Apartment Utility Costs in Jacksonville, Explained With JEA Rates

If your Jacksonville apartment has a JEA electric meter in your name, a 1,000 kWh month costs $161.55 under the rates that took effect on 1 October 2026: $142.41 of electricity and $19.14 of Duval County taxes and franchise charges. Almost every number below comes from JEA's own published rate schedule, because JEA is municipally owned and files its tariff publicly, which makes Jacksonville one of the few rental markets where you can work out your utility bill before you sign.

What JEA charges for electricity, line by line

The basic monthly charge is $21.00. You pay it whether you use one kilowatt-hour or three thousand. JEA's Rate Schedule RS, which covers houses, individually metered apartments and mobile homes alike, lists it as both the basic charge and the minimum bill.

The energy charge is tiered at 1,000 kWh. The first 1,000 kWh in a billing month cost $0.07815 per kWh. Everything above that costs $0.09705 per kWh, a 24 per cent step up. The tier resets monthly, so a hot August does not raise the price of a mild November.

The fuel charge is separate and moves monthly. Sheet No. 20.0 of the tariff sets it monthly, to recover actual fuel expenditure rather than a figure fixed for the year. On the rate card effective 1 October 2026 it is $0.04326 per kWh, applied at both tiers.

Add them and you get the two numbers to keep: $0.12141 per kWh below 1,000 kWh and $0.14031 above it.

What a month of electricity actually costs, at real usage levels

These totals use the rates above plus the three Duval County add-ons explained next. Find the figure nearest your own meter reading.

At 500 kWh: $21.00 basic, $39.07 energy, $21.63 fuel, a subtotal of $81.70 and $92.97 all in. That is 18.59 cents per kWh, the dearest effective rate here, because the fixed $21.00 is spread over so little usage.

At 800 kWh: $118.13 of charges and $134.12 all in, or 16.76 cents per kWh. At 1,000 kWh: $142.41 of charges and $161.55 all in, 16.16 cents.

At 1,500 kWh the second tier bites: $126.67 energy, $64.89 fuel, $212.56 of charges, $241.11 all in, 16.07 cents. At 2,000 kWh it is $320.67. Above 1,000 kWh the effective rate barely moves, because the fixed charge stops mattering and tier two takes over.

For context, the U.S. Energy Information Administration put average Florida residential consumption at 1,104 kWh a month in 2024, on a bill of $156.09, from Form EIA-861 data. That includes detached houses, so treat it as a ceiling, not a target.

The taxes and fees that turn $142.41 into $161.55

A 3 per cent franchise fee and a 2.5641 per cent gross receipts tax. Sheet No. 24.0 sets the franchise fee at 3 per cent of total electric charges inside the City of Jacksonville, not grossed up; Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Orange Park and Clay County pay 6.5574 per cent. The gross receipts tax is levied under Chapter 203, Florida Statutes. On $142.41 they come to $4.27 and $3.65.

A 10 per cent public service tax, authorised by Chapter 792 of the City of Jacksonville Ordinance Code and s. 166.231, Florida Statutes. Sheet No. 25.0 defines its base as your electric charges plus the gross receipts tax plus the franchise fee, less the non-taxable fuel component, which JEA puts at all but 0.511 cents of the 4.326 cent fuel charge. At 1,000 kWh that leaves a base of about $112.18 and a tax of about $11.22.

There is no state sales tax on home electricity. Florida Statutes s. 212.08(7)(j) exempts utilities sold to residential households, which is why 6.95 to 7.95 per cent sales tax appears on JEA's commercial rate cards and not the residential one. The exemption is written to survive the apartment question: it applies "regardless of whether such sales of utilities and fuels are separately metered and billed direct to the residents or are metered and billed to the landlord."

Water and sewer, where sewer is the larger line

JEA bills water and sewer separately, and both have a fixed and a variable part. On the standard five-eighths inch residential meter the water base charge is $13.77 and the sewer base charge $17.03: $30.80 before a single gallon moves.

Water consumption is tiered by thousand gallons: $1.50 per kgal for the first 4, $3.35 for 5 to 8, $5.75 for 9 to 15, and $7.23 above 15.

Sewer has no tiers and no published cap on the residential rate card. Every thousand gallons is charged at $5.82, just under four times the first-tier water rate. This is what surprises people who have rented elsewhere.

Work a real month. At 4 kgal, water is $13.77 plus $6.00, so $19.77. Sewer is $17.03 plus $23.28, so $40.31, or 67 per cent of the pre-tax total. Duval County adds a 3 per cent franchise fee on water and sewer and a 10 per cent public service tax on water only, bringing it to $63.86. The same sum gives $48.48 at 2 kgal, $83.42 at 6 kgal and $102.98 at 8 kgal. Sewer stays around two-thirds throughout, so the only lever is total water use.

A direct JEA account versus RUBS, and why it decides everything

Option one is a direct account. You open a JEA account in your own name, JEA reads a meter assigned to your home, and the bill carries the tariff numbers above. You can check every line, dispute a reading, and your own consumption is the only thing that moves it.

Option two is ratio utility billing, or RUBS. The community holds one master account, pays one bill, then divides it among residents by formula. You are not buying water from JEA. You are reimbursing your landlord for a share of a bill you never see.

Electricity is usually the exception, and there is a rule behind that. Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.049(5) requires individual electric metering by the utility for each separate occupancy unit of new residential buildings, grandfathering units permitted before, and master-metered continuously since, 1 January 1981. Note its limit: s. 366.11, Florida Statutes keeps most of Chapter 366, including that rule's authority, from applying to municipal utilities such as JEA. What binds JEA is its own tariff, and Rate Schedule RS states plainly that "resale of energy purchased under this rate schedule is not permitted."

Citigate's published fee schedule records electricity, water, sewer and trash as usage-based variable charges, required and not included in rent, with no fixed amount recorded. That tells you the charges exist and vary, not which mechanism applies to each. Ask the leasing office before you pay an application fee.

How an allocation formula works, and what you can actually verify

A RUBS formula allocates, it does not measure. The community takes the master bill, usually deducts an estimate for irrigation, pools and common areas, then splits the remainder across occupied homes on a stated basis: square footage, occupant count, bedroom count or a blend. A third-party billing company normally runs it and adds a per-home service charge.

Here is the arithmetic in the open. A property gets a $21,000 master water and sewer bill, deducts 12 per cent for irrigation and common areas, and allocates the remaining $18,480 by square footage across 285 occupied homes totalling 310,000 square feet. That is $0.0596 per square foot, so an 804 square foot one-bedroom is billed $47.92 and a 1,411 square foot three-bedroom $84.10, before any administrative fee. Every input is an illustration, not a Citigate figure, because none are published.

What you can verify. Ask in writing for the allocation basis, the master bill total, the common-area deduction, the number of homes it was divided among, and the administrative fee, then check that your share tracks the master bill.

What you cannot verify. Your own consumption, because nothing measured it. Under a square-footage formula, two people working from home in a 1,202 square foot two-bedroom pay no more than one person who travels four nights a week in the same plan, and a neighbour's leaking toilet is billed to all.

One legal consequence worth knowing. Florida Statutes s. 83.43 defines rent as the periodic payments due for occupancy "and any other payments due the landlord from the tenant as may be designated as rent in a written rental agreement." If your lease designates a utility allocation as rent, withholding a disputed charge is withholding rent.

A worked monthly estimate for Citigate floor plans

Citigate listed 33 homes across 13 floor plans on 13 October 2026, and the sizes below come from those listings on the Citigate community page. The usage figures are stated assumptions, not published data. Swap in your own.

One-bedroom, 804 to 861 square feet, listed at $1,409 to $1,569. Assume 650 kWh in a mild month, 1,100 kWh in August, 2 kgal of water. Winter electricity is $99.92 of charges and $113.54 all in. August crosses the tier: $87.85 energy, $47.59 fuel, $156.44 of charges, $177.46 all in. Water and sewer is $48.48. So roughly $162 in winter and $226 in August, 10 to 16 per cent on top of listed rent.

Two-bedroom, 1,097 to 1,202 square feet, listed at $1,599 to $1,884. Assume 850 kWh, 1,450 kWh and 4 kgal. Electricity is $140.98 and $233.15, water and sewer $63.86: call it $205 in winter and $297 in August.

Three-bedroom, 1,411 square feet, listed at $1,975 to $2,005. Assume 1,000 kWh, 1,750 kWh and 6 kgal. Electricity is $161.55 and $280.89, water and sewer $83.42: call it $245 in winter and $364 in August. The layouts are set out in the three-bedroom guide for Jacksonville.

The spread is the point. On these assumptions August electricity runs 56 to 74 per cent above winter, driven by cooling load and by crossing the 1,000 kWh tier, so budget to the August figure. The wider area picture is in the Southside Jacksonville rental guide.

Internet in Southside Jacksonville, and how to check your exact address

Citigate's published fee schedule records no internet or technology line. Communities differ: Sorrel in East Arlington records a required "Internet and Technology Service" charge of $60.00 a month, included in rent. Citigate's schedule has no equivalent entry, which points to residents arranging service themselves. Confirm it, because fee schedules change.

Two national providers publish Jacksonville service pages of their own. AT&T maintains a Jacksonville home internet page and states on it that AT&T Fiber is of limited availability by area. Comcast publishes an Xfinity Jacksonville page and lists stores in the city, including one on Atlantic Boulevard in 32225. Neither proves service at a specific door.

Check the address, not the city. The Federal Communications Commission runs the National Broadband Map at broadbandmap.fcc.gov, which reports what each provider has told the FCC it can serve at a given address. Use it first, confirm with the provider's own address checker, then check with the leasing office that the building is wired for it. Ignore advertised pricing until you have an install date: promotional rates expire, equipment and regulatory fees are added separately, and none of it is filed in a public tariff the way JEA's rates are.

What to ask before you sign

Ask four questions and write the answers down. Is electricity billed by JEA directly or through the community. Is water and sewer a direct account or an allocation, and if an allocation, on what basis and fee. Is trash flat or allocated. And is any of it designated as rent. Then check your first three bills: on a direct JEA account every figure should reconcile to the cent.

Insurance is the other recurring Florida cost that catches renters out. Our companion piece on what renters insurance costs in Jacksonville and what it excludes covers the flood and hurricane deductible rules no utility bill prepares you for.

This guide is general information and not legal, tax or financial advice. Tariffs, franchise fees and local taxes change, and JEA sets its fuel charge monthly. Confirm the current rate schedule with JEA and the billing arrangement with the leasing office before relying on any figure here. Listings and the recorded fee schedule sit on the Citigate homepage, with more in what renters should know about Citigate.

Citigate is an AIR Communities property, and this guide is published by the community. Pricing, availability and fees were checked against the community's own published listings on 13 October 2026 and change frequently. Rates come from JEA's published rate card effective 1 October 2026 and JEA's electric tariff filed with the Florida Public Service Commission, both read on 13 October 2026, with statutory references from Florida Statutes s. 212.08, s. 83.43 and s. 366.11, Florida Administrative Code Rule 25-6.049, and consumption data from U.S. Energy Information Administration Form EIA-861 for 2024. Confirm current terms with the leasing office before making a decision.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the average electric bill for an apartment in Jacksonville?

At JEA's rates effective 1 October 2026, 800 kWh costs $134.12 all in and 1,000 kWh costs $161.55. The EIA put the 2024 Florida residential average at 1,104 kWh and $156.09, across all housing types.

What is JEA's electric rate per kWh?

Energy is $0.07815 per kWh for the first 1,000 kWh and $0.09705 above that, plus $0.04326 of fuel at both tiers, giving $0.12141 and $0.14031, on a $21.00 basic monthly charge.

Why is my JEA bill higher than the rate card suggests?

Duval County residential bills carry a 3 per cent franchise fee, a 2.5641 per cent gross receipts tax and a 10 per cent public service tax on taxable base revenue. On a 1,000 kWh month that adds $19.14 to $142.41.

Do Jacksonville renters pay sales tax on electricity?

No. Florida Statutes s. 212.08(7)(j) exempts utilities sold to residential households, whether metered to you or your landlord. Sales tax appears only on JEA's commercial schedules.

Is sewer really more expensive than water in Jacksonville?

Yes. Sewer is $5.82 per thousand gallons on a $17.03 base, against a first-tier water rate of $1.50 on a $13.77 base. Across 2 to 8 kgal it is 63 to 67 per cent of the pre-tax bill.

What is RUBS and is it legal in Florida?

RUBS is ratio utility billing: the community pays one master bill and allocates it by formula, such as square footage or occupancy, rather than metering each home. It is used in Florida, and your protection is what the lease discloses.

How can I check whether a RUBS charge is correct?

Ask in writing for the allocation basis, the master bill total, any common-area deduction, the number of homes it was split across, and the fee. You can audit the share, but not your consumption.

Does Citigate include utilities in the rent?

No. The published fee schedule records electricity, water, sewer and trash as usage-based variable charges, required and not included in rent, with no fixed amount. It does not say which are direct JEA accounts, so ask the leasing office.

What should I budget for utilities on a two-bedroom in Jacksonville?

On the assumptions worked above for a 1,097 to 1,202 square foot two-bedroom, about $205 in winter and $297 in August for electricity, water and sewer.

Who do I contact to start utility service in Jacksonville?

JEA is the municipal provider of electricity, water and sewer across Duval County and takes residential accounts directly. If your community allocates water, you may not open a JEA water account at all.