Toledoans unhappy with water utility prices, report shows

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo water utility customers are unsatisfied with prices that have risen over the past year, according to a 2025 study from Michigan-based research company J.D. Power.

The cause-and-effect trend of rising prices and unhappy customers is reflected nationwide. But, Toledo has the worst overall residential customer satisfaction compared to other midsize, Midwest water utility providers that deliver to populations of at least 400,000.

“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,” the report, released on Wednesday, says.

The report gathered data from five other water utilities in Toledo’s category and ranked them on a 1,000-point scale based on the following factors: “information provided; level of trust; quality and reliability; ease of doing business; total monthly costs; people; resolving problems or complaints; and digital channels.”

Toledo scored 466 points, nine points lower than KC Water in Kansas City, Missouri. The Metropolitan Utilities District in Omaha, Nebraska, ranked the highest in the category with 571 points. The national average is 515 points.

For its part, Toledo had a 16-point increase in customer satisfaction from last year’s survey, which J.D. Power says was heavily influenced by nationwide concerns with water safety. Omaha again scored the highest in the midsize, Midwest category last year.

Nationwide, the study polled 33,476 customers from May 2024 to March 2025.

A city of Toledo spokesperson provided the following statement in response to J.D. Power’s study:

“We have definitely seen that our customers are feeling the financial squeeze—both electric and gas rates have gone up as the cost of living continues to increase.

In the past year alone, the City’s Department of Public Utilities has helped residents keep their water bills affordable by introducing low-income and senior discounts, as well as tools like Smart Meters and the MyTOL Portal that help customers monitor and manage their water use to keep bills low.

We’d encourage anyone having trouble affording their bill to visit our website to learn about available resources. We’re here to help.“

When it comes to conclusions to be drawn, J.D. Power’s findings show satisfaction scored higher if the customer felt like their utility provider tried to keep their costs low.

“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,” the study says.