Idaho
vsCalifornia
Side-by-side comparison of electricity costs, generation mix, and renewable energy data.
| Idaho | Metric | California |
|---|---|---|
| 11.82¢/kWh | Residential | 32.54¢/kWh |
| 9.25¢/kWh | Commercial | 26.36¢/kWh |
| 7.98¢/kWh | Industrial | 21.62¢/kWh |
| #2 | Price Rank | #50 |
| 68.3% | Renewable % | 50.8% |
Generation Mix
Idaho
California
Frequently Asked Questions
Idaho has cheaper residential electricity at 11.82¢/kWh. The difference is 20.72¢/kWh between the two states. Idaho ranks #2 and California ranks #50 cheapest among all states.
Idaho gets 68.3% of electricity from renewables, while California gets 50.8%. Idaho leads in renewable energy adoption.
Electricity rates from EIA retail sales data. Generation mix from EIA electric power operational data.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026.
The side-by-side above pulls the the EIA Open Data API and State Electricity Profiles data for both Idaho and California. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Idaho versus California, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual Idaho and California detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.