EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Idaho
At Idaho's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.033 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.113 a mile in fuel: $958.90 a year apart over 12,000 miles. Idaho pairs 13.4¢/kWh electricity with $3.40/gal gasoline, so the EV runs on about 29% of the gas car's fuel cost per mile.
State data
What Idaho pays
- Home electricity
- 13.4¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $3.40/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)
Idaho's home electricity costs 13.4¢/kWh, 26% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, the 5th-lowest of the 51. At $3.40/gal, a 30 mpg car in Idaho spends $0.113 a mile on fuel.
Statewide averages. Put your own rate and pump price in the calculator above.
EVs on the road here
EVs on Idaho roads
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 14,100 all-electric · 6,700 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 0.8% all-electric · 1.1% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 1,841,800 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 2.1AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (0.66 million)
- Public charging
- 258 locations · 744 ports (427 Level 2 · 317 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 19.0AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Electric cars are still a small slice of what Idaho drives. Registrations at the end of 2025 show 14,100 battery-electric vehicles and 6,700 plug-in hybrids among 1,841,800 light-duty vehicles, so all-electric models make up 0.8% of the fleet against 2.1% nationally, the 37th-highest share. Hybrids without a plug, at 70,700, far outnumber both. Counted per household the gap narrows: 2.1 EVs per hundred homes, the 28th-highest of the 51, against 4.6 for the country.
The public network is small in absolute terms, with 744 ports at 258 locations, the 43rd-highest port count. Its make-up is unusual, though. 317 of those ports are DC fast and 427 are Level 2, which puts the fast share at 43%, above the US share of 30%. With so few EVs registered, each public port serves 19.0 of them, near the national 21.7, and each fast port 44 against 72.
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 Idaho. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 13.4¢/kWh · Idaho · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $3.40/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.033 a mile vs gas $0.113 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.033
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.113
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $401.10
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,360.00
- Savings per year
- $958.90
- Prices used
- electricity 13.4¢/kWh · gasoline $3.40/gal (Idaho)
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 Idaho
At 13.4¢/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 $0.033. A 30 mpg car at $3.40/gal spends $0.113 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $401.10 for the EV, $1,360.00 for gasoline, a difference of $958.90 a year (fuel only). The $958.90 difference is the 6th-highest of the 51 on this site.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Idaho
Home charging in Idaho is cheap because the power is. The residential rate of 13.4¢/kWh is the 5th-lowest in the country, so the Tesla Model 3 RWD runs at $0.033 a mile, against the US figure of $0.045 at the national rate. Gasoline, at $3.40/gal, is 6% above the US average of $3.20/gal, and a 30 mpg car pays $0.113 a mile. Over 12,000 miles that puts electric driving ahead by $958.90 a year, the 6th-highest yearly gap in the country.
That lead has room to spare. The electricity price that would erase it is 45.3¢/kWh, against a state average of 13.4¢/kWh; a gasoline car would need 102 mpg to match the EV on fuel. Fast charging is where the margin gets tested. A session at a DC fast charger is billed at its own price per kilowatt-hour or per minute, and in a state where so much of the public network is fast charging, a public stop is often a fast-charging stop. Put the number from the charger's screen into the electricity field above and the per-mile cost updates.
Winter matters more here than the national averages suggest. Idaho has 5,800 heating degree-days, 29% more than the US average of 4,500, and a battery gives up range in the cold while the cabin heater draws from it. The cold-weather range calculator estimates how far a charge goes on a freezing day; the energy per mile rises with it, so the cost per mile does too.
If your utility sells a time-of-use rate, the overnight price is the one to enter. At half the average rate, 6.7¢/kWh, the cost falls to $0.017 a mile. The home charger installation page prices the Level 2 unit that lets you charge in that window. For the heating side of the same bills, see gas vs electric heat in Idaho.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Idaho?
At Idaho's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.033 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.113 for a 30 mpg car, $958.90 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 45.3¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 102 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Idaho?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Idaho's home average, 13.4¢/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 $3.40/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in Idaho?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 13.4¢/kWh (6.7¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.017 a mile instead of $0.033. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
What does a year of charging at home cost in Idaho?
At the average rate of 13.4¢/kWh, the Tesla Model 3 RWD uses $401.10 of electricity over 12,000 miles, about $0.033 a mile. A pickup costs more to move: the Ford F-150 Lightning comes to $0.064 a mile on the same rate. Look at the rate on your own bill, and at whether your plan charges a different price at night.
Are there enough fast chargers in Idaho for long drives?
The state lists 317 DC fast ports, the 39th-highest count, and they make up 43% of its public ports against 30% nationally. The count says nothing about where they sit along your route or what they charge per kilowatt-hour. Check a station map before a long trip, and expect a fast-charge stop to cost more per mile than a night on your home plug.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
Related