Tap water by city · updated November 2026

Tap water by city, compared

Each page covers one water system: the utility that treats the water, plus the towns that buy from it.

Short answer

We cover 40 US water systems. 36 of 40 had no health-based violations in the five years through September 2026, and 11 had PFOA or PFOS (two PFAS “forever chemicals”) samples above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 4 parts per trillion (ppt) limit in its 2023–25 testing. Hardness ranges from soft to very hard, which is the reading that decides whether a softener is worth it.

EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, utility water quality reports · Sources and method

Find your city’s water

Browse every city we cover

A glass being filled with water from a stainless kitchen faucet, with a bright kitchen behind it. — Hardness, PFAS and the disinfectant in your tap water depend on the water system that serves your address.

City	Hardnessgpg	Hardness class	Disinfectant	PFOA highppt	PFOS highppt	Lithium highµg/L	Health violations5 years
Albuquerque, NM	8.8	Hard	Free chlorine	none	none	71	0
Atlanta, GA	not published		Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Austin, TX	5.4	Moderately hard	Chloramine	none	4.8	none	1
Baltimore, MD	5.5	Moderately hard	Free chlorine	none	none	none	3
Boston, MA	0.9	Soft	Chloramine	none	none	none	0
Charlotte, NC	1.9	Soft	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Chicago, IL	not published		Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Cincinnati, OH	7.5	Hard	Free chlorine	none	6.1	none	0
Cleveland, OH	6.8	Moderately hard	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Columbus, OH	6.7	Moderately hard	Free chlorine	5.3	none	none	0
Dallas, TX	8.0	Hard	Chloramine	6.3	5.1	none	0
Denver, CO	6.1	Moderately hard	Chloramine	none	none	11	0
Detroit, MI	6.3	Moderately hard	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
El Paso, TX	10.2	Hard	Free chlorine	none	8.5	133	0
Fort Worth, TX	7.5	Hard	Chloramine	8.3	7.3	none	0
Houston, TX	7.9	Hard	Chloramine	none	none	34	1
Indianapolis, IN	18.5	Very hard	Chloramine	none	none	none	0
Jacksonville, FL	14.4	Very hard	Free chlorine	none	none	14	0
Kansas City, MO	5.8	Moderately hard	Chloramine	none	none	59	0
Las Vegas, NV	16.4	Very hard	Free chlorine	none	none	43	0
Los Angeles, CA	7.5	Hard	Chloramine	none	none	100	0
Louisville, KY	7.5	Hard	Chloramine	7.5	none	none	0
Memphis, TN	2.8	Soft	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Miami, FL	not published		Chloramine	14.0	33.0	none	0
Milwaukee, WI	8.1	Hard	Chloramine	none	none	none	0
Minneapolis, MN	5.5	Moderately hard	Chloramine	none	none	none	0
Nashville, TN	5.9	Moderately hard	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
New York, NY	1.9	Soft	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Oklahoma City, OK	not published		Chloramine	none	none	68	0
Philadelphia, PA	8.9	Hard	Chloramine	8.1	6.0	none	0
Phoenix, AZ	not published		Free chlorine	none	none	160	0
Portland, OR	0.5	Soft	Chloramine	none	none	none	0
San Antonio, TX	17.5	Very hard	Free chlorine	none	none	26	0
San Diego, CA	14.0	Very hard	Chloramine	none	none	65	0
San Francisco, CA	3.6	Moderately hard	Chloramine	none	none	none	0
San Jose, CA	8.8	Hard	Chlorine and chloramine	none	6.2	10	1
Seattle, WA	1.5	Soft	Free chlorine	none	none	none	0
Tampa, FL	10.8	Very hard	Chloramine	4.6	6.9	none	0
Tucson, AZ	not published		Free chlorine	none	none	64	0
Washington, DC	8.1	Hard	Chloramine	none	none	none	0

Red: above EPA’s level. That’s 4 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS. For lithium it’s 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L), a health reference level rather than a legal limit, which EPA compares at one significant digit, so up to 15 µg/L counts as at the level.
"None" means not detected. "High" is the highest single sample.
Sources: hardness from each utility’s published water quality data; PFAS and lithium from EPA’s national testing (UCMR 5), sampled mostly 2023 to 2025; violations from EPA’s federal drinking water database (SDWIS).

Hardness, by city

0 to 300 mg/L as calcium carbonate

Each dot is the utility’s published average or range midpoint; the outline shows its published range. Classes per USGS. Source: each utility’s latest water quality report.