Baytown's water bill vs. the neighbors: where $96.10 lands

How we compared

A water bill is hard to compare because every city builds it differently. Some charge a flat fee that includes the first few thousand gallons. Some bill sewer on 90 percent of water use or on a winter average. A few bill by the hundred cubic feet instead of by the gallon.

So we put every city on the same footing: one single-family home inside the city limits, a standard 5/8-inch meter, and exactly 5,000 gallons of water in a month, with sewer counted on the same 5,000 gallons unless the city's own rule says otherwise. We used each city's own published rate schedule and did the math line by line. Garbage, drainage fees and taxes are left out for every city, because cities bundle them so differently.

Baytown's figure uses the new rates that start with the first full billing cycle after October 1, 2026. Our story on the new rates has every line.

The ranking

Monthly water plus sewer at 5,000 gallons, highest first:

• Houston: $124.29 ($53.70 water, $70.59 sewer).
• Austin: $112.27 ($39.71 water, $72.56 sewer).
• Pearland: $100.37 ($42.69 water, $57.68 sewer).
• Baytown: $96.10 ($44.63 water, $51.47 sewer).
• Friendswood: $90.85 ($34.35 water, $56.50 sewer).
• Seabrook: $88.87 ($44.28 water, $44.59 sewer).
• Deer Park: $81.26 ($37.81 water, $43.45 sewer).
• El Paso: $76.95 ($37.21 water, $39.74 sewer).
• Bellaire: $72.26 ($34.05 water, $38.21 sewer).
• League City: $72.11 ($33.74 water, $38.37 sewer).
• Fort Worth: $66.25 ($29.61 water, $36.64 sewer).
• Mont Belvieu: $60.82 ($30.41 water, $30.41 sewer).
• Dallas: $55.71 ($19.42 water, $36.29 sewer).
• San Antonio: $53.57 ($28.38 water, $25.19 sewer).
• Pasadena: $49.61 ($25.80 water, $23.81 sewer).
• La Porte: $35.64 ($16.89 water, $18.75 sewer).

Both halves of Baytown's bill sit near the top of the list.

What the numbers say

Both halves of Baytown's bill sit near the top of the list. Baytown's water charge of $44.63 is close to Seabrook's and Pearland's, and that makes it the second-highest water charge of the 16, behind only Houston. Its sewer charge of $51.47 is higher than Deer Park's, Seabrook's, Bellaire's and League City's, and more than twice what Pasadena or La Porte charge. Only Houston, Austin, Pearland and Friendswood charge more for sewer, and Friendswood drops below Baytown if its minimum includes any gallons (see the fine print). Sewer is what rose most this year.

Houston tops the list on both halves of the bill: the highest water charge, $53.70, and the second-highest sewer charge, $70.59, where sewer climbs to $15.20 per thousand gallons after the first 3,000. Austin's sewer charge is the highest of all at $72.56.

The cheapest bills belong to nearby Ship Channel cities. La Porte and Pasadena come in at roughly a third and a half of Baytown's bill. Mont Belvieu, just to the north, includes the first 4,000 gallons of water and of sewer in its minimum charges.

How Baytown got here

Baytown's sewer charge rose about 12.4 percent this year and its water charge about 4.5 percent, at 5,000 gallons. The city said the increase pays for costlier wholesale water, maintenance, supplies, equipment and staff, and ties it to investment in infrastructure. Several neighbors on this list were still billing last year's rates in October, so some of the gap may narrow when their new schedules post.

The national picture

A clean national comparison is hard to find without a paid subscription. Bluefield Research's index of the 50 largest U.S. cities put the average monthly water and sewer bill at about $120.69 in 2023, but the public summary does not state how much water that bill assumes, so it is a rough guide, not a match for our 5,000-gallon test, and bills have risen about 5 percent a year since.

Read the fine print

Some cities' newest rates were not posted yet, so their figures are the latest schedule in effect: - Pasadena and Pearland still show their 2025-26 schedules. Pasadena's rates adjust each October by inflation, and Pearland says its new rates first appear on November bills. - La Porte's and Friendswood's rate pages carry no effective date. - Seabrook's posted water and sewer rates date from 2020. - Bellaire's figure uses its FY2027 schedule, which was before its council on September 21. - Austin's water figure did not exactly match Austin's own sample bill, which runs a few dollars higher at slightly higher use; that does not change Baytown's rank. - Mont Belvieu's latest posted sheet is for 2025-26. - Fort Worth and San Antonio changed rates in January; Fort Worth's next change is January 2027. - Friendswood's sewer page does not say whether its $32 minimum includes any gallons. If it includes 3,000, Friendswood falls to $76.15.

Before you go

• Check your own bill's gallons; most households use more or less than 5,000 a month.
• Remember garbage and drainage are extra on every bill here, and Baytown's are separate lines.
• Fix leaks before winter if your city bills sewer on a winter average.

More Baytown by the numbers: Same house, different city: what property tax really costs around Houston; Homes cost less here. Renters feel the same squeeze as everywhere.; Baytown's sewer case: four years of talks, and what it means for your bill.

Sources

• City of Baytown, Ordinance FY27 Utility Rates, council item 7.h, September 24, 2026 (https://public.destinyhosted.com/baytodocs/2026/CC%20Regular/20260910_3843/28632_Adopting%20FY27%20Utility%20Rates%2009.02.26.pdf)
• City of Houston, water bill calculator, rates April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 (https://www.houstonwaterbills.houstontx.gov/)
• City of Pasadena, FY 2026 Schedule of Rates (https://www.pasadenatx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7167/FY-2026-Schedule-of-Rates-PDF)
• City of La Porte, Water and Sewer Rates (https://www.laportetx.gov/512/Water-Sewer-Rates)
• City of Deer Park, water and sewer rate schedule (https://www.deerparktx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16127/Deer-Park-WS-Rates-09302025)
• City of League City, Current Residential Utility Rates (https://www.leaguecitytx.gov/3371/Current-Residential-Utility-Rates)
• City of Pearland, Water Rates (https://www.pearlandtx.gov/departments/water-billing/water-rate)
• City of Friendswood, Water Rates and Sewer Rates (https://www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/225/Water-Rates)
• City of Mont Belvieu, Residential Single Family rates (https://www.montbelvieu.net/522/Residential-Single-Family)
• City of Seabrook, Water, Sewer and Garbage Rates (http://www.seabrooktx.gov/441/Water-Sewer-and-Garbage-Rates)
• City of Bellaire, FY2027 Schedule of Fees and Charges, September 21, 2026 council packet (https://bellairetx.civicweb.net/document/277888/)
• Austin Water, Residential rates 2027 (https://austin.widen.net/view/pdf/dtd6w5hyzo/ResidentialPublicRates_2027.pdf)
• Dallas Water Utilities, monthly rate sheet (http://dallascityhall.com/departments/waterutilities/DCH%20Documents/monthly_rate_sheet.pdf)
• San Antonio Water System, residential water service rates (https://www.saws.org/service/water-sewer-rates/residential-water-service/)
• City of Fort Worth, water rates (https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/water/rates)
• El Paso Water, rates and fees (https://www.epwater.org/residential/billing-and-rates/rates-and-fees)
• Bluefield Research, U.S. Municipal Water and Sewer Rate Index, via WaterWorld (https://www.waterworld.com/water-utility-management/press-release/14302301/typical-household-water-sewer-bills-increased-56-since-2012)

En español

Con 5,000 galones al mes, el nuevo cobro de agua y alcantarillado de Baytown, de $96.10, es el cuarto más alto entre 16 ciudades de Texas que comparamos. Houston es el más caro, con $124.29, seguido de Austin y Pearland. Los más baratos son La Porte, con $35.64, y Pasadena, con $49.61. El cobro de agua de Baytown es el segundo más alto de las 16 ciudades y el de alcantarillado el quinto; el alcantarillado, de $51.47, subió cerca de 12.4 por ciento este año. Usamos las tarifas publicadas por cada ciudad, sin contar basura, drenaje ni impuestos. Algunas ciudades todavía no publican sus tarifas nuevas, así que sus cifras pueden cambiar.