EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Colorado
At Colorado's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.043 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.103 a mile in fuel: $724.90 a year apart over 12,000 miles. At these prices, home charging costs half or less of gasoline per mile in Colorado.
State data
What Colorado pays
- Home electricity
- 17.2¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $3.10/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)
Colorado's rate of 17.2¢/kWh is the 22nd-highest of the 51, between 15¢ and 20¢/kWh. Gasoline in Colorado averages $3.10/gal, 3% below the US average of $3.20/gal.
Statewide averages. Put your own rate and pump price in the calculator above.
EVs on the road here
EVs on Colorado roads
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 162,800 all-electric · 57,100 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 3.2% all-electric · 4.3% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 5,141,100 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 7.2AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (2.26 million)
- Public charging
- 2,930 locations · 7,955 ports (6,189 Level 2 · 1,711 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 20.5AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Few states have taken to battery cars like Colorado. Registrations for 2025 show 162,800 fully electric vehicles and another 57,100 plug-in hybrids. The battery-only count is 3.2% of 5,141,100 light-duty vehicles, the 6th-highest share among the 51 states, where the national figure is 2.1%. Counted per household it comes to 7.2 for every hundred homes, the 5th-highest in the country, next to a US average of 4.6. Add the hybrids that plug in and 4.3% of the fleet can charge from a wall.
Public charging leans toward slow plugs. 2,930 sites offer 7,955 ports, the 7th-highest total nationally, and Level 2 accounts for 6,189 of them. The 1,711 DC fast ports make up 22% of the stock, against 30% nationwide. So the overall ratio, 20.5 EVs for each public port, sits near the US 21.7, while the fast-port ratio is 95 cars per port, next to 72 for the country. A large fleet leans on a fast network that is small by comparison.
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 Colorado. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 17.2¢/kWh · Colorado · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $3.10/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.043 a mile vs gas $0.103 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.043
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.103
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $515.10
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,240.00
- Savings per year
- $724.90
- Prices used
- electricity 17.2¢/kWh · gasoline $3.10/gal (Colorado)
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 Colorado
At 17.2¢/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 $0.043. A 30 mpg car at $3.10/gal spends $0.103 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $515.10 for the EV, $1,240.00 for gasoline, a difference of $724.90 a year (fuel only). A gas car would need about 72 mpg to match it.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Colorado
In Colorado neither fuel price strays far from the national line: $3.10/gal for gasoline, 3% below the US average of $3.20/gal, and 17.2¢/kWh for home power, 5% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. On those prices the example EV spends $0.043 per mile, where the US figure is $0.045, which is 42% of the per-mile fuel bill of a 30 mpg gas car. Over 12,000 miles a year the saving ranks the 22nd-highest of all states.
There is plenty of slack before that flips. A home rate of 41.3¢/kWh would be needed to erase the EV's advantage, set beside today's 17.2¢/kWh average; on the gasoline side, the rival car would need 72 mpg. Level 2 plugs that bill near the home rate leave the result where it is. Fast charging is the real test: enter a fast station's per-kWh price in the rate field above and see how much of the gap survives.
Colorado winters are long, 6,000 heating degree-days, 33% more than the US average of 4,500 and the 15th-highest nationally, and this estimate runs on rated consumption. Cold raises the kilowatt-hours a mile takes and trims range; cold-weather range estimates both for your model. On long drives, the 95 cars per fast port matter more to planning than the price per mile.
Your utility tariff is the other lever. A time-of-use plan with a cheaper overnight price moves the result in proportion, so try that price in place of 17.2¢/kWh. Size moves it too: at the same rate, the Ford F-150 Lightning costs $0.082 per mile.
This page leaves out the sticker price and the home charger. For those, see plug-in hybrid vs EV vs gas and Level 2 installation cost. The furnace question has its own page: heating costs in Colorado.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Colorado?
At Colorado's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.043 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.103 for a 30 mpg car, $724.90 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 41.3¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 72 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Colorado?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Colorado's home average, 17.2¢/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 $3.10/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in Colorado?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 17.2¢/kWh (8.6¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.021 a mile instead of $0.043. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
Does a cold Colorado winter erase an EV's fuel savings?
The page can't answer that for a specific car, since it prices rated efficiency: $0.043 per mile at 17.2¢/kWh, next to $0.103 for gasoline. Winter in a state with 6,000 heating degree-days, 33% more than the US average of 4,500, pushes consumption up. Your headroom is the distance between 17.2¢/kWh and the break-even 41.3¢/kWh. For your car and your temperatures, the cold-weather range tool estimates the penalty.
Is it easier to find a Level 2 charger than a fast charger in Colorado?
By the counts, yes. 6,189 of the 7,955 public ports are Level 2; 1,711 are DC fast. That fast share, 22%, compares with 30% for the US, and each fast port serves 95 EVs on average, against 72 nationally. Level 2 works where the car sits for hours; on a road trip, map fast stops in advance and check charge time for your model.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
Related