Smart Water Meters Market: Size, Trends & Forecast to 2031

Water utilities worldwide are under growing pressure to conserve resources, reduce losses, and modernize aging distribution networks. At the center of this shift are smart water meters, which let utilities measure consumption accurately, monitor flow remotely, detect leaks early, and manage billing and operations with far greater efficiency than conventional meters.

The global Smart Water Meters Market is projected to grow from USD 6.06 billion in 2026 to USD 10.05 billion by 2031, at a CAGR of 10.6% from 2026 to 2031. Rising investment in water infrastructure modernization, a stronger focus on water conservation and non-revenue water reduction, growing urbanization, and the need for more efficient water distribution are key factors supporting this Smart Water Meters Market Forecast.

As utilities adopt AMR/AMI systems, IoT-enabled meters, remote monitoring, leak detection, and analytics platforms, the water meter is evolving from a simple measuring device into a connected data source for digital water management.

Smart Water Meters Market Overview

Smart water meters are devices and technologies used to monitor, measure, and manage water use. Smart water metering combines ultrasonic meters, electromagnetic meters, smart mechanical meters, automated meter reading (AMR), automated metering infrastructure (AMI), communication networks, data processing, and remote monitoring. Together, these provide real-time consumption measurement, automatic data collection, leak identification, remote meter reading, and better billing and utility management.

The Smart Water Meters Industry is increasingly tied to broader digital utility and smart city initiatives. According to MarketsandMarkets, the market is segmented by technology, meter type, component, application, and region. Technology categories include AMR and AMI, meter types include ultrasonic, electromagnetic, and smart mechanical meters, and components include meters & accessories, IT solutions, and communications.

Key Smart Water Meters Market Statistics

• 2025 market size (base year): USD 5.43 billion
• 2026 market size: USD 6.06 billion
• 2031 projected market size: USD 10.05 billion
• CAGR: 10.6% during 2026–2031
• Fastest-growing region: Asia Pacific (CAGR of 11.4%)
• Fastest-growing technology: Automated Meter Reading (AMR)
• Leading meter type: Ultrasonic meters
• Largest application segment: Water utilities

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Why is the Smart Water Meters Industry Growing?

Traditional water meters offer limited visibility and often depend on manual or periodic reading. Smart water meters give utilities continuous, high-resolution data on consumption and flow. Several factors are driving adoption.

1. Water Conservation and Non-Revenue Water Reduction

Non-revenue water is water that is produced but lost before reaching customers, through leaks, theft, or metering inaccuracies. It remains one of the largest sources of financial and resource loss for utilities worldwide. Smart meters help operators pinpoint leaks and abnormal usage patterns quickly and act before losses accumulate. Growing regulatory pressure around water conservation and sustainability targets is pushing utilities to adopt these technologies at scale.

2. Modernization of Aging Water Infrastructure

Aging distribution networks are pushing utilities and industrial users to adopt digital metering that improves visibility, billing accuracy, and distribution efficiency. Large-scale meter replacement programs and new smart-metering deployments are supporting demand across regions.

3. Growing Adoption of AMR and AMI Networks

AMR and AMI systems enable remote data collection, automated billing, and continuous consumption monitoring. As utilities expand these networks, smart meters become the foundation of a connected water management ecosystem.

4. Urbanization and Smart City Initiatives

Rapid urbanization, increasing water scarcity, and government-led smart city programs are accelerating deployment, particularly in fast-developing economies. Government-funded water infrastructure programs further support adoption among water utilities.

5. Demand for Accurate, Real-Time Consumption Data

Water utilities and industrial users increasingly need accurate, continuous data to monitor consumption, identify leaks, improve billing accuracy, and manage meters remotely.

Smart Water Meters Technology: From AMR to AMI

AMR

Automated Meter Reading allows utilities to collect consumption data remotely through drive-by or fixed-network reading, eliminating manual meter checks. Its relatively low cost and ease of retrofitting onto existing meters make it an attractive entry point for utilities beginning their digital transition. MarketsandMarkets expects AMR to register the highest CAGR among technology segments during the forecast period, particularly among small and mid-sized utilities and in cost-sensitive regions.

AMI

Automated Metering Infrastructure supports continuous data collection, remote monitoring, leak detection, and analytics through connected communication networks and software platforms. AMI deployments are a major opportunity as utilities expand IoT-enabled metering across their networks.

Smart Water Meters Market Segmentation

By Meter Type

Ultrasonic meters measure water flow using acoustic waves and have no moving parts, giving them greater accuracy and a longer service life than mechanical meters. Their ability to detect very low flow rates makes them highly effective for leak detection and precise consumption measurement. The ultrasonic segment is expected to register the highest CAGR and hold the dominant share during the forecast period, supported by declining manufacturing costs and growing demand for reliable, maintenance-free devices. Electromagnetic meters and smart mechanical meters complete the segmentation.

By Component

The meter & accessories segment includes the meters themselves along with registers, sensors, valves, and other essential hardware. It is expected to register the highest CAGR, driven by the replacement of aging mechanical meters and the expansion of distribution networks. IT solutions and communications are the other component categories.

By Application

Water utilities are the largest adopters of smart metering and are expected to account for the largest market share. They use it to monitor consumption, detect leaks, improve billing accuracy, and reduce non-revenue water. Mounting regulatory pressure and sustainability targets are accelerating deployment, while industries form the second application segment.

Smart Water Meters Market Trends

IoT-Enabled Smart Water Metering

Integrating IoT connectivity with smart meters enables remote data collection, real-time monitoring, leak detection, and analytics. As low-power communication technologies such as NB-IoT and LoRaWAN mature, the cost and complexity of connecting large fleets of meters continue to fall. This supports advanced applications such as predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, and automated billing that extend well beyond basic meter reading.

Leak Detection and Water-Loss Management

Continuous consumption data lets utilities identify high-flow conditions, continuous-use accounts, and potential leaks remotely. This is making leak detection and water-loss management central to smart metering business cases.

Rise of Ultrasonic Metering

With no moving parts, high accuracy, and strong low-flow detection, ultrasonic meters are gaining share as utilities seek long-life, low-maintenance devices.

Digital Water Management Platforms

Smart city initiatives and digital water management platforms are broadening the addressable market for connected metering. Meter data management systems, remote monitoring platforms, and analytics tools are becoming as important as the meter itself.

Interoperability and Integration

Utilities often need to integrate smart meters with existing billing, customer information, and asset-management systems. The absence of universal standards across manufacturers, communication networks, and software vendors can lead to compatibility issues and vendor lock-in. Resolving these barriers is a key challenge for the market.

Smart Water Meters Market Dynamics

Drivers: Increasing focus on water conservation and non-revenue water reduction; growing modernization of aging water distribution infrastructure.

Restraints: High initial investment and installation costs, including meters, communication infrastructure, data management systems, and integration, which can delay large-scale rollouts for budget-constrained municipal utilities. Complex integration with existing water utility infrastructure is a further restraint.

Opportunities: Growing adoption of IoT-enabled smart water metering; increasing deployment of AMI and AMR networks.

Challenges: Interoperability between meters, communication networks, and utility platforms.

Regional Outlook: Asia Pacific Leads Growth

Asia Pacific is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period and to register the fastest growth, at a CAGR of 11.4%. Rapid urbanization, increasing water scarcity, rising demand for efficient water management, and government-led smart city initiatives are key drivers. Growing investments in water infrastructure modernization across China, India, Japan, South Korea, and other emerging economies are further supporting market growth.

The report also covers North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East & Africa, along with key countries within each region.

Smart Water Meters Companies Shaping the Market

The ecosystem includes smart water meter manufacturers, component suppliers, communication and IoT providers, software and analytics companies, distributors, system integrators, water utilities, and industrial end users.

Key players in the Smart Water Meters Industry include:

• Badger Meter, Inc.
• Itron, Inc.
• Sensus (Xylem)
• Diehl Metering
• Kamstrup
• Landis+Gyr
• Aclara Technologies
• Neptune Technology Group
• Sagemcom
• Wasion Group
• Arad Group
• Zenner International
• B METERS
• Apator
• Iskraemeco

MarketsandMarkets identifies Badger Meter, Xylem, and Kamstrup as star players in the market. Among startups and SMEs, Olea Edge Analytics and Phyn LLC have distinguished themselves through strong product portfolios and sound business strategies.

Badger Meter offers ultrasonic and electromagnetic water meters, ORION AMR and AMI communication solutions, and BEACON software for remote monitoring and water-use analytics. It is also expanding beyond traditional metering through its BlueEdge suite.

Commercial Use Cases

Badger Meter: Texas Water Utilities. Texas water utilities deployed Badger Meter's ORION Cellular endpoints, Recordall meters, and BEACON SaaS platform across difficult-to-access and rural service areas. Cellular AMI enabled continuous collection of flow and consumption data. In one rocky, cliffside community, the utility reduced non-revenue water by almost 60% while also cutting the resources needed for field data collection.

Sensus (Xylem): City of Fairmont Utilities, West Virginia. The utility deployed 14,500 Sensus iPERL residential meters, along with commercial meters, FlexNet communication infrastructure, and Sensus software and analytics. The deployment delivered more than 99% meter-reading accuracy and annual savings of approximately USD 30,000. The utility notified nearly 3,000 customers about leaks or continuous water use, helping reduce excess consumption by approximately 25 million gallons per year.

Recent Developments

• January 2025: Badger Meter acquired SmartCover Systems from XPV Water Partners for USD 185 million. SmartCover provides sensors, software, and services for real-time monitoring of sewer lines and lift stations, expanding Badger Meter's BlueEdge suite into collection-system monitoring.
• October 2025: AURELIUS entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Xylem's water and heat metering assets outside North America. The business generated approximately USD 250 million in revenue in 2024 and included Sensus International's smart metering operations. Xylem retained its North American smart metering business.

Smart Water Meters Market Forecast: Future Outlook

The outlook for the Smart Water Meters Market is closely linked to the digitalization of water utilities. With the market projected to reach USD 10.05 billion by 2031, growth will be shaped by non-revenue water reduction, infrastructure modernization, IoT connectivity, and the expansion of AMR and AMI networks.

The long-term opportunity extends beyond selling meters. It involves building an integrated ecosystem of meters, communication networks, data management software, leak detection, and analytics that helps utilities monitor consumption, improve billing accuracy, and manage water losses. As ultrasonic metering matures, IoT costs decline, and interoperability improves, smart water meters are set to become an essential digital interface between water utilities and their customers.

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