The full ranking
Average residential price per kilowatt-hour, June 2026, from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The national average is 18.34¢. The final column shows what running a 1,500 W space heater for 8 hours a day, every day, would cost in a month in that state; it is the same 365 kWh everywhere, so only the rate changes.
| # | State | ¢ per kWh | vs US avg | 1,500 W heater, 8 h/day, monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | 13.11 | -29% | $47.85 |
| 2 | Nebraska | 13.25 | -28% | $48.36 |
| 3 | Utah | 13.37 | -27% | $48.80 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 13.49 | -26% | $49.24 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 14.07 | -23% | $51.36 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 14.12 | -23% | $51.54 |
| 7 | North Dakota | 14.12 | -23% | $51.54 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 14.26 | -22% | $52.05 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 14.33 | -22% | $52.30 |
| 10 | Idaho | 14.37 | -22% | $52.45 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 14.74 | -20% | $53.80 |
| 12 | Mississippi | 14.88 | -19% | $54.31 |
| 13 | Washington | 14.91 | -19% | $54.42 |
| 14 | New Mexico | 15.06 | -18% | $54.97 |
| 15 | Florida | 15.1 | -18% | $55.12 |
| 16 | Montana | 15.14 | -17% | $55.26 |
| 17 | Arizona | 15.18 | -17% | $55.41 |
| 18 | Wyoming | 15.24 | -17% | $55.63 |
| 19 | South Dakota | 15.36 | -16% | $56.06 |
| 20 | West Virginia | 15.45 | -16% | $56.39 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 15.55 | -15% | $56.76 |
| 22 | Kansas | 15.71 | -14% | $57.34 |
| 23 | Iowa | 15.93 | -13% | $58.14 |
| 24 | Texas | 15.94 | -13% | $58.18 |
| 25 | Missouri | 16.22 | -12% | $59.20 |
| 26 | Oregon | 16.32 | -11% | $59.57 |
| 27 | Georgia | 16.36 | -11% | $59.71 |
| 28 | Alabama | 16.4 | -11% | $59.86 |
| 29 | Colorado | 17.13 | -7% | $62.52 |
| 30 | Virginia | 17.22 | -6% | $62.85 |
| 31 | Indiana | 17.51 | -5% | $63.91 |
| 32 | Minnesota | 17.52 | -4% | $63.95 |
| 33 | Ohio | 19.19 | 5% | $70.04 |
| 34 | Delaware | 19.29 | 5% | $70.41 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | 19.56 | 7% | $71.39 |
| 36 | Illinois | 19.89 | 8% | $72.60 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 21.73 | 18% | $79.31 |
| 38 | Maryland | 21.84 | 19% | $79.72 |
| 39 | Michigan | 22.99 | 25% | $83.91 |
| 40 | Connecticut | 24.32 | 33% | $88.77 |
| 41 | District of Columbia | 24.39 | 33% | $89.02 |
| 42 | Vermont | 24.44 | 33% | $89.21 |
| 43 | New Jersey | 24.95 | 36% | $91.07 |
| 44 | New Hampshire | 27.01 | 47% | $98.59 |
| 45 | Alaska | 28.21 | 54% | $103 |
| 46 | Rhode Island | 29.23 | 59% | $107 |
| 47 | New York | 29.49 | 61% | $108 |
| 48 | Maine | 29.59 | 61% | $108 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 29.61 | 61% | $108 |
| 50 | California | 34.74 | 89% | $127 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 52.72 | 187% | $192 |
What the map looks like
Rates cluster by region far more than by politics or population.
The cheap corner: Mountain West, Plains and the Gulf. Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas all sit between 13¢ and 15.5¢. They share abundant local generation, whether hydro (Idaho, Washington), natural gas (Louisiana, Oklahoma), coal (Wyoming, North Dakota) or nuclear, and they have less expensive, less congested transmission grids.
The Southeast and Midwest: around average. Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa and Colorado run 14¢ to 17.5¢. Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan have drifted above average as coal plants retire and grid investments are recovered through rates.
The Mid-Atlantic: above average. Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware range from 19¢ to 25¢. These deregulated markets have seen supply prices rise as data center demand and capacity charges climb.
New England, New York and California: expensive. Every New England state except Vermont is above 24¢, and Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are near 30¢. California at 34.74¢ has the highest mainland rate, driven by wildfire mitigation spending, long transmission distances and the cost of a rapid clean-energy build-out.
Alaska and Hawaii: island economics. Both rely on imported fuel and small, isolated grids with no neighbors to trade with. Hawaii's 52.72¢ is in a category of its own.
What the gap means in practice
The rate is a multiplier on everything you plug in, so the spread between states changes the answer to practical questions.
- A 1,500 W space heater for 8 hours a day costs about $47.85 a month in Nevada and $127 in California. In Hawaii it is $192, enough to make a heat pump or a heated blanket an easy decision.
- Charging an EV for 1,000 miles a month at 3.5 mi/kWh with 12% losses uses about 325 kWh. That is roughly $42.61 in Nevada, $59.60 at the national average and $113 in California. See the EV charging cost calculator.
- Replacing an old refrigerator that uses 1,200 kWh a year with one that uses 400 kWh saves 800 kWh. In Louisiana that is worth about $108 a year; in Massachusetts, $237. The same fridge, a very different payback.
- In high-rate states, time-of-use plans with cheap overnight power become much more valuable, and rooftop solar or a heat pump pays back faster. In low-rate states, the fixed monthly charge is a bigger share of the bill and reducing usage saves less than people expect.
How to use these numbers
The electricity cost calculator has every state in a dropdown that fills in the rate above. It is the right starting point when you do not have a bill handy. When you do, the marginal rate from your own bill is better, because it reflects your utility, your plan and your tier rather than a statewide average. The bill-reading guide shows how to find it.
One caveat on the EIA figure itself: because it is revenue divided by kWh, it includes fixed monthly charges spread across all customers. For a household that uses much less than average, the true per-kWh price of an extra appliance is often a cent or two lower than the state figure. For a household well above average on a tiered plan, it can be several cents higher.
We update this table when the EIA releases a new monthly figure, roughly every four to eight weeks. The date at the top of the page shows the most recent refresh.