EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Delaware
At Delaware's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.047 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.103 a mile in fuel: $679.00 a year apart over 12,000 miles. At these prices, home charging costs half or less of gasoline per mile in Delaware.
State data
What Delaware pays
- Home electricity
- 18.7¢/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)
Delaware's rate of 18.7¢/kWh is the 19th-highest of the 51, between 15¢ and 20¢/kWh. Gasoline in Delaware 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
Electric vehicles in Delaware
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 16,000 all-electric · 6,100 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 1.9% all-electric · 2.6% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 864,600 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 4.2AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (0.38 million)
- Public charging
- 228 locations · 725 ports (414 Level 2 · 309 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 22.1AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
For a small state, Delaware carries a respectable EV fleet. The 2025 registrations show 16,000 all-electric vehicles and 6,100 plug-in hybrids out of 864,600 light-duty vehicles, an all-electric share of 1.9% against 2.1% nationally, the 16th-highest among the 51 states and DC. Relative to households, the count is 4.2 EVs per hundred homes, against a US figure of 4.6.
The charging network is short on ports but long on speed. Delaware has 228 public locations and 725 ports, the 44th-highest count, yet 309 of those ports are DC fast, set against 414 at Level 2. Fast ports therefore make up 43% of public charging here, compared with 30% for the country. The load per port is ordinary, 22.1 EVs against 21.7 nationally, while each fast port is shared by 52 EVs, against 72 across the US.
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 Delaware. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 18.7¢/kWh · Delaware · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $3.10/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.047 a mile vs gas $0.103 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.047
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.103
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $561.00
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,240.00
- Savings per year
- $679.00
- Prices used
- electricity 18.7¢/kWh · gasoline $3.10/gal (Delaware)
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 Delaware
At 18.7¢/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 $0.047. A 30 mpg car at $3.10/gal spends $0.103 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $561.00 for the EV, $1,240.00 for gasoline, a difference of $679.00 a year (fuel only). A gas car would need about 66 mpg to match it.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Delaware
Delaware pairs a pump price near the national one with a power rate near the national one, so the EV's lead here is ordinary rather than large. Gasoline sells for $3.10/gal, 3% below the US average of $3.20/gal; residential power costs 18.7¢/kWh, 3% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. The Tesla Model 3 RWD runs at $0.047 a mile and a 30 mpg gas car at $0.103, so the EV's energy costs 45% of the gas car's. Over 12,000 miles that is $679.00 a year, the 34th-highest among the states.
There is still plenty of room before the answer changes. Per mile, the two cars would only break even at an electricity price of 41.3¢/kWh, against the 18.7¢/kWh average, or with a gas car rated 66 mpg. The first number is the one to hold in mind at a public fast charger: the price per kilowatt-hour on the screen, if it is above that line, makes the trip cost more than driving on gasoline would have.
Fast ports are a large slice of the network here, but the estimate above assumes the car charges at home; a driver who relies on public fast charging pays the posted price instead of 18.7¢/kWh. At home the direction is reversed: on a time-of-use rate at half the average, 9.3¢/kWh, the cost drops to $0.023 a mile. Your utility's tariff sheet lists the hours and prices.
The car's price and a home charger come on top. The Level 2 installation cost page prices the charger; the charge time page tells you whether a Level 1 outlet is enough for your daily miles. For the heating side of the same electricity rate, see the gas vs electric heat page for Delaware.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Delaware?
At Delaware's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.047 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.103 for a 30 mpg car, $679.00 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 66 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Delaware?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Delaware's home average, 18.7¢/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 Delaware?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 18.7¢/kWh (9.3¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.023 a mile instead of $0.047. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
Which moves the EV math more in Delaware, the power rate or the pump price?
Both sit near the national level here, so either can tip it. The Tesla Model 3 RWD costs $0.047 a mile at 18.7¢/kWh, and that figure rises and falls in step with your rate; the 30 mpg car costs $0.103 at $3.10/gal, which tracks the pump. The EV stays ahead until electricity passes 41.3¢/kWh. Both fields are editable in the calculator above, so try your own pair.
Does Delaware have enough fast chargers?
Relative to the fleet, its fast ports are less crowded than the US norm: 52 EVs per DC fast port against 72 nationally, from 309 fast ports in all. The total network is small, 725 ports, so the count tells you little about coverage on a given road. Fast-charging prices are usually above the home rate; enter the posted price in the calculator above to compare.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
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