Updated April 2026 · EIA data
Compare State Energy Profiles
Side-by-side comparison of electricity rates, generation mix, and renewable energy data between U.S. states. 31 curated comparisons covering all 51 states, with a national average residential rate of 17.92¢/kWh. Cheapest residential power: North Dakota (11.81¢). Most expensive: Hawaii (40.59¢). Greenest grid: Vermont (99.8% renewable).
What a Useful State Energy Comparison Looks Like
The most common mistake when comparing state energy profiles is looking only at the residential rate. The rate is the most visible number, but it is shaped by a deeper set of factors — fuel mix, regulatory structure, renewable resource potential, and geography — that matter just as much for long-run cost direction. A state with a low rate driven by abundant local hydro is structurally different from a state with the same rate driven by cheap legacy coal: one is locked in for decades, the other faces transition pressure as coal plants retire under EPA Clean Air Act compliance and federal carbon rules.
The comparisons here lead with the rate, then immediately surface the generation mix, renewable share, and total generation footprint so the rate sits in context. For households evaluating a move, the residential rate matters most. For policy researchers, the generation-mix and renewable-share series are the actionable numbers. For business siting decisions, the industrial rate and total generation capacity are what matter.
Featured Comparisons
California
32.54¢/kWh
Texas
15.47¢/kWh
New York
26.39¢/kWh
New Jersey
22.63¢/kWh
Florida
15.24¢/kWh
Georgia
14.73¢/kWh
Pennsylvania
19.30¢/kWh
Ohio
16.96¢/kWh
Illinois
17.69¢/kWh
Indiana
16.23¢/kWh
Washington
13.11¢/kWh
Oregon
15.37¢/kWh
All Comparisons
How These Comparisons Are Calculated
Every comparison uses the same source data and the same six metrics: residential, commercial, and industrial retail rates from EIA Form EIA-861; total annual generation and per-fuel generation share from EIA Form EIA-923; renewable share computed as the sum of hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass generation; and the dominant fuel in the mix. Numbers are pulled directly from the EIA monthly and annual releases — no smoothing, no synthetic data, no projection. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are state energy profiles compared on this site?
Each comparison lines up the same six numbers for two states at once: residential, commercial, and industrial electricity rates; total annual generation; the percentage from renewable sources; and the dominant fuel in the generation mix. Every figure is sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Where the two states have very different total generation, ratios (rate per kWh, percentage from each fuel) are usually more revealing than absolute figures.
Which comparisons are most useful for someone moving between states?
Neighbor comparisons (California vs. Texas, New York vs. New Jersey) show how regional grids and regulatory structures shape consumer rates. Extreme contrasts (Hawaii vs. Louisiana, Iowa vs. West Virginia) make the underlying drivers — fuel mix, geography, policy — easier to see. The featured grid below mixes both kinds.
Why can two neighboring states have very different residential rates?
Neighboring states often share weather and labor markets but differ on fuel mix, regulatory structure, and renewable mandates. A state with cheap legacy hydro can run rates 5–8¢/kWh below a deregulated neighbor that imports natural gas. Today the cheapest U.S. residential rate is in North Dakota at 11.81¢/kWh, while Hawaii runs at 40.59¢/kWh — the gap is roughly the spread between cheap hydro and oil-fired generation.
Does a higher renewable percentage mean a higher rate?
Not consistently. Some of the highest-renewable states (Washington, Idaho, Iowa) have low rates because their renewable share comes from cheap legacy hydro or competitive wind generation. Others (California, Hawaii) pair high renewable mandates with high rates because of additional grid costs, transmission constraints, or imported fuel for non-renewable generation. The greenest U.S. grid today is Vermont at 99.8% renewable.
Where does the source data come from?
Electricity rates and generation series come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (Forms EIA-861 and EIA-923). Emissions and clean-energy program context comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Renewable resource potential comes from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. All three are federal public-domain sources.
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. All federal datasets are public domain.
Last updated 2026-04-12 · 51 states, 31 comparisons.