Utilities in Denver (apartments, renter, HOA)

[Hulohot675]

Hello,

I am European and I'm moving to Denver and I would like to know how much do people spend for month on average for utilities.
I also would like to know what they are (e.g. heating,water,sewer etc...)

Thank you

[bluescreen73]

Unfortunately that can vary a good deal depending on where you live. Typical utilities are water, sewer, trash, gas, and electric. Are you looking to buy or rent? Which parts of the metro area are you looking at?

[SkyDog77]

If you have a property identified, you can contact the utility companies and ask for averages for that location. (At least you used to be able to do this)

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Hulohot675

Hello,

I am European and I'm moving to Denver and I would like to know how much do people spend for month on average for utilities.
I also would like to know what they are (e.g. heating,water,sewer etc...)

Thank you

Depends on what kind of house, yard, and jurisdiction you’re in. If you do an apartment in Denver city limits, power shouldn’t be more than $50-75, and you’re wasting water if the bill is more than $20. Trash should be covered by the property manager. For an average freestanding house in central Denver, your energy bill, which usually combines gas and electric provided by Xcel, will run more in the range of $75-125, and you’re wasting water on a thirsty lawn if the bill runs much more than $75 in the summer. Compost is $30 per quarter, trash/recycling is a city service paid with property taxes.

Outside Denver, trash/recycling is something like $35 per month, no compost option. I think many places even have sewer bills. Water tends to be more expensive too.

Unlimited high speed internet is going to run ~$50-90 anywhere in the metro depending on the providers available and what kind of promotionals you get.

[Hulohot675]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Unfortunately that can vary a good deal depending on where you live. Typical utilities are water, sewer, trash, gas, and electric. Are you looking to buy or rent? Which parts of the metro area are you looking at?

Thank you for the answer. I-m looking for a house to rent and I hope to find an house in the University Area. Reading the comments I think that i will spend around $ 130-180 with high-speed connection. Could it be reasonable?

Thank you

[Hulohot675]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

Depends on what kind of house, yard, and jurisdiction you’re in. If you do an apartment in Denver city limits, power shouldn’t be more than $50-75, and you’re wasting water if the bill is more than $20. Trash should be covered by the property manager. For an average freestanding house in central Denver, your energy bill, which usually combines gas and electric provided by Xcel, will run more in the range of $75-125, and you’re wasting water on a thirsty lawn if the bill runs much more than $75 in the summer. Compost is $30 per quarter, trash/recycling is a city service paid with property taxes.

Outside Denver, trash/recycling is something like $35 per month, no compost option. I think many places even have sewer bills. Water tends to be more expensive too.

Unlimited high speed internet is going to run ~$50-90 anywhere in the metro depending on the providers available and what kind of promotionals you get.

I am looking for an apartment to rent, possibly in the University Area. Thank you for the exhaustive comment, I think that with a high-speed connection I could reach $120-180/mo. Correct?

Thank you again

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by Hulohot675

I am looking for an apartment to rent, possibly in the University Area. Thank you for the exhaustive comment, I think that with a high-speed connection I could reach $120-180/mo. Correct?

Thank you again

How high a speed are you wanting? 2000Mbps would be that much, but my impression is that unless you’re doing multiplayer gaming while streaming Netflix at the same time and have a full smart house setup, half that speed isn’t noticeable, and it’s half the price haha

[otowi]

Originally Posted by Hulohot675

Hello,

I am European and I'm moving to Denver and I would like to know how much do people spend for month on average for utilities.
I also would like to know what they are (e.g. heating,water,sewer etc...)

Thank you

I do think it varies a lot by neighborhood. I am a bit south of Denver, and my gas, electric, and water are all provided by different utility companies - but I think that is unusual. My gas averages under $50/month - sometimes in winter it is a little higher, but average is under $50. My home is not large, though. Electric averages about $45/month, and my water/sewer averages $35/month - but I think some people on different companies pay quite a bit more for water especially in summer. My Internet is wrapped up with cable and phone, but Internet itself is maybe $50/month and is plenty fast for working at home and doing online meetings all the time. My home phone I forget how much it is, but cell is only $14/month but I don't use a ton of data. Cable is a bit high, imho, but I do use it. Trash is $15/month. I think for any of these there are some people who pay a lot more - the size of your home, usage, and provider all come into play.

[emm74]

In Denver, at least for now, for single family houses, trash collection is paid for via property taxes, there is not a separate charge (they are talking about changing that though).

Gas and electric is generally on one bill from Xcel. I think trying to find out average prices for that specific unit makes more sense than people guessing because it's so much variation based on size, how much you run heat or air conditioning, etc.

Apartments and condos typically don't have separate water bills in my experience and it's covered in the rent or in your monthly HOA fee. Single family houses pay a monthly water bill plus I think twice a year, there is also a separate sewer bill although the amount of that is linked to how much water you use.

Internet connection is separate from all of those, and really depends on what options are available where you live and what level service you choose. I have 1 gig which I don't need at all but the extra $20 per month is so my teenager doesn't complain about not having it. But no, even when he runs 4 or 5 devices at once, which is a daily occurrence, we still don't need a gig but he claims he can tell the difference so whatever. $20 is cheap to make my life easier! lol!

[daprara]

interWeb
all varries where you live in Denver. get what ever speed but reliability is an issue too. The comCast modem locked up once a mo. the outside wires on the street are pre war. The centuryLink fiber is improved reliability newer. I here the next wave is 10Gb internet but in the meantime Denver has 1Gb in some areas. I have not seen a proper map of centryLink 1Gb avaliability and generally that means it is not that avaliable in every neighborhood. ComCast 1Gb interweb is too expensive expensive. If your hung up on sports; research for a streaming service specalizing in this content. CenturyLink is rumored not have good customer support. Their 1Gb is $65. There is a 5G Home product becoming avaliable.

Water
tap fees for Denver Water are high. With no water used expect a $30-50 bill. The month of Feb the static water bill is adjusted. Avoide water use in Feburary. Residential single family summer water bill expect it to be >$100 and about $50 in the winter. Denver water likes to bill the proptery owner directly so landlord my choose to pay the bill themselves.

storm Water
there is a bi year tax on private proptery. Based on proptery land size not covered by structure and paving. The covid has really got this division of city gov down and they cant seem to getup. Have extra love when working with these peeps expect $100 - 300 per year. The landLord will pay the storm water tax

Xcel
covid has limited their customer support too. About half of their electric meters are new atuo read, the remaining are the old mechanical type. Their gas meters are pre war and very old rust covered. The company claims all these meters can be read auto magic. Go figure. A medium residental house expect $80 for fall and spring, low demand times, maybe $150 for high demand times; winter. Summer can be expensive too. An evaporitve cooler can reduce your summer costs. You have a choice. As a renter you will deal with Xcel directly for most situations.

very long term, energy avaliability will change. Natural gas may become less avaliable and or a high cost gas carbon free alternative something. Denver water sources are not inifinite.