How High Are Your Household Bills in Tri-Cities?

It's no secret that things have gotten more expensive lately.  Most of the focus has gone to the price of gas, but Washington State has also seen an increase in the cost of household bills.  Even the Tri-Cities has felt the impact.

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Washington State is the 8th highest in the nation for the cost of household bills.  The Evergreen State as a whole is almost 21% higher than the national average with 37% of the annual household income (State median income is just under $81,000) going to household bills.

So how much more of your heard earned cash is going towards bills these days?

What is Defined As a Household Bill?

Before we get into the numbers, we need to determine what counts as a household bill?  Doxo.com determines household bills as mortgage/rent, utilities (energy, water, etc.), car loans and insurance, health and life insurance, security (home alarm), cell phone, and cable/satellite.  That is the criteria we will use.

69 of the 80 cities in Washington State on the list are above the national average, including the three that comprise the Tri-Cities.  West Richland was not on the list but for full disclosure, payscale.com cites West Richland as being 1% below the national average for cost of living.

Pasco

Believe it or not, one of the fastest growing cities in the area and the State holds the distinction for highest household bills locally.  The average annual income in Pasco is roughly $66,500, and of that, 39% is going to household bills.  Pasco residents are shelling out $2,190 per month, or just under $26,300 per year on bills.  That all works out to 7% above the national average.

Richland

Richland comes in behind Pasco when it comes to the cost of household bills.  The average annual salary in Richland is just under $72,900, and of that, 33% is going to household bills.  Richland residents are spending $2,091 per month, or just over $25,000 per year on bills.  That places Richland 2.2% above the national average.

Kennewick

Kennewick is the least expensive in the area for the cost of household bills.  The average annual salary in Kennewick is just over $72,850, and of that, 36% is going to household bills.  Kennewick residents drop $2,048 per month, or just under $24,600 per year on bills.  That puts Kennewick barely above the national average at 0.1%.

Remember though, this does not include the cost of food, gas, clothing, or any things else that maybe considered a necessity.  If you would like to dive deeper into the data or see where the Tri-Cities compares to other areas of the State, you can check out all of the data here.