As of: 2026-10-18
Seven North Carolina utilities publish a residential water and sewer schedule that can be computed at one shared usage. Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Concord stay on the table because a bill could not be built from the schedule that was public.
Key figures
Own analysis of published North Carolina utility rate cards at 6 Ccf (4,488 gallons), stormwater excluded; method: section “Methodology”; totals computed from each utility’s published rates.
Every computable row uses the same inside-city house meter and the same volume. Stormwater stays out. The dollar columns are the rates that enter the bill, then the total.
| City | Utility | Bill | Status | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | City of Winston-Salem | 68.95 | computed | schedule covers this usage |
| Greensboro | City of Greensboro | 72.72 | computed | schedule covers this usage |
| Charlotte | Charlotte Water | 81.21 | computed | the rate card states this total |
| Durham | City of Durham | 86.92 | computed | the city calculator returns this total |
| Cary | Town of Cary | 88.23 | computed | water base and sewer base are each charged |
| Wilmington | Cape Fear Public Utility Authority | 90.89 | computed | schedule covers this usage |
| High Point | City of High Point | 93.90 | computed | schedule covers this usage |
| Raleigh | City of Raleigh | — | not computable from the published schedule | sewer and the monthly base were not in the extract of the published schedule |
| Fayetteville | Fayetteville Public Works Commission | — | not computable from the published schedule | the public water file is irrigation service, not domestic water |
| Concord | City of Concord | — | not computable from the published schedule | the monthly base lines could not be assigned to a house meter |
A bill far above these usually means a leak — see leak detection when the meter moves with every fixture off.
The meter check and the toilet-tank check are on the leak detection guide.
| City | Water charge used | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | first block, per gallon | 0.00373 |
| Winston-Salem | second block, per gallon | 0.00578 |
| Greensboro | first block, per unit | 3.56 |
| Greensboro | second block, per unit | 5.13 |
| Durham | first block, per Ccf | 2.98 |
| Durham | second block, per Ccf | 4.50 |
| Durham | third block, per Ccf | 4.93 |
| Charlotte | first block, per Ccf | 2.11 |
| Charlotte | second block, per Ccf | 2.73 |
| Cary | first block, per thousand gallons | 5.46 |
| Wilmington | per thousand gallons | 5.95 |
| High Point | per unit | 3.89 |
| City | Sewer charge used | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | per gallon of water | 0.00678 |
| Greensboro | per unit | 5.70 |
| Durham | per Ccf | 6.40 |
| Charlotte | per Ccf of water, through the cap on that card | 6.88 |
| Cary | per thousand gallons | 11.69 |
| Wilmington | per thousand gallons of water | 5.77 |
| High Point | per unit | 6.77 |
| City | Monthly base | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | water readiness | 8.14 |
| Winston-Salem | sewer readiness | 10.59 |
| Greensboro | water, smallest house meter | 6.57 |
| Greensboro | wastewater, smallest house meter | 5.88 |
| Durham | water service | 11.48 |
| Durham | sewer service | 12.65 |
| Charlotte | water monthly base | 6.75 |
| Charlotte | sewer monthly base | 6.75 |
| Charlotte | water availability | 1.53 |
| Charlotte | sewer availability | 11.00 |
| Cary | water base | 5.63 |
| Cary | sewer base | 5.63 |
| Wilmington | water base | 20.17 |
| Wilmington | sewer base | 18.12 |
| High Point | water base | 11.75 |
| High Point | sewer base | 18.19 |
| Piece | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ccf counted | 6 |
| Gallons in one Ccf | 748 |
| Gallons counted | 4,488 |
What is not measured
Stormwater, solid waste, irrigation, and one-time connection fees sit outside every total. Outside-city rates sit outside. Volume blocks above this usage sit outside, so a higher block on a card is not applied. A sewer-only charge on the Wilmington card is for customers who do not buy water. The High Point file also prints a per-cubic-foot table marked proposed; the adopted per-unit table is the one used. Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Concord are not computable from the published schedule. Raleigh's published schedule did not yield sewer and monthly base lines in the extract that could be read. Fayetteville's public water file is irrigation service, not domestic water. Concord's monthly base lines could not be assigned to a house meter.
Methodology
Computed by charlotte-plumbing.com from each utility's published rates, effective 2026-07-01 for Charlotte, Cary, Greensboro, Wilmington, and Winston-Salem; effective 2026-08-01 for Durham; effective 2025-10-01 for High Point; inside-city residential, smallest meter, 6 Ccf (4,488 gallons); stormwater, solid waste and irrigation excluded. Charlotte Water rates supply the Charlotte lines and the gallon definition of a Ccf. A total that does not land on a cent is rounded to the cent at the end. Charlotte's total is the figure that page states. The other totals are arithmetic from the rates in the tables above. The line-by-line sum is stored on each bill's fact row.
FAQ
Is a lower total a ranking?
No, the number is the computed bill at one usage and it is not a ranking.
Why do three cities have no total?
Each of those rows is not computable from the published schedule, and the comparison table states the reason.
Does the total include stormwater?
No, stormwater, solid waste, and irrigation are excluded.