The average shower uses around 16 gallons of water. This means that across the country, Americans are using more than one trillion gallons of water a year for showering.
Keep reading for more sobering shower statistics and tips on how to save water and energy while taking a shower.
1. How many gallons of water is used per shower by the average user?
(EPA)
The average shower uses at least 16 gallons of water. This depends on the water flow of the showerhead and the length of the shower. Thus, with an average showerhead, which uses 2.1 gallons of water per minute, an eight-minute shower will use around 15.8 gallons of water.
The average family spends 40 gallons of water showering a day. This translates to almost 1.2 trillion gallons of water used nationwide each year.
2. How much do showers take up from average water use?
(The Water Research Foundation)
Showers account for 20% of indoor residential water use and along with faucets are the second leading ways water is used in American homes. Toilets take up the largest share (24%), while the average bath accounts for 3% of indoor water use and uses about 30 gallons of water.
3. How many gallons of water does a shower use per minute?
(EPA)
If you have an efficient showerhead that uses 1.5 gallons of water per minute, water usage will be lower, i.e. 12 gallons of water per shower. On the other hand, an inefficient showerhead uses 5 gallons of water per minute, translating to a staggering 40 gallons per shower.
A standard showerhead, as mandated by the national energy policy act (EPAct), should have a water flow no higher than 2.5 gallons per minute, which means that the average shower should use no more than 20 gallons. Before 1980, many showerheads sold in the use had a water flow of 5 gallons per minute or more.
4. What is the cost of an average shower in the US?
The cost ranges from $100 to $370+ a year, depending on the showerhead, the length of the shower, and the number of times you shower a day.
A shower a day of eight minutes with a standard 2.5 gallons per minute showerhead will cost $185.07 a year. An efficient showerhead will add $111.04 to your annual water bills, while an inefficient showerhead may cost you $370.13 a year.
5. How long is an average shower?
The average shower lasts between 7.8 to 8.2 minutes, which is much lower than the average of 9.9 minutes measured in 2014.
6. How much water does a 5-minute shower use?
(EPA)
Showering for five minutes uses 10.5 gallons of water, assuming you have a standard 2.1 gallons/minute showerhead. An inefficient showerhead, on the other hand, might use as much as 25 gallons of water per shower.
7. What is the cost of a 10-minute shower in the US?
(Omni)
A 10-minute shower uses 25 gallons of water (provided you have a standard 2.5 gpm showerhead). In terms of bills, this translates to $0.375 per shower.
A ten-minute hot shower uses 6 cents of natural gas, so the total cost comes out to $0.435. This means that a two-person household where each member takes two 10-minute showers a day can expect to pay $1.74 a day or roughly $635 a year in energy and water bills.
8. How many people shower daily in the US?
(Harvard Health, Each Night, Quartz)
According to Harvard Health, around two-thirds (66%) of Americans shower every day. Another survey by AOL discovered that 65% shower every day and 21% shower every other day. 4% of respondents showered more than once a day, while 10% showered less than 4 times a week.
A survey of 1,000+ working adults showed similar results: 64% of respondents said they showered once a day, with nearly half (49.5%) saying they took showers in the morning. 34.1% stated that they showered in the evening.
9. How many people shower twice a day?
According to a 2023 survey, 16.4% of interviewees said they showered twice a day, in the morning and evening. 65.3% of respondents stated they shower twice a day to feel fresh for work, while 58.4% showered to relax or unwind. 57.2% said they do it to feel more alert, whereas hygiene was cited as the reason for showering by 51.4% of those surveyed.
10. How many people take hot water showers vs cold water showers?
Preferences for cold and hot showers depend on the time of day. A survey revealed that 37.5% of those who shower in the mornings prefer hot showers as opposed to the 8.6% who take cold showers. Similarly, 40.3% of those who shower in the evening prefer hot water as opposed to just 5% who use cold water. Preference for warm showers takes precedence for 53.8% and 54.7% of those who shower in the morning and evening, respectively.
11. Cost of hot water showers
Assuming that your electricity and water rate is not higher than the national average and you live in a two-person household, taking 8.2-minute showers every day. Each shower will cost 25 to 51 cents or just under $195 for the whole year.
It is estimated that 65% of US residents use heated water. This means that the average American pays double on both electricity and water on more than two-thirds of the water they use.
How to save water on showers
1. Install a WaterSense-labeled showerhead
WaterSense comes with a special label for showerheads that have a water flow of 2 gallons a minute or less. So, if your household uses a WaterSense-labeled showerhead, you will be able to save
- Enough electricity to power a 60-watt light bulb for almost 7 hours per shower.
- Enough water to do an extra 88 loads of laundry.
What’s more, the average family will be able to save 2,700 gallons of water and 330-kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
Finally, $2.9 billion in water utility bills and over 260 billion gallons of water could be saved a year If all homes in the country installed WaterSense-labeled showerheads (EPA)
2. Check for leaks
Leaks can account for 12% of water usage in the average American home. What’s more, it is estimated that an average household waste around 10,000 gallons of water through leaks alone, which means tending to dripping faucets and showerheads is one way to reduce your water bills considerably. (EPA)
3. Try taking shorter showers
Cutting down shower time by one to three minutes can shave off hundreds from your annual water bill. In fact, the EPA estimates that cutting down your daily shower by just one minute can save over 900 gallons of water a year. (EPA)
4. Try cold showers
The water heating system takes up 18% of your utility bills, the second largest expense. By cutting down the number of hot showers you take, you will also be saving on water, gas, and electricity. (Department of Energy)
5. Turn the water off while soaping and shampooing
Turning the water off while lathering and turning it back on when you rinse can help you save water and prevent unnecessary runoff. Also known as the Navy shower, it may help you cut shower time by 5 minutes or more.
The same is true for turning on the shower before you step in – many people do this to get the shower up to a certain temperature. Turn on the shower once you’re in to save water and energy. (Home Water Works)
6. Take fewer showers
The American Academy of Dermatology says that people do not have to shower more than once a day unless they engage in some kind of activity that makes them particularly sweaty and grimy. So if you are using showers to unwind, lower the number of showers you take and try and find other ways to relax. (AAD)