From the Blog
San Antonio Utility Bills in 2026: What a Relocating Family Should Budget
For most relocating families, the utility budget is the line item nobody quotes, so here is the sourced version: average residential CPS Energy bills in San Antonio run roughly $140 to $150 a month, average residential electricity costs about 13 cents per kilowatt-hour over the last year, and the utility told reporters in July 2026 that no rate increase is planned. The last approved increase, 4.25% effective February 2024, added about $4.45 to the average monthly residential electric-and-gas bill. Here is what to actually plan for.
For most relocating families, the utility budget is the line item nobody quotes, so here is the sourced version: average residential CPS Energy bills in San Antonio run roughly $140 to $150 a month, average residential electricity costs about 13 cents per kilowatt-hour over the last year, and the utility told reporters in July 2026 that no rate increase is planned. The last approved increase, 4.25% effective February 2024, added about $4.45 to the average monthly residential electric-and-gas bill. Here is what to actually plan for.
This walks through the whole monthly cost picture, utilities included, with the same numbers.
On my channel: Cost of Living in San Antonio Texas: Property Taxes, Homeowners Insurance & Utilities
The headline number
A typical CPS Energy residential customer in San Antonio pays roughly $140 to $150 a month for electricity and gas combined, and the average residential electric rate runs about 13 cents per kilowatt-hour over the trailing 12 months. As of July 2026, CPS Energy told KSAT that no rate increase is planned, even with Texas bracing for a surge in demand. The honest read: rates have been stable since early 2024, and the bills that vary from home to home are driven by usage far more than by rate changes.
The last increase, measured
The most recent rate change came when the City Council approved a 4.25% increase in December 2023, effective February 1, 2024, which added about $4.45 a month to the average residential electric-and-gas bill. That tells you the scale we are talking about: not a dramatic jump, but not nothing either, and it is the reason the planning number should include a small buffer against the next cycle.
Why your bill will not be the average
The average hides a wide range. A 1,200-square-foot newer single-story home with good insulation bills far less than a 3,000-square-foot two-story with a pool and an older AC unit, and a Texas August can run double a mild January. Home size, ceiling height, window count, insulation, thermostat habits, and how many people are in the house all move the number more than the rate does.
The rest of the utility stack
In San Antonio, CPS Energy provides both electricity and natural gas on one bill. Water and wastewater come from the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), with its own tiered rates, and internet and trash are separate again. The cleanest way to see your real number is to ask for 12 months of utility history on the home you are considering, or have me pull it during due diligence, because the seller's actual bills beat any estimate.
How to model your bill before you move
Take the 12-month average on the home's disclosed bills, weight the summer months a little more heavily if you are moving mid-year, and compare homes of similar size on similar lots before you let a $50-a-month difference in utilities tip a $10,000 difference in price. Utility history is a quiet negotiating fact that most buyers never ask for, and it is free to request.
The honest monthly budget
A planning range, not a quote: electricity and gas alone land near that $140 to $150 average for a typical home, and the whole stack, including water, trash, and internet, usually lands in roughly the mid-$200s to mid-$400s a month for a typical 1,800- to 2,400-square-foot home, depending on usage and household size. The only way to tighten that range for your specific home is the history on the property itself.
Written by Phyllis Domingo
REALTOR® · TX License 745926 · 100+ homes sold · Helping families move well in San Antonio and the Hill Country since long before the hard part became normal.
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