EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Illinois
At Illinois's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.048 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.117 a mile in fuel: $820.40 a year apart over 12,000 miles. At these prices, home charging costs half or less of gasoline per mile in Illinois.
State data
What Illinois pays
- Home electricity
- 19.3¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $3.50/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)
Illinois's rate of 19.3¢/kWh is the 18th-highest of the 51, between 15¢ and 20¢/kWh. Gasoline in Illinois averages $3.50/gal, 9% above 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 Illinois
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 164,900 all-electric · 51,600 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 1.8% all-electric · 2.3% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 9,413,900 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 3.4AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (4.90 million)
- Public charging
- 1,933 locations · 6,394 ports (3,327 Level 2 · 3,064 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 25.8AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
By raw count, Illinois is one of the bigger EV states: 164,900 all-electric cars and light trucks at the end of 2025, the 7th-highest total in the country, plus 51,600 plug-in hybrids. Spread across 9,413,900 light-duty vehicles, though, that is a share of 1.8%, below the national 2.1% and the 19th-highest of the 51. Per household the state counts 3.4 EVs for every hundred homes, against 4.6 for the US.
The public network leans heavily toward speed. Of 6,394 ports at 1,933 locations, 3,064 are DC fast and 3,327 are Level 2, so fast charging accounts for 48% of the ports, against 30% nationally. The fast-port count is the 5th-highest of any state. Relative to the fleet that gives 54 EVs per fast port, against 72 for the US, while the overall ratio, 25.8 EVs per port against 21.7, is on the busy side because Level 2 ports are comparatively scarce.
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 Illinois. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 19.3¢/kWh · Illinois · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $3.50/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.048 a mile vs gas $0.117 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.048
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.117
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $579.60
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,400.00
- Savings per year
- $820.40
- Prices used
- electricity 19.3¢/kWh · gasoline $3.50/gal (Illinois)
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 Illinois
At 19.3¢/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 $0.048. A 30 mpg car at $3.50/gal spends $0.117 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $579.60 for the EV, $1,400.00 for gasoline, a difference of $820.40 a year (fuel only). A gas car would need about 72 mpg to match it.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Illinois
Gasoline is where Illinois's EV case gets its strength. The pump price of $3.50/gal is 9% above the US average of $3.20/gal, the 7th-highest in the country, while home electricity at 19.3¢/kWh sits 6% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. The Tesla Model 3 RWD costs $0.048 a mile on that rate and a 30 mpg car $0.117, so the EV's energy is 41% of the gas car's. Over 12,000 miles the yearly gap is $820.40, the 8th-highest among the states at their average prices.
The break-even electricity price is 46.7¢/kWh, against the state's 19.3¢/kWh, and a gas car would need 72 mpg to match the EV per mile. That threshold is the useful one in a state with this many fast ports. A driver who often uses DC fast charging pays the price on the station screen, not the home rate, and every session priced below 46.7¢/kWh still beats gasoline for the same miles. Enter a typical session price in the electricity field above to see the cost per mile for a mostly-public charging routine.
At home, the tariff is the lever. A time-of-use or overnight rate replaces 19.3¢/kWh in the estimate; at half the average, 9.7¢/kWh, the Tesla Model 3 RWD runs at $0.024 a mile. Check whether your utility offers a separate EV or off-peak rate before you install a charger, and use the Level 2 installation cost page to price the charger itself.
Winters with 6,200 heating degree-days, 38% more than the US average of 4,500, will cut range and add to the energy used per mile in January compared with July, which this yearly estimate averages away. The cold-weather range calculator shows how much. For a vehicle other than the page's example, the EV charging cost by model page applies the same rate. How the same rate plays out for home heat is on the gas vs electric heating page for Illinois.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Illinois?
At Illinois's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.048 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.117 for a 30 mpg car, $820.40 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 46.7¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 72 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Illinois?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Illinois's home average, 19.3¢/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 $3.50/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in Illinois?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 19.3¢/kWh (9.7¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.024 a mile instead of $0.048. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
What about an electric pickup in Illinois?
At the average home rate of 19.3¢/kWh, the Ford F-150 Lightning costs $0.093 a mile, against $0.048 for the Tesla Model 3 RWD. The gas side of this page assumes a 30 mpg car at $0.117 a mile, which is not the right yardstick for a truck. If you are replacing a gas truck, choose the Ford F-150 Lightning in the vehicle list above and enter your truck's rating in the fuel-economy field.
Is fast charging easy to find in Illinois?
By count it is among the best supplied: 3,064 DC fast ports, the 5th-highest total, and 54 EVs per fast port against 72 nationally. The count says nothing about where they sit or what they charge, so check a station map for your route and compare the posted price per kilowatt-hour with your home rate of 19.3¢/kWh.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
Related