Average Electric Bill by State: Use, Price and Cost (EIA)

Bills 6 min read

By the Plug & Penny editorial team · Published 11 November 2026

The average US home paid $142.26 a month for electricity in 2024. That bought 863 kWh at an average of 16.48¢/kWh, according to the EIA's 2024 average monthly bill table. State averages ran from $92.88 in New Mexico to $212.12 in Hawaii.

Prices have risen since then. At the US average of 18.16¢/kWh (EIA, August 2026), the same 863 kWh would cost $156.72 a month.

The average US household at a glance

The 2024 monthly bill is the figure EIA publishes. The other cells are our arithmetic from EIA's use and price, using kWh × price = cost. For example, 863 kWh × 18.16¢ = $156.72. The August 2026 price is a single month, so treat that column as a rough guide to today's costs rather than an annual figure.

For a single appliance, you first need its kWh: watts × hours ÷ 1,000 = kWh. The average home's yearly use works out like a 1,182 W load running nonstop: 1,182 W × 24 hours ÷ 1,000 = 28.37 kWh a day, and 28.37 kWh × 18.16¢ = $5.15 a day. Change the numbers below to match your own home, your state's price or a single appliance.

Average electric bill by state

All three columns are EIA's 2024 annual averages per residential customer. This is the latest full year in Table 5A. Prices have moved since 2024, so to estimate what your use costs now, put your state's latest price into the calculator above.

EIA's published bill is revenue per customer, so it matches use × price only approximately. For the US, 863 kWh × 16.48¢ = $142.22, against a published $142.26. The small gaps come from rounding in the published use and price.

You may see slightly different 2024 numbers elsewhere. EIA's own May 2025 summary put the average bill at $144 and Utah lowest at $89. We use the figures from the data table.

How much electricity does a house use?

The average US home used 863 kWh a month in 2024, or 10,356 kWh a year (863 × 12). That fits EIA's broader estimate that the average household uses about 10,500 kWh a year.

The state averages are far apart. Hawaii homes used 495 kWh a month and Louisiana homes 1,202 kWh, more than twice as much.

In the table above, 17 states averaged 1,000 kWh a month or more in 2024. Fourteen are in the South: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The other three are Arizona, Missouri and North Dakota.

Why some states use much more electricity

The most detailed EIA data on why homes use what they do comes from its 2020 household survey. So the figures in this section describe 2020, not 2024, but the pattern matches the 2024 table.

Cooling. Air conditioning was the biggest single use of home electricity in 2020, at 19%. Space heating and water heating were next, at 12% each (EIA). About 89% of US homes had air conditioning in 2020, up from 57% in 1980. EIA puts this down to people moving to warmer states and AC going into almost all new homes. Its 2020 state AC highlights put Texas at 95% of homes and Washington at 53%.

Electric heating. About 64% of Southern homes heat mainly with electricity, against about 25% outside the South (EIA). So many Southern homes lean on electricity in both summer and winter. North Dakota is the one high-use state outside the South. It has the coldest average temperature in the Lower 48, and about 41% of its homes heat with electricity.

Per person. The same EIA analysis shows residential sales in 2020 ranged from 2,018 kWh per person in Hawaii to 6,663 kWh in Louisiana, against a US average of 4,437 kWh. Nearly all of the highest-use states were in the South.

Type of home and habits. EIA says apartments in the Northeast use the least electricity and single-family detached homes in the South use the most. It also lists household behavior, how a building is constructed and the efficiency of heating and cooling equipment as factors (EIA).

The weather that year. In 2020, per-person use rose 10% in Arizona and 9% in Nevada, Alaska and California after many western states had record-warm summers. Many electric-heating states used less after a much warmer winter (EIA). A state's average for one year is not fixed.

Why electricity prices differ so much

EIA lists the main drivers of price as fuel costs, the cost of power plants, the cost of transmission and distribution lines, and regulation (EIA). Natural gas is the key fuel in most places, and petroleum matters in Hawaii and in Alaskan villages. In some states regulators set prices fully. Others mix market prices for generation with regulated prices for the wires.

Hawaii is the extreme. EIA says its price is more than triple the US average (EIA). In August 2025, 74.0% of its utility-scale power came from petroleum, against 0.2% nationally (EIA state data). Its islands are not linked by transmission lines, so each needs its own power plants and reserves (EIA, 2014).

New England relies heavily on natural gas for winter heating. EIA says limited pipeline capacity means gas prices there spike at peak demand (EIA, 2024). Gas also grew to 48% of the region's power mix by 2017, and EIA has noted delivery charges rising as utilities invest in their networks (EIA, 2018). In 2025, wholesale power prices rose at most major hubs, mostly because of higher gas prices, and the biggest rise was in New England's market (EIA).

The Rocky Mountain states had the six lowest bills in 2024, according to EIA: Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. EIA says they combine lower-than-average prices and use, and the coal and natural gas they rely on cost less to deliver in 2024 than in 2023 (EIA).

Use and price pull in opposite directions

Your bill is use times price, and many states are high on one and low on the other. Louisiana homes used the most electricity but paid 11.73¢/kWh, so their $140.96 bill sat just below the US average. EIA notes this low price is why Louisiana's bill stays near average despite using more than twice as much as Hawaii or California (EIA). California had the second-lowest use, 503 kWh, but at 31.97¢/kWh paid $160.86.

The highest bills come when one of the two is extreme. Hawaii ($212.12) combines the top price with the lowest use. Connecticut ($199.66) has a high price and middling use. Alabama is third at $173.50 with a mid-range 15.18¢/kWh, because its homes use 1,143 kWh a month.

Electricity is also only part of a home's energy bill. North Dakota households used almost twice as much total energy as Florida households in 2020, yet spent nearly the same on all fuels: $1,648 against $1,654 a year (EIA). EIA says one reason is that over three-quarters of Florida homes use only electricity, and US average home electricity prices are more than three times higher than home natural gas prices per unit of energy.

How to cut the cost

• Compare your use with your state's row. Your bill shows the kWh you used. If you are well above your state's average, the extra is in your home, not the price.
• Start with cooling, heating and hot water. They were the three biggest uses of home electricity in 2020 (EIA). Settings on these matter far more than switching off a phone charger.
• Price your appliances. Use the calculator above with the wattage on the label to see which ones add the most. The label shows maximum power, and appliances with thermostats or cycles draw less on average.
• Check whether you can choose a supplier. In New England, every state except Vermont lets customers pick a competitive supplier (EIA, 2018). Compare the per-kWh price with your utility's before switching.
• For big changes, get quotes. If you are thinking about a new heating or cooling system, get quotes from qualified installers before deciding.

FAQ

Is 1,000 kWh a month a lot?

It is above the 2024 US average of 863 kWh, but it is normal in much of the South. In 2024, 17 states averaged 1,000 kWh or more, led by Louisiana at 1,202 kWh.

Which state has the cheapest electricity?

It depends on the measure. In 2024, North Dakota had the lowest average home price at 11.51¢/kWh and New Mexico the lowest bill at $92.88. For the latest monthly prices, EIA's Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A lists every state. In August 2026 home prices there ran from 12.72¢/kWh in Nevada to 47.18¢/kWh in Hawaii.

Why is my bill higher than my state's average?

The average mixes apartments and houses, gas-heated and electric-heated homes. A larger home, electric heating or heavy air-conditioning use can push you well above it, as can a month of extreme weather.

Sources

1. 2024 Average Monthly Bill - Residential (Table 5A), U.S. Energy Information Administration
2. Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State
3. Electricity use in homes (EIA Energy Explained)
4. Per capita U.S. residential electricity use was flat in 2020, but varied by state (EIA Today in Energy)
5. U.S. households in warmer states consume less site energy than households in colder states (EIA Today in Energy)
6. Residential electric bills in Hawaii and Connecticut are twice those in New Mexico, Utah (EIA Today in Energy)
7. Highlights for air conditioning in U.S. homes by state, 2020 (EIA RECS)
8. Electricity explained: Prices and factors affecting prices (EIA)
9. EIA State Profile Overview – Hawaii
10. State Energy Profile Data – Hawaii (EIA)
11. High cost, oil-fired generation creates potential for shift in Hawaiian electric sources (EIA Today in Energy)
12. Market dynamics vary at key natural gas pricing hubs (EIA Today in Energy)
13. New England's competitive electricity markets lead to less price volatility (EIA Today in Energy)
14. U.S. wholesale day-ahead electricity prices rose in 2025 with higher natural gas prices (EIA Today in Energy)

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