median of non-$0 cities

Trash

$20.00

Median of non-$0 cities

Typical total (assembled from medians)

$235.89

Alternate view: Median of city totals: $239.72

See full Tennessee 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 Tennessee

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.

Compare internet providers by ZIP or address

Search by city or county

TVA power & your local electric bill

Most residents in the Tennessee cities we cover buy electricity from a local distribution utility—often a municipal system (for example NES, MLGW, or KUB) or a cooperative—while the Tennessee Valley Authority supplies wholesale power to the region. Your bill reflects that local utility's published residential tariff at our standard 1,000 kWh, including line items such as TVA Grid Access and periodic fuel adjustments as shown on the schedule we cite—not a single statewide retail rate.

Why totals differ city to city

Electric varies by local tariff; water, sewer, and trash are set separately by each city or authority. A low electric line item does not guarantee a low all-in utility total.

Cooling & seasonal use

Hot, humid summers push air-conditioning use. Our estimates hold usage constant so you can compare rate structures—your actual kWh may be higher in peak months.

Regulated retail model

Tennessee is not a Texas-style statewide residential power-choice market for most households. You generally receive service from the utility assigned to your area; compare cities here using the same usage assumptions.

Top electric providers in the Tennessee cities we cover

These utilities appear in our dataset for the cities below. Following them helps explain much of the electric portion of each estimate; water, sewer, and trash are still local.

Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE)

co op utility

Serves 8 covered Tennessee cities.

Example cities: Murfreesboro, Franklin, Brentwood and 5 more.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW)

municipal utility

Serves 4 covered Tennessee cities.

Example cities: Memphis, Collierville, Germantown and 1 more.

Nashville Electric Service (NES)

municipal utility

Serves 4 covered Tennessee cities.

Example cities: Nashville, Hendersonville, Goodlettsville and 1 more.

Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB)

municipal utility

Serves 2 covered Tennessee cities.

Example cities: Knoxville, Seymour

Appalachian Power (AEP)

investor owned utility

Serves 1 covered Tennessee city.

Example cities: Kingsport

Tennessee cities to compare first

Start with the largest covered metros if you're benchmarking costs or comparing a move. These pages combine the biggest service territories in our data with a wide range of water, sewer, and trash setups.

Nashville

Davidson County • Nashville Electric Service (NES)