EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Kentucky
At Kentucky's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.035 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.100 a mile in fuel: $786.00 a year apart over 12,000 miles. Charging here costs about a third or less of gasoline per mile: 35%.
State data
What Kentucky pays
- Home electricity
- 13.8¢/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)
With electricity under 15¢/kWh (13.8¢/kWh), even a 48 kWh/100 mi F-150 Lightning costs $0.066 a mile to charge in Kentucky. Gasoline in Kentucky averages $3.00/gal, 6% 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
How far EVs have spread in Kentucky
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 20,700 all-electric · 8,600 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 0.6% all-electric · 0.8% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 3,649,000 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 1.2AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (1.74 million)
- Public charging
- 414 locations · 1,209 ports (732 Level 2 · 473 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 17.1AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Few Kentucky households drive on electricity yet. Only 1.2 battery EVs are registered for every hundred homes, the 8th-lowest ratio in the country, where the typical figure is 4.6. In raw numbers the 2025 data list 20,700 of them plus 8,600 plug-in hybrids. Set against the state's 3,649,000 light-duty vehicles, the all-electric share is 0.6%, the 43rd-highest of the states, and counting the hybrids that plug in lifts it to 0.8%, compared with 2.8% nationwide.
The public network is middling in size: 1,209 ports at 414 sites, the 35th-highest total of any state. Of those, 732 are Level 2 and 473 are DC fast, so fast charging accounts for 39% of Kentucky's plugs while the US network sits at 30%. Share the state's EVs out among those plugs and each one has 17.1 cars to serve, or 44 per fast unit; the national ratios run 21.7 and 72. Lighter crowding on paper does not tell you whether a station sits on your commute.
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 Kentucky. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 13.8¢/kWh · Kentucky · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $3.00/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.035 a mile vs gas $0.100 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.035
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.100
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $414.00
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,200.00
- Savings per year
- $786.00
- Prices used
- electricity 13.8¢/kWh · gasoline $3.00/gal (Kentucky)
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 Kentucky
At 13.8¢/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 $0.035. A 30 mpg car at $3.00/gal spends $0.100 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $414.00 for the EV, $1,200.00 for gasoline, a difference of $786.00 a year (fuel only). A gas car would need about 87 mpg to match the EV's cost per mile in Kentucky.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Kentucky
Power is the cheap half of Kentucky's equation. The average household rate of 13.8¢/kWh is the 8th-lowest among the states and 24% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, which brings the Tesla Model 3 RWD down to $0.035 per mile on a home outlet; on the national rate it would run $0.045. Gasoline at $3.00/gal is 6% below the US average of $3.20/gal, and the yearly fuel difference for the example ends up the 15th-highest of all states.
Kentucky's home rate would have to climb to 40.0¢/kWh before charging matched the per-mile cost of fueling a 30 mpg car, and the state average sits at 13.8¢/kWh. That ceiling is the yardstick for any public station. Fast ports are 39% of this network, and they typically price energy above residential rates; a posted price below 40.0¢/kWh still leaves the electric car ahead. Enter a station's per-kilowatt-hour price in the electricity field to see its cost per mile.
For a truck owner the honest test is pickup against pickup. On the household rate the Ford F-150 Lightning needs $0.066 per mile, while the smaller EV needs $0.035; type your own gas truck's mpg in place of the 30 mpg default.
An average rate blends every hour of the day. If your utility sells cheaper overnight power on a time-of-use or EV plan, that price belongs in the calculator, and the per-mile figure drops with it. Model-by-model monthly costs are on EV charging cost by model, and home charger prices on Level 2 installation cost. The same low rate makes the heating decision a much tighter call; see the Kentucky gas vs electric heating comparison.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Kentucky?
At Kentucky's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.035 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.100 for a 30 mpg car, $786.00 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 87 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Kentucky?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Kentucky's home average, 13.8¢/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 Kentucky?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 13.8¢/kWh (6.9¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.017 a mile instead of $0.035. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
What will a year of charging at home cost me in Kentucky?
Using the statewide residential average, 13.8¢/kWh, the Tesla Model 3 RWD runs $0.035 per mile and $414.00 across 12,000 miles a year, while a driver paying the US average would spend $0.045 per mile. Bigger EVs draw more energy, and the Ford F-150 Lightning works out to $0.066 per mile on Kentucky's rate. A time-of-use bill with a lower overnight price changes the result, so type your own figure.
How much does winter cut into an EV's advantage in Kentucky?
Kentucky's 4,400 heating degree-days are 2% fewer than the US average of 4,500, so its winters sit close to the national middle. Cold weather raises an EV's consumption, pushing its cost per mile above the rated $0.035 for part of the year, but with the tie point at 40.0¢/kWh there is plenty of room before that matters. The cold-weather range page estimates the loss at a given temperature.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
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