10 U.S. Cities Where Lawn Watering Costs the Most—and How to Spend Less Where You Live

Due to record temperatures, drought conditions, and rising water costs, homeowners across the U.S. are shelling out more money than ever to keep their lawns green—with some cities spending more than others.

Lawn Love has ranked the places around the country where it costs the most to water a lawn. After reviewing nearly 500 of the largest U.S. cities, comparing the affordability of local water bills, average yard sizes, drought risks, grass water requirements, and other key metrics, here's what the lawn care company found.

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities for Watering the Lawn

1. Buckeye, Arizona
2. Goodyear, Arizona
3. Brownsville, Texas
4. Yuma, Arizona
5. Tucson, Arizona
6. Surprise, Arizona
7. Mission, Texas
8. Avondale, Arizona
9. Glendale, Arizona
10. Gilbert, Arizona

Not surprisingly, Arizona dominates the list, with 12 of the 15 priciest spots for lawn watering. The state's dry conditions and high water costs have led many homeowners to embrace xeriscaping, which uses drought-tolerant plants, rocks, and little to no grass, according to Lawn Love.

Cities across states like Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, and Michigan, including Akron, Boston, Syracuse, and Ann Arbor, finished in the bottom 100, thanks to frequent rain, milder summers, and lower grass watering requirements.

Lawn Love ranked 498 cities. Check the full list to find out where your city falls.

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Tips for Saving Money on Lawn Care

Record heat, shrinking reservoirs, and soaring energy prices have sent U.S. water bills to new highs in 2025, forcing many cities to tighten lawn watering rules or ban non-essential turf. To help homeowners reduce water and costs, Lawn Love asked a panel of experts for their tips on cutting down on outdoor water use while still keeping landscapes sustainable. Here's what they had to say.

Set a Seasonal Watering Schedule

R. Troy Peters, P.E., Ph.D., professor and extension irrigation engineer at Washington State University's Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, explained to Lawn Love that the water needs of grass change drastically throughout the season. "Most home lawn and garden irrigators over-irrigate in the spring, they might under-irrigate during the middle part of the summer, and then over-irrigate again in the fall." So determine how much water your lawn needs and when it needs it to help save resources.

Don't Water Every Day

Peters recommends not irrigating every day because a lot of water will be lost to evaporation. Instead, figure out how much water your soil can hold, and don’t irrigate again until that water has been used up. Most soils can hold about an inch of water in the shallower root area of lawn grass, he explains. It takes anywhere from 4 days to 3 weeks to use one inch of water, depending on where you live, what time of year it is, and what the weather is like. Also, depending on the season and weather, change the length of time between irrigations instead of how much water is applied each time.

Charles Swanson, licensed landscape irrigator in Texas, who was also interviewed for the report, says to water deeply and less often. "This helps encourage deeper root systems in plants, which makes them more resilient during drought periods and able to maximize their storage of rainfall." He also suggests dividing irrigation time into 2 or 3 short cycles throughout the day to allow more time for water to infiltrate deeper into the soil with less chance of becoming runoff.

Check Your Sprinkler System

Both Peters and Swanson recommend checking your irrigation system regularly for leaks and damaged hardware that can waste water, such as sprinklers irrigating streets and sidewalks.

Plus, Swanson says that you should operate the sprinklers at the correct pressure to increase efficiency and reduce the amount of water needed to maintain a healthy landscape. "Operating sprinklers at pressures higher than recommended by the manufacturer can result in higher evaporation from misting sprinklers as well as wind drift losses." He also suggests investing in smart controllers and rain and soil moisture sensors to prevent unnecessary watering.

Embrace the Brown Grass

Swanson explains that during the summer and drought periods, grasses are naturally going to discolor and lose their green lushness. "This doesn’t mean the grass has died, but it is simply adapting to its current level of drought stress. If homeowners are willing to accept this temporary decrease in plant quality during drought periods, they can save significant amounts of water. These drought-tolerant grasses are also generally very quick to recover once it does rain."