EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Alabama
At Alabama's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.041 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.097 a mile in fuel: $670.10 a year apart over 12,000 miles. The EV's fuel cost per mile is 42% of the gas car's in Alabama.
State data
What Alabama pays
- Home electricity
- 16.3¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $2.90/galEIA weekly regional / AAA state averages, 2025–26 reference
- EV used for the page
- Tesla Model 3 RWD, 25 kWh/100 miEPA, fueleconomy.gov (combined)
Home electricity in Alabama is 16.3¢/kWh, 10% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. At $2.90 a gallon, Alabama is in the lowest gasoline band on this site ($2.90 or less), which narrows the EV's fuel-cost edge.
Statewide averages. Put your own rate and pump price in the calculator above.
EVs on the road here
Plug-in cars and public chargers in Alabama
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 24,400 all-electric · 8,300 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 0.6% all-electric · 0.7% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 4,425,800 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 1.3AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (1.90 million)
- Public charging
- 566 locations · 1,754 ports (841 Level 2 · 911 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 13.9AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Registrations put Alabama near the bottom for EV adoption. The 2025 count shows 24,400 battery-electric vehicles and 8,300 plug-in hybrids among 4,425,800 cars and light trucks, so fully electric models make up 0.6%, the 44th-highest share of any state, where the national share is 2.1%. Measured by homes rather than vehicles, there are 1.3 for every hundred households, while the country averages 4.6.
Where Alabama stands out is the mix of its public plugs. The 1,754 ports at 566 sites split into 911 DC fast and 841 Level 2, a fast-charging share of 52% in a national network that sits at 30%. With a fleet this small, each fast unit serves 27 registered EVs (the US figure is 72), and each port of either kind serves 13.9, compared with 21.7 nationwide. Those ratios describe crowding, not coverage: a sparse map can still post a low count per plug, and the data do not say how far apart the sites are.
Registrations: DOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025, light-duty vehicles, rounded to the nearest hundred by AFDC. Charging: DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27, public stations only.
EV vs gas cost per mile
F01Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for Alabama. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 16.3¢/kWh · Alabama · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $2.90/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.041 a mile vs gas $0.097 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.041
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.097
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $489.90
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,160.00
- Savings per year
- $670.10
- Prices used
- electricity 16.3¢/kWh · gasoline $2.90/gal (Alabama)
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
Worked example
Worked example: Model 3 RWD vs a 30 mpg car in Alabama
At 16.3¢/kWh, a Model 3 RWD (25 kWh per 100 miles, EPA) draws 25 kWh from the wall for every 100 miles (the EPA measures it at the wall), so each mile costs $0.041. A 30 mpg car at $2.90/gal spends $0.097 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $489.90 for the EV, $1,160.00 for gasoline, a difference of $670.10 a year (fuel only). The EV's cost per mile would match gas only above 38.7¢/kWh.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Alabama
Alabama pairs some of the country's cheapest gasoline with household power a little under the national rate. Gasoline averages $2.90/gal, the 5th-lowest pump price among the states and 9% below the US average of $3.20/gal; household electricity averages 16.3¢/kWh, 10% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Cheap fuel at the pump shrinks what an EV can save, and the page's example ends up the 36th-highest for the yearly fuel difference.
Home charging still has a lot of headroom. For the Tesla Model 3 RWD to lose its per-mile edge over a 30 mpg sedan, electricity would have to reach 38.7¢/kWh; Alabama households pay 16.3¢/kWh. Seen from the gas side, a car would need a 71 mpg rating to match the EV at today's rate.
That headroom is what a road trip spends at public stations. Since fast units hold 52% of the state's ports, a public session here is likely to be a DC fast one, priced per kilowatt-hour above what you pay at home. A station price under 38.7¢/kWh keeps the EV cheaper per mile than the sedan; enter the posted price in the electricity box above to see how much of the saving survives.
If the purchase you care about is truck against truck, the Ford F-150 Lightning runs $0.078 per mile on the household rate, where the smaller EV runs $0.041. Set it against your own gas pickup's mpg rather than the 30 mpg default.
Your bill, not the state average, is the final word: a time-of-use plan with a cheaper overnight price belongs in that field instead of 16.3¢/kWh. EV charging cost by model turns a rate into a monthly figure for other cars, and the Level 2 installation cost page prices a home charger. Home heating, where electricity is also the leading fuel in Alabama, has its own comparison.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Alabama?
At Alabama's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.041 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.097 for a 30 mpg car, $670.10 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 38.7¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 71 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Alabama?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Alabama's home average, 16.3¢/kWh. To see the cost per mile on the road, type the charger's price per kWh into the electricity rate field; the gas side stays at $2.90/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in Alabama?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 16.3¢/kWh (8.2¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.020 a mile instead of $0.041. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
Will I find public chargers easily in Alabama?
The statewide count is 566 public sites holding 1,754 ports, the 28th-highest total among the states. With so few EVs registered, each port has 13.9 cars to serve, which ranks Alabama the 34th-highest on that measure. A count says nothing about the spacing between towns, so look at a station map for the highways you use before a long drive.
Does winter cost an EV much range in Alabama?
Less often than in colder states. Alabama logs 2,600 heating degree-days, 42% fewer than the US average of 4,500 and the 43rd-highest among the states, so the stretch of the year when low temperatures push consumption above the rated figure is short. On those days the cost per mile climbs from $0.041, yet the tie point of 38.7¢/kWh leaves the EV wide room. For range at a specific temperature, try the cold-weather range calculator.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
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