EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in South Carolina
At South Carolina's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.039 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.097 a mile in fuel: $687.20 a year apart over 12,000 miles. The EV's fuel cost per mile is 41% of the gas car's in South Carolina.
State data
What South Carolina pays
- Home electricity
- 15.8¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $2.90/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 South Carolina is 15.8¢/kWh, 13% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. At $2.90 a gallon, South Carolina is in the lowest gasoline band on this site ($2.90 or less), which narrows the EV's fuel-cost edge.
Statewide averages. Put your own rate and pump price in the calculator above.
EVs on the road here
How far EVs have spread in South Carolina
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 35,700 all-electric · 13,700 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 0.8% all-electric · 1.0% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 4,723,100 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 1.8AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (1.97 million)
- Public charging
- 713 locations · 2,257 ports (1,289 Level 2 · 965 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 15.8AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Of the 4,723,100 cars and light trucks on South Carolina records for 2025, 35,700 ran on batteries alone and 13,700 were plug-in hybrids. That puts battery-electric models at 0.8% of the state's vehicles, the 14th-lowest share in the country, with the US at 2.1%. Counted by household, there are 1.8 EVs per hundred homes here, where the nation has 4.6. Plug-in driving is still early in South Carolina, and the figures that follow describe a small group of owners.
Charging in South Carolina tilts toward speed. Of 2,257 public ports, 965 are DC fast and 1,289 are Level 2, spread over 713 sites, which gives fast chargers a 43% share of the network; compare 30% nationwide. Set against so few EVs, those ports are lightly used on paper: 15.8 EVs per public port versus 21.7 nationally, and 37 per fast port versus 72. At a fast charger, a South Carolina driver shares the plug with far fewer cars than the national ratio implies.
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 South Carolina. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 15.8¢/kWh · South Carolina · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $2.90/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.039 a mile vs gas $0.097 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.039
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.097
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $472.80
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,160.00
- Savings per year
- $687.20
- Prices used
- electricity 15.8¢/kWh · gasoline $2.90/gal (South Carolina)
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 South Carolina
At 15.8¢/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 $0.039. A 30 mpg car at $2.90/gal spends $0.097 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $472.80 for the EV, $1,160.00 for gasoline, a difference of $687.20 a year (fuel only). The EV's cost per mile would match gas only above 38.7¢/kWh.
What the numbers say
Cheap gas, cheap power: the South Carolina result
Gasoline in South Carolina sells for $2.90/gal, the 5th-lowest in the nation and 9% below the US average of $3.20/gal; residential power sells for 15.8¢/kWh, 13% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Those two pull against each other, since low pump prices shrink what an EV saves and low power prices enlarge it, and the outcome lands mid-table. The EV spends 41% of what the gas car spends on fuel for each mile, and the yearly saving ranks the 31st-highest.
There is room to spare. Not until electricity hit 38.7¢/kWh, set beside the 15.8¢/kWh average, would the two cars tie on a mile, and a 30 mpg rival would need to become a 74 mpg car to tie at today's price. The Ford F-150 Lightning, far heavier than the sedan, spends $0.076 a mile on home power, set against $0.097 for the gasoline car.
The state's unusual charger mix is where your own numbers matter most. With so many public ports being DC fast, a driver without a home outlet will often pay fast-charging prices, which tend to run well beyond residential rates. Read the kilowatt-hour price off the station, enter it as the electricity price above, and hold the answer up to 38.7¢/kWh. If you charge in your own garage instead, pull up the utility's tariff: a lower overnight time-of-use price takes the place of 15.8¢/kWh, and the per-mile figure drops with it.
A few costs are not in this estimate. The plug-in hybrid vs EV vs gas comparison brings in what the cars cost to buy, Level 2 installation cost estimates a wall charger, and EV charging cost by model turns other vehicles into a monthly figure. Heating a home on this same power price is covered at South Carolina gas vs electric heating.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in South Carolina?
At South Carolina's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.039 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.097 for a 30 mpg car, $687.20 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 38.7¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 74 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in South Carolina?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses South Carolina's home average, 15.8¢/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 $2.90/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in South Carolina?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 15.8¢/kWh (7.9¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.020 a mile instead of $0.039. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
With gasoline at $2.90/gal, is an EV still cheaper to run in South Carolina?
For fuel alone, it is. The Tesla Model 3 RWD charged at home spends $0.039 per mile, while a 30 mpg car filling up at $2.90/gal spends $0.097; over 12,000 miles the EV's electricity comes to $472.80. Power would need to reach 38.7¢/kWh, well beyond the 15.8¢/kWh average, before that advantage disappeared. Insurance, purchase price and repairs sit outside this estimate.
How common are DC fast chargers in South Carolina?
Unusually common relative to the rest of the network: 965 of the 2,257 public ports are DC fast, a 43% share where the US stands at 30%. Each fast port has 37 EVs to serve, compared with 72 nationwide. Location and pricing are not part of these counts, and the kilowatt-hour price on the station is what decides your cost per mile, so look at it before you start a session.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
Related