Average electric bill by state

A bill is two numbers multiplied: how much electricity a home uses and what each kWh costs. The table shows both, so you can see which one drives the total where you live. The last column is the latest single month, which swings with the weather; the twelve-month average is the better comparison between states.

High bills come from two different places

The five highest average bills are in Hawaii, Maryland, Connecticut, Alabama, Massachusetts. The five lowest are in New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming. The reasons are not the same everywhere.

In Louisiana, homes use more electricity than anywhere else, about 1,200 kWh a month, at 13.0¢ per kWh. Hot summers, long air-conditioning seasons and a high share of homes heated with electricity all push usage up in the South. In Hawaii, the opposite holds: each kWh costs 43.5¢, the highest price in the country, while the average home uses 514 kWh a month.

That split matters when you look for savings. Where usage is high, the biggest wins are in cooling and heating: thermostat settings, insulation, a more efficient air conditioner or heat pump. Where the price is high, every kWh you avoid is worth more, so even small loads like an old refrigerator or a dehumidifier running all day are worth checking.

How to compare your own bill

Look at the kWh on your bill before the dollar total. If you use about as much as the average home in your state and pay much more, your rate is higher than the state average; the electricity rates by state table shows that average. If you pay more because you use more, the next question is what is using it. The electricity cost calculator works out what a single appliance costs to run at your rate, and a 1,500-watt space heater is one of the quickest ways to add a lot to a winter bill.

Two things make a bill differ from these averages without anything being wrong. A month's bill usually covers a meter-reading period that does not line up with the calendar month, and most bills include a fixed customer charge that you pay even in a month you use almost nothing. EIA's figures include those charges, because they divide everything residential customers paid by the number of accounts.