Discover The Most Expensive Cities For Lawn Watering

This time of the year, three things are on the rise in our neck of the woods: the outside temperatures, electric bills, and, if you have a yard, water bills.

So, where is lawn watering the biggest drain on homeowners’ budgets?

Recently, Lawn Love looked looked at things like drought risk, precipitation rates, and growing season length and factored in yard size, how water-intensive the region’s most common grass types are, and whether rainwater harvesting systems are restricted or incentivized to rank the Most Expensive Cities for Watering Your Lawn in 2026.

Not surprisingly, the cities where watering is the biggest drain on budgets are located in the southwest, where extreme heat dominates much of the year.

MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES TO WATER YOUR LAWN

Scottsdale, Arizona
Henderson, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Tucson, Arizona
Buckeye, Arizona
North Las Vegas, Nevada
Yuma, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Mission, Texas
Glendale, Arizona

On the other end of the spectrum, the most affordable cities for watering are in areas with much more tepid climates.

LEAST EXPENSIVE CITIES TO WATER YOUR LAWN

Columbus, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Parma, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Alexandria, Virginia
Akron, Ohio
Newport News, Virginia
Washington DC
Norfolk, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia

South Dakota's two largest cities - Sioux Falls and Rapid City are among the most affordable in America. Sioux Falls is the 25th cheapest place in America, while Rapid City landed just outside the Top 50 at number 51.

Across the 500 largest U.S. cities, households spend an average of 1.15% of their yearly income on water bills. Overall, water and sewer bills across the U.S. increased by 5.1% in 2025, outpacing inflation.

Currently, 47 of the 50 states, including South Dakota, are in drought, impacting over 153 million Americans.

Average annual spending on water bills across the 500 largest U.S. cities in 2024 was $970.

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