Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Drops as Prices Fluctuate, J.D. Power Finds

Significant Gap Between Highest- and Lowest-Ranked Utilities Highlights Opportunity to Improve Customer Communications

The average water bill for a typical household in the United States has risen sharply from $95 in 2024 to $101 per month in 2025. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study,^SM released today, the increase in price has caused equal and opposite movements in customer satisfaction with the price paid to their local water utilities.

“Water utilities have been doing a better job of communicating and leveraging digital channels to connect with customers, but those improvements have been overshadowed by widespread customer frustration with huge price fluctuations,” said John Hazen, managing director of utilities intelligence at J.D. Power. “While some utilities are finding ways to overcome that challenge by communicating frequently and proactively about keeping water supplies safe and reliable, others are simply not communicating effectively, which results in extremely low levels of customer satisfaction.”

Following are some key findings of the 2025 study:

• Declines in customer satisfaction driven by price fluctuations: Overall customer satisfaction with water utilities is 515 (on a 1,000-point scale), down 2 points from the 2024 study. This is driven largely by an 8-point decline in satisfaction with cost. During the study period, the average monthly water bill increased by $6.

• Proactive efforts paying off to help customers lower their bills: Overall satisfaction is 161 points higher when water utility customers believe their utility helped to lower their bill than when they say their utility did not help lower their bill. Additionally, customer awareness of utility efforts to improve the effect on the environment are associated with a 110-point increase in customer satisfaction.

• Significant gap between utilities: The gap in overall satisfaction scores between the top-performing utility in the study and the lowest-performing utility in the study is 212 points, highlighting how different approaches to customer engagement, communications and water delivery can result in significantly different customer experiences.

Study Rankings

The study measures customer satisfaction with water utilities in eight geographic regions. Highest-ranked utilities and scores, by region, are as follows:

• Midwest Large: Greater Cincinnati Water Works (558) (for a second consecutive year)
• Midwest Midsize: Metropolitan Utilities District (Omaha) (571) (for a second consecutive year)
• Northeast Large: New Jersey American Water (559) (for a second consecutive year)
• Northeast Midsize: Regional Water Authority (Connecticut) (568)
• South Large: Fairfax Water (573)
• South Midsize: Cobb County Water System (584) (for a third consecutive year)
• West Large: Seattle Public Utilities (569) (for a second consecutive year)
• West Midsize: Irvine Ranch Water District (574) (for a fourth consecutive year)

See the full rank charts for each region at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2025044.

The U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, now in its ninth year, measures satisfaction among residential customers of 91 water utilities that deliver water to populations of at least 400,000 and results are reported for eight geographic regions in two size categories: Midwest Large; Midwest Midsize; Northeast Large; Northeast Midsize; South Large; South Midsize; West Large; and West Midsize. Overall satisfaction is measured by examining eight core dimensions on a poor-to-perfect 6-point rating scale. Individual dimensions measured are (in order of importance): information provided; level of trust; quality and reliability; ease of doing business; total monthly costs; people; resolving problems or complaints; and digital channels. This year’s study is based on the responses of 33,476 residential water utility customers and was conducted from May 2024 through March 2025.

For more information about the U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/utilities/water-utility-residential-customer-satisfaction-study.

About J.D. Power

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies.

J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto-shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com.

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250507019274/en/