Moving to a New City? Your Water Quality Checklist
What to check before signing a lease or closing on a house.
What to check before signing a lease or closing on a house.
Before signing a lease or closing on a house, look up the city's water data and check for lead service lines — water quality varies dramatically between cities and fixing problems after move-in costs more.
Look It Up
Before you sign a lease or close on a house, spend five minutes checking the water quality in your new city. Search the city on CheckMyTap to see hardness, lead levels, PFAS data, and other key contaminants. This tells you immediately whether you will need a water softener, a drinking filter, or both.
Pay special attention to hardness and PFAS. If you are moving from Seattle (20 PPM hardness) to Phoenix (220 PPM), your skin, hair, appliances, and plumbing will all feel the difference within the first week. If your new city has detected PFAS above the EPA's 2024 MCL of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA/PFOS, a quality drinking water filter should be on your move-in shopping list.
Also request the city's Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), which every utility must publish annually by July 1. The CCR lists every detected contaminant and whether any violated EPA limits in the past year. Your utility's website typically has the latest report available for download.
Test
City-wide data gives you the big picture, but your specific home's plumbing can change the story. After you move in, test your tap water within the first week. This is especially important if the home was built before 1986 (lead pipe risk), has been vacant for a while (stagnant water in pipes), or is on a private well.
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DIY test strips ($10-20): Quick screening for hardness, chlorine, pH, lead, iron, and other basics. Results in 2 minutes. Accuracy is within 15-25% of lab results, which is sufficient for making treatment decisions. We recommend the 17-in-1 test strips as a starting point.
Certified lab test ($100-300): Mail-in kits from EPA-certified labs test for 50-200+ specific contaminants with high precision. Essential for PFAS, arsenic, lead, and other health-critical parameters. Results in 7-14 days. SimpleLab Tap Score is our recommended lab test.
Start with a DIY strip to understand the basics, then invest in a lab test if the strips flag any concerns or if you have specific worries about PFAS, lead, or arsenic that strips cannot accurately measure.
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Budget
Water treatment costs should be factored into your moving budget the same way you would factor in utilities or HOA fees. Here is a realistic breakdown based on common scenarios:
City with clean, soft water (Portland, Seattle, Boston): You likely need nothing beyond what the city provides. Budget $0. Optional: a basic carbon filter for chlorine taste at $25-40.
City with hard water (Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Indianapolis): Budget $600-1,500 for a whole-house water softener if you are buying a home. Renters should budget $25-30 for a shower filter and $30-90 for a drinking water pitcher. Hard water costs homeowners significant annual costs in hidden damage if left untreated, so a softener pays for itself quickly.
City with PFAS or lead concerns: Budget $90-450 for a drinking water filter. A high-performance pitcher like Clearly Filtered runs $90. An under-sink RO system costs $200-450 installed. These are essential, not optional, if your city's data shows elevated PFAS or if your new home has pre-1986 plumbing. Take our quiz for a recommendation matched to your new city.
City Guide
Water quality varies dramatically across US cities. Here is a quick snapshot of what to expect in popular relocation destinations:
Moving to the Southwest (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson): Expect very hard water (200-290 PPM). A water softener is practically mandatory for homeowners. Scale buildup on fixtures, appliances, and water heaters is aggressive. Drinking water quality is generally good, but hardness makes everything taste different from what you are used to if you are coming from a soft water city.
Moving to Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston): Hard water is common across most of Texas (150-240 PPM). Houston has softer water than most Texas cities. San Antonio has some of the hardest water in the country. All major Texas cities have detectable PFAS, though levels vary. Check your specific city's data.
Moving to the Northeast or Pacific Northwest (NYC, Boston, Portland, Seattle): Generally soft water with good overall quality. New York and Boston have some of the best municipal water in the country, sourced from protected reservoirs. Portland and Seattle are similarly soft and clean. Lead from older building plumbing is the main concern, especially in pre-war apartments.