Water hardness

Water hardness by city, with the source for every number

Hard water carries more calcium and magnesium. These pages list the hardness of the tap water in 55 cities, each figure taken from the utility's or the health authority's own report and linked to it. A city without a public primary source has no page: an unknown value stays unknown.

Rizzado team · Published · Reviewed

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Water hardness

Cities

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WATER & CURLS

Read the context behind the number

City figures are useful when they stay connected to evidence, limits and the rest of your routine.

GuideDoes hard water affect curly hair?What water hardness measures, what hair studies have found, and what it cannot tell you about your curls.GuideIs your city water affecting your curls?A practical way to use a city water-hardness figure without turning a local average into a hair diagnosis.GuideWater hardness levels: what 60, 120, 180 and 300 mg/L meanHow to read water hardness in mg/L as CaCO3 using the USGS categories without treating the scale as a hair-health score.GuideChelating vs. clarifying shampoo: what is the difference?A careful guide to chelating and clarifying shampoo without promising universal results from a label or ingredient list.GuideHow to read your city water quality report for hardnessFind total hardness, understand averages and ranges, and identify whether a public water report actually applies to your address.GuideYour curls changed after moving: how to check the water firstA practical checklist for comparing a new city's water, climate and routine without mistaking a local report for a diagnosis.GuideHumidity and frizz: what the research shows before you blame the productHow humidity changes hair's water content and curl definition, what friction studies show, and how to plan a routine around humid and dry days.GuideThe Curly Girl Method: what the evidence supports, and where it does not fit every curlA cautious look at the Curly Girl Method against hair science on hard water, drying time and product buildup, with the evidence and its limits.
United States city indexCalifornia city index

How hardness is classified

In milligrams per litre of calcium carbonate (mg/L as CaCO3), using the US Geological Survey bands:

Soft
0 to 60 mg/LModerately hard
61 to 120 mg/LHard
121 to 180 mg/LVery hard
more than 180 mg/L

RIZZADO

Your water is one part of the picture.

Rizzado uses your city's water hardness, when there is a primary source, to adjust your routine. If your city is not here, it treats the value as unknown.

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Method

Each value is the one the source publishes, classified with the USGS bands. Rizzado does not measure water. When a source gives an average we use it; when it only gives results by treatment system we use the median; when it only gives a range we show the range. Hardness can change by neighbourhood and season.