EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Iowa
At Iowa'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 $0.100 a mile in fuel: $688.20 a year apart over 12,000 miles. The EV's fuel cost per mile is 43% of the gas car's in Iowa.
State data
What Iowa pays
- Home electricity
- 17.1¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $3.00/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 Iowa is 17.1¢/kWh, 6% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. At $3.00/gal, a 30 mpg car in Iowa spends $0.100 a mile on fuel.
Statewide averages. Put your own rate and pump price in the calculator above.
EVs on the road here
Plug-in cars in Iowa
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 15,100 all-electric · 8,800 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 0.5% all-electric · 0.9% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 2,783,700 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 1.2AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (1.28 million)
- Public charging
- 488 locations · 1,307 ports (721 Level 2 · 586 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 11.6AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Few Iowa drivers have gone electric so far. The 2025 registration count found 15,100 battery-electric vehicles and 8,800 plug-in hybrids out of 2,783,700 cars and light trucks, an EV share of 0.5%, the 7th-lowest of the 51 and below the US 2.1%. There are 1.2 EVs for every hundred households, against 4.6 nationally. Conventional hybrids, at 98,300, are far more common on Iowa roads than anything with a plug.
The charging network is better supplied than the fleet. 488 public locations offer 1,307 ports, and 586 of them are DC fast, 45% of the total, against a US share of 30%. Because so few EVs share them, Iowa has 11.6 EVs per public port, the 13th-lowest ratio, compared with 21.7 nationally, and 26 per fast port against 72. Waiting for a free charger is less likely here than in most of the country; distance to the nearest one is the question these totals cannot answer.
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 Iowa. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 17.1¢/kWh · Iowa · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $3.00/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.043 a mile vs gas $0.100 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.043
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.100
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $511.80
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,200.00
- Savings per year
- $688.20
- Prices used
- electricity 17.1¢/kWh · gasoline $3.00/gal (Iowa)
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 Iowa
At 17.1¢/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 $3.00/gal spends $0.100 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $511.80 for the EV, $1,200.00 for gasoline, a difference of $688.20 a year (fuel only). The EV's cost per mile would match gas only above 40.0¢/kWh.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Iowa
Low gasoline prices narrow the case for an EV in Iowa, but they do not close it. Gasoline sells for $3.00/gal, the 11th-lowest price among the states and 6% below the US average of $3.20/gal, so a 30 mpg car spends $0.100 a mile. Electricity at 17.1¢/kWh is the 23rd-highest rate, and the Tesla Model 3 RWD pays $0.043 a mile on it, or 43% of what the gas car spends. That leaves $688.20 a year in the EV's favor over 12,000 miles, the 30th-highest gap in the country.
The break-even points show how much room there is. The EV stops saving money on fuel only if electricity costs 40.0¢/kWh, against a state average of 17.1¢/kWh, or if the gas car gets 70 mpg. Fast-charging prices can come near that threshold, so an owner who charges mostly in public sees a smaller gap than this page shows. Enter the per-kWh price posted at the charger to check.
Cold is the other Iowa factor. With 6,700 heating degree-days, 49% more than the US average of 4,500, winter driving takes a real share of the year, and an EV draws more energy per mile when it heats the cabin and the battery. The cold-weather range calculator shows how far a charge reaches at low temperatures.
The home rate is the lever you control. A time-of-use plan that bills overnight power at half the average, 8.5¢/kWh, would bring the Tesla Model 3 RWD down to $0.021 a mile; your utility's tariff sheet lists whether such a plan exists and when its cheap hours run. To compare a plug-in hybrid as well, use plug-in hybrid vs EV vs gas. The heating page for the state is gas vs electric heat in Iowa.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Iowa?
At Iowa's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.043 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.100 for a 30 mpg car, $688.20 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 40.0¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 70 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Iowa?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Iowa's home average, 17.1¢/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 $3.00/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in Iowa?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 17.1¢/kWh (8.5¢/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.
Hybrids outnumber EVs in Iowa. How does a hybrid compare on fuel?
Iowa has 98,300 conventional hybrids on the road against 15,100 battery-electric cars, so it is a fair question. A gasoline car would need 70 mpg to match the Tesla Model 3 RWD's fuel cost at $3.00/gal gasoline and 17.1¢/kWh electricity. Type your hybrid's rated mpg into the gas field above to see how close it comes; the plug-in hybrid vs EV vs gas page adds the purchase price.
What happens to an EV's charging cost in an Iowa winter?
It rises, because the car uses more electricity per mile when it is cold: heating the cabin and keeping the battery warm both draw on the pack. The rate stays at 17.1¢/kWh, but you buy more kilowatt-hours for the same trip. The cold-weather range calculator takes the outside temperature and the type of cabin heater, so you can see how much range a January morning costs.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
Related