How Much Do Utilities and Household Bills Cost in St. Cloud on Average?

Living these days is expensive. Especially around the holidays when there's all those gifts to buy, get-togethers to make food for and holiday travel.

And that's on top of regular monthly expenses.

The folks at the bill payment system doxo have studied utilities and household bill expenses across the country and they've released their US Utilities Market Size and household Spend Report for 2024.

The study looks at how much you and I pay for utilties. Some of the findings will reaffirm your spending. But some will be eye-opening.

THE COST OF UTILITIES IN ST. CLOUD

The study found on average St. Cloud folks spent $205 per month on utility bills. That includes electric, gas, water and sewer as well as waste and recycling.

That's $86 dollars cheaper than the Minnesota average of $291 per month -- and a whopping $157 cheaper than the US National Average for Utilties at $362 per month.

THE COST OF LIVING IN ST. CLOUD IN 2024

In addition, the doxo's cost of living data for St. Cloud also found:

St. Cloud households -- on average -- pay $2,098 per month or $25,176 per year on the 10 most common household bills. Those include:

• Rent
• Mortgage
• Auto Loan
• Health Insurance
• Utilities
• Mobile Phone
• Cable and Satellite
• Life Insurance
• Alarm and Security

How does St. Cloud rank with other cities? We're the 47th most expensive city in Minnesota for household bills. The list is topped by Excelsior ($3,094), Lakeville ($3,093) and Wayzata ($3,054).

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Here's how some area cities ranked:

22. Elk River -- $2,408
23. Saint Michael -- $2,384
29. Big Lake -- $2,350
31. Zimmerman -- $2,344
33. Sartell -- $2,286
39. Buffalo -- $2,244
41. Monticello -- $2,239
43. Princeton -- $2,186
47. St. Cloud -- $2,098
51. Brainerd -- $2,060
52. Sauk Rapids -- $2,031
54. Alexandria -- $2,027
55. Isanti -- $2,017
60. Cambridge -- $1,990
65. Little Falls -- $1,943
67. Hutchinson --$1,923
69. Willmar -- $1,915

As far as counties go, the list is topped by Scott ($2,748), Carver ($2,702) and Washington county ($2,539).

Other counties in our area:

4. Wright -- $2,533
10. Sherburne -- $2,312
12. Morrison -- $2,206
17. Mille Lacs -- $2,119
24. Douglas -- $1,999
27. Stearns -- $1,973
28. Benton -- $1,970
31. Isanti -- $1,957
33. Crow Wing -- $1,939
39. Kanabec -- $1,889
43. Kandiyohi -- $1,865

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St. Cloud is about 1% below the national average for household bills expense if you include housing. But if you exclude mortgage and rent costs AND adjust for income, St. Cloud's Cost of Bills Index is actually 29% above the national average.

The report says the average St. Cloud household pays 40% of its income on household bills based on an average household income of $63,224.

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ST. CLOUD VS. THE NATIONAL AVERAGE COST OF BILLS

Some interesting data on where our money goes:

Average monthly bills: St. Cloud (Regional) / National
Mortgage: $1,314 / $1,402
Rent: $949 / $1,300
Auto Loan: $493 / $496
Utilities: $205 / $362
Auto Insurance: $332 / $209
Health Insurance: $345 / $114
Mobile Phone: $73 / $121
Cable and Internet: $73 / $122
Life Insurance: $211 / $87
Alarm and Security: $108 / $85

You can read more about how doxo puts together its report, here.