According to the 2026 Service Industry News' Survey, owneroperators across the Southwest charge an average of about $216 per month for weekly residential service, with roughly 73 percent including chemicals in that charge, while maintaining routes averaging around 100 pools.

Much of the Southwest survey data was provided primarily by responses from Arizona and Texas. And while national conversations about pool-service pricing often treat the Southwest as a single market, the pricing difference between the two states was substantial.

According to the 2026 Service Industry News' Survey, Arizona service professionals reported average pricing near roughly $150 per month, while Texas respondents averaged closer to approximately $225 per month.

That gap may initially appear surprising because the two states are often grouped together geographically.

Operationally, however, Arizona and Texas may function more like hybrids of entirely different regional business models.

Arizona increasingly appears to operate as a hybrid between Florida and California.

Texas, meanwhile, may function more like a hybrid between California and the Northeast.

Arizona’s pool industry — particularly throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area — appears heavily influenced by dense suburban development, high pool density, and intense market competition.

Large master-planned communities and tightly packed suburban routes may allow operators to move rapidly between stops while maintaining relatively large account counts.

That environment can support a more volume-driven pricing structure somewhat similar to parts of Florida.

At the same time, Arizona also shares several characteristics with California, including affluent pool markets, rising housing costs, and a well-developed repair and equipment sector.

Pool service in Arizona also occurs under some of the harshest environmental conditions in the country.

Extreme summer temperatures, intense ultraviolet exposure, high evaporation rates, scaling conditions, dust contamination, and prolonged swimming seasons can create significant chemical and equipment demands throughout much of the year.

Arizona operators may therefore combine:

• Florida-style route density;

• California-style repair culture;

• strong year-round service demand;

• highly competitive pricing pressure.

Texas, meanwhile, appears to operate under a very different balance.

Operators often contend with:

• larger metropolitan sprawl;

• longer drive distances;

• larger residential properties;

• wider variation between markets. A tightly packed suburban route in Phoenix may look very different from a sprawling service territory outside Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, or San Antonio.

Texas also occupies a more volatile climate position within the pool industry.

While many Texas pools operate for much of the year, winter weather and freeze risk have long remained part of the operating environment, particularly in northern parts of the state. Storms nicknamed “Snowmageddon” events periodically disrupt large portions of Texas with snow, ice, and prolonged freezing conditions.

But the catastrophic February 2021 Texas freeze dramatically intensified how seriously many pool owners and service professionals approach winter preparation, freeze readiness, and equipment protection after widespread pipe failures and equipment damage occurred across the state.

In many parts of Texas, prolonged periods of genuinely mild weather may exist only briefly during parts of spring and fall.

Much of the year is instead dominated by either oppressive heat or potentially disruptive winter conditions.

Long periods of extreme heat, humidity, violent thunderstorms, flooding, algae pressure, drought conditions, heavy bather usage, and severe weather swings can create highly volatile operating conditions for pool professionals.

Thatvolatilitymayhelpexplainwhy Texas pricing appears significantly higher than Arizona pricing despite the two states often being grouped together geographically.

The two states may represent two distinct hybrid business structures operating within the same broad region.