EV vs Gas Cost Per Mile in Washington
At Washington's average prices, a Tesla Model 3 RWD costs an estimated $0.037 a mile to charge at home and a 30 mpg gas car $0.140 a mile in fuel: $1,241.10 a year apart over 12,000 miles. Charging here costs about a third or less of gasoline per mile: 26%.
State data
What Washington pays
- Home electricity
- 14.6¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Gasoline
- $4.20/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 (14.6¢/kWh), even a 48 kWh/100 mi F-150 Lightning costs $0.070 a mile to charge in Washington. Gasoline is $4.20/gal in Washington, 31% above the US average of $3.20/gal, so a 30 mpg car spends $0.140 a mile.
Statewide averages. Put your own rate and pump price in the calculator above.
EVs on the road here
Electric vehicles in Washington
- Light-duty EVs registered
- 236,400 all-electric · 57,100 plug-in hybridDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025
- EV share of light-duty vehicles
- 3.7% all-electric · 4.6% with a plugDOE AFDC, registrations on Dec 31, 2025 · 6,425,300 vehicles
- EVs per 100 homes
- 8.0AFDC registrations ÷ RECS 2020 housing units (2.94 million)
- Public charging
- 3,228 locations · 9,182 ports (6,739 Level 2 · 2,428 DC fast)DOE AFDC station counts, 2026-10-27
- EVs per public port
- 25.7AFDC registrations ÷ AFDC public ports
Few states have more battery-electric cars per household than Washington: 8.0 for every hundred homes, the 2nd-highest figure in the country, where the US as a whole has 4.6. The 2025 registration count is 236,400 pure EVs, the 4th-highest total, with another 57,100 plug-in hybrids on top. Measured against all 6,425,300 cars and light trucks in the state, EVs come to 3.7%, the 3rd-highest share of the 51 states, while the national share is 2.1%.
The chargers have not kept pace with that fleet. 9,182 public ports spread over 3,228 sites put Washington the 6th-highest by port count, but each port serves 25.7 EVs, the 10th-highest load among the states and above the US figure of 21.7. The squeeze is sharpest on speed. DC fast units number 2,428, which is 26% of the network next to 30% nationwide, and they average 97 EVs apiece where the US average is 72. Level 2 supplies the bulk of the plugs, 6,739 of them.
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 Washington. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 14.6¢/kWh · Washington · EIA, August 2026 · gasoline $4.20/gal (2025–26 ref.) (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
Estimated savings per year (12,000 miles)
EV $0.037 a mile vs gas $0.140 a mile, home charging.
- EV cost per mile (EPA kWh/100 mi, at the wall)
- $0.037
- Gas cost per mile
- $0.140
- EV, 12,000 miles a year
- $438.90
- Gas car, 12,000 miles a year
- $1,680.00
- Savings per year
- $1,241.10
- Prices used
- electricity 14.6¢/kWh · gasoline $4.20/gal (Washington)
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 Washington
At 14.6¢/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 $0.037. A 30 mpg car at $4.20/gal spends $0.140 a mile. Over 12,000 miles: $438.90 for the EV, $1,680.00 for gasoline, a difference of $1,241.10 a year (fuel only). A gas car would need about 115 mpg to match the EV's cost per mile in Washington.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Washington
Pump prices here are $4.20/gal, the 3rd-highest in the nation and 31% above the US average of $3.20/gal. Household power runs 14.6¢/kWh, which is 19% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Expensive fuel and inexpensive electricity both favor the plug, so the Tesla Model 3 RWD spends 26% of the 30 mpg car's fuel bill for each mile driven. Over 12,000 miles a year, the dollar gap between the two is the highest of any state when each state is priced at its own averages.
That leaves a great deal of slack. For the gas car to draw level, a kilowatt-hour would have to cost 56.0¢/kWh (the state average is 14.6¢/kWh), or the gas car would need to reach 115 mpg. In practice a road-trip fast charger can bill well above the home rate and the EV still spends less per mile, provided its price stays below that tie point. Enter the per-kWh price shown on a station's screen in the calculator's electricity box to check a specific stop.
So in Washington the likelier frustration is a queue, not a bill. With 97 EVs sharing each fast port, where the national figure is 72, a driver with no garage outlet competes for every public plug with more cars than most Americans do. Charging in your own driveway sidesteps that; see what a wall unit runs on the Level 2 installation cost page. A utility plan with cheaper night hours would swap its off-peak price in for 14.6¢/kWh.
Bigger vehicles change the per-mile figure: on the same 14.6¢/kWh the Ford F-150 Lightning works out to $0.070. Model-by-model monthly bills are on EV charging cost by model, and the plug-in hybrid vs EV vs gas comparison folds in what each car costs to buy. Home heating in the state has its own page: Washington gas vs electric heating.
Questions
FAQ
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas in Washington?
At Washington's average prices, yes for the page's example: $0.037 a mile for a Model 3 RWD at home against $0.140 for a 30 mpg car, $1,241.10 a year over 12,000 miles. The EV would lose its fuel-cost edge only above about 56.0¢/kWh, or against a gas car rated above 115 mpg. Both prices are editable above.
What about public fast charging in Washington?
Fast chargers usually charge more per kWh than a home rate. This page uses Washington's home average, 14.6¢/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 $4.20/gal.
How do time-of-use rates change this in Washington?
The EV's cost per mile moves in direct proportion to the rate you charge at. If an overnight rate were half of 14.6¢/kWh (7.3¢/kWh), the Model 3 RWD would cost $0.018 a mile instead of $0.037. Check your utility's tariff for the real overnight rate and type it in.
Are fast chargers in Washington crowded?
On average each of the 2,428 DC fast ports, the 6th-highest total among the states, is shared by 97 EVs, a heavier load than the national 72. That is a statewide average, so it says nothing about a particular station on a Friday evening. To estimate how long you would sit plugged in, the charge time calculator takes your car and the charger's power.
Is an EV still cheaper to run here if my only charging is at public Level 2 posts?
That turns on what the posts charge per kWh, a price this data set does not include. Plugged in at home, the EV runs $0.037 per mile on 14.6¢/kWh, while the gas car runs $0.140; they meet at 56.0¢/kWh. Any public price under that meeting point still leaves the EV spending less on fuel. Washington has 6,739 public Level 2 ports; put a station's posted price in the electricity box above to see where it lands.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same two cars, each state's own prices:
Related