Electricity cost by state, ranked

Source: EIA, August 2026; natural gas EIA 2025 annual average; degree-days NOAA 1991–2020 normals. Full dataset on the data page.

The rate is the average residential price: total residential revenue divided by kWh sold in the state. Your utility's rate can be higher or lower, and many bills add a fixed monthly customer charge on top. To price your own appliances, set your state in the top bar or type the rate from your bill into any calculator.

The five most expensive states are Hawaii (47.2¢/kWh), Maine (32.1¢/kWh), Massachusetts (30.5¢/kWh), California (29.8¢/kWh), Alaska (29.4¢/kWh). The five cheapest are Nevada (12.7¢/kWh), Louisiana (12.9¢/kWh), Utah (13.3¢/kWh), North Dakota (13.3¢/kWh), Idaho (13.4¢/kWh). The national average is 18.2¢/kWh, so 1,000 kWh costs about $181.60 nationally, $471.80 in Hawaii and $133.10 in North Dakota.

That gap matters more than most efficiency upgrades. A 1,500 W space heater running 6 hours a day for a month uses 270 kWh: about $49.03 at the national average, $80.33 in California and $39.50 in Washington. Run the numbers for your own heater in the space heater calculator.

• How the power is made. States with cheap hydro (Washington, Idaho) or cheap coal and gas close to the plants pay less. Hawaii burns imported oil for much of its power, and Alaska's remote grids are small and isolated.
• Grid and wildfire costs. In California, transmission upgrades, wildfire mitigation and liability costs are recovered through residential rates.
• Market structure. New England imports natural gas through limited pipeline capacity, so winter prices spike and the whole year's rates carry that cost.
• Who pays for what. Some states load more of the grid's fixed costs onto residential customers; others recover them through industrial rates or fixed charges.

A cheap rate doesn't always mean a cheap bill. Southern states often have below-average rates but above-average bills, because air conditioning runs for months and many homes heat with electricity. Louisiana (12.9¢/kWh) and Texas (15.9¢/kWh) are below the national rate of 18.2¢/kWh, yet their average bills are $150.00 and $175.00 a month against $140.00 nationally. Alabama's bill, $175.00, is among the highest in the country at a mid-table rate. California sits near the top on rate (29.8¢/kWh), but its mild coastal climate and lower use per home keep the average bill at $160.00.

To see what each appliance adds to your bill at your state's rate, open the electric bill estimator or browse every cost-to-run calculator.

Rates come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) monthly residential price series, pulled through the EIA API and refreshed every month; the average bill comes from the EIA's annual residential sales data. The table is rebuilt from the same numbers every calculator on this site uses, so a rate on this page always matches the rate in the calculators. The full dataset, with natural gas prices and degree-days, is free to download on the data page under CC BY 4.0. The method is on the methodology page.