Updated April 2026 · EIA data
U.S. States by Electricity Cost
All 51 states ranked by residential electricity price, with the U.S. average at 17.92¢/kWh. Cheapest residential power: North Dakota at 11.81¢. Most expensive: Hawaii at 40.59¢. Greenest grid: Vermont at 99.8% renewable. Data sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
How to Read the State Energy Table
The table below ranks every U.S. state by its residential electricity rate from cheapest to most expensive. Below the headline rate, the commercial and industrial rates round out the picture: business and industrial customers usually pay less than residential customers per kWh because they buy at higher voltage and in larger volumes. The renewable percentage column captures the share of in-state generation from hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass; the “top source” column shows the dominant fuel in the mix.
One subtlety worth flagging: the renewable percentage measures in-state generation, not consumed electricity. Many states are net importers or exporters of power, so the carbon intensity of consumed electricity differs from the in-state generation mix. For consumed-electricity emissions, the EPA eGRID dataset is the right reference.
All States, Ranked by Residential Rate
| # | State | Residential | Renewable | Top Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 11.81¢ | 39.5% | Coal (54.5%) |
| 2 | Idaho | 11.82¢ | 68.3% | Hydro (45.7%) |
| 3 | Nebraska | 12.34¢ | 35.9% | Coal (43.9%) |
| 4 | Louisiana | 12.57¢ | 4.1% | Natural Gas (75.5%) |
| 5 | Arkansas | 12.84¢ | 10.2% | Natural Gas (40.2%) |
| 6 | Montana | 12.98¢ | 57.4% | Coal (36.4%) |
| 7 | Utah | 13.07¢ | 20.9% | Coal (45.4%) |
| 8 | Washington | 13.11¢ | 69.5% | Hydro (59.3%) |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13.12¢ | 42.7% | Natural Gas (50.8%) |
| 10 | Nevada | 13.15¢ | 40.2% | Natural Gas (54.9%) |
| 11 | Tennessee | 13.18¢ | 13.8% | Nuclear (42.3%) |
| 12 | Kentucky | 13.24¢ | 7.1% | Coal (67.0%) |
| 13 | South Dakota | 13.38¢ | 81.6% | Wind (57.8%) |
| 14 | Wyoming | 13.38¢ | 25.6% | Coal (59.9%) |
| 15 | Missouri | 13.49¢ | 12.1% | Coal (58.1%) |
| 16 | Iowa | 13.72¢ | 65.5% | Wind (62.8%) |
| 17 | North Carolina | 14.02¢ | 13.8% | Natural Gas (41.1%) |
| 18 | Mississippi | 14.03¢ | 4.3% | Natural Gas (77.6%) |
| 19 | Kansas | 14.56¢ | 52.0% | Wind (51.6%) |
| 20 | Georgia | 14.73¢ | 12.5% | Natural Gas (40.7%) |
| 21 | South Carolina | 14.96¢ | 7.1% | Nuclear (53.5%) |
| 22 | New Mexico | 15.08¢ | 49.4% | Wind (38.1%) |
| 23 | Florida | 15.24¢ | 8.2% | Natural Gas (76.8%) |
| 24 | Virginia | 15.28¢ | 11.4% | Natural Gas (59.4%) |
| 25 | Arizona | 15.32¢ | 16.3% | Natural Gas (47.5%) |
| 26 | Oregon | 15.37¢ | 61.4% | Hydro (41.7%) |
| 27 | West Virginia | 15.41¢ | 7.0% | Coal (85.2%) |
| 28 | Texas | 15.47¢ | 29.4% | Natural Gas (51.8%) |
| 29 | Minnesota | 15.82¢ | 32.6% | Natural Gas (27.1%) |
| 30 | Colorado | 15.85¢ | 41.3% | Natural Gas (30.5%) |
| 31 | Alabama | 16.10¢ | 9.0% | Natural Gas (45.2%) |
| 32 | Indiana | 16.23¢ | 14.4% | Coal (41.8%) |
| 33 | Ohio | 16.96¢ | 5.3% | Natural Gas (59.6%) |
| 34 | Delaware | 17.13¢ | 4.4% | Natural Gas (87.6%) |
| 35 | Illinois | 17.69¢ | 15.3% | Nuclear (53.6%) |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 18.16¢ | 12.3% | Natural Gas (40.2%) |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 19.30¢ | 3.5% | Natural Gas (59.6%) |
| 38 | Maryland | 19.48¢ | 10.7% | Nuclear (41.6%) |
| 39 | Michigan | 20.01¢ | 12.0% | Natural Gas (44.9%) |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 21.94¢ | 46.8% | Natural Gas (53.2%) |
| 41 | New Jersey | 22.63¢ | 3.8% | Natural Gas (49.3%) |
| 42 | Vermont | 22.92¢ | 99.8% | Hydro (56.8%) |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 24.56¢ | 14.9% | Nuclear (57.1%) |
| 44 | Alaska | 26.09¢ | 28.2% | Natural Gas (46.8%) |
| 45 | New York | 26.39¢ | 30.0% | Natural Gas (48.3%) |
| 46 | Maine | 27.78¢ | 53.8% | Natural Gas (43.7%) |
| 47 | Connecticut | 29.38¢ | 3.1% | Natural Gas (58.2%) |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 29.46¢ | 10.0% | Natural Gas (89.9%) |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 30.48¢ | 19.6% | Natural Gas (77.5%) |
| 50 | California | 32.54¢ | 50.8% | Natural Gas (40.5%) |
| 51 | Hawaii | 40.59¢ | 21.2% | Solar (7.7%) |
What Drives the Differences Between States
Four forces explain almost all of the variation in the table above. Fuel mix matters most: states sitting on cheap natural gas, abundant hydro, or competitive wind generation pass low wholesale costs through to consumers, while states reliant on imported oil or older coal capacity face higher and more volatile rates. Regulatory structure matters second: regulated states centralize price-setting through public utility commissions, while deregulated states let competitive retail markets set prices — both can be cheap or expensive depending on local conditions, but the path to the rate differs.
Geography matters third: islands and remote states (Hawaii, Alaska) pay a delivery premium that no policy can fully erase, while contiguous states benefit from regional transmission interconnections. Policy choices matter fourth: state renewable portfolio standards, energy efficiency programs, and federal Clean Air Act compliance under EPA rules can raise short-term rates while lowering long-term volatility. Resource potential and technology cost trends from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shape how those policies translate into actual generation.
Methodology
All retail rates are pulled directly from EIA Form EIA-861 monthly survey data. Generation mix shares come from EIA Form EIA-923. Renewable percentage is the sum of in-state generation from hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, divided by total in-state net generation. No smoothing, projection, or modeled values are used — every figure is the federal source number, refreshed on the EIA monthly release schedule. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which U.S. state has the cheapest electricity?
On the latest EIA monthly retail-rate data, North Dakota has the lowest residential electricity rate at 11.81¢/kWh. The cheapest-rate states usually combine abundant local hydro generation, low-cost legacy fossil capacity, or both. The full ranked table below covers every U.S. state.
Which state has the most expensive electricity?
Hawaii currently leads on residential rates at 40.59¢/kWh. Hawaii sits at the top of the rate table because the islands rely heavily on imported oil for generation; states with high clean-energy mandates and high transmission costs (California, the Northeast) usually round out the top of the list.
How are state electricity rates determined?
Retail rates are set by state public utility commissions in regulated states and by competitive markets in deregulated states. Both pathways translate underlying generation and transmission costs into the per-kWh rate consumers pay. The biggest input is fuel mix: states with abundant cheap natural gas, hydro, or wind generation can pass low wholesale costs through to consumers; states with imported fuel or heavy transmission spend cannot.
How does renewable share relate to retail rates?
Not as straightforwardly as the headlines suggest. Some of the highest-renewable states (Washington, Idaho, South Dakota) have low rates because their renewable share is mostly cheap legacy hydro. Others (California, Vermont) pair high renewable mandates with high rates because of additional grid investment, transmission costs, or imported gas for non-renewable generation. The greenest U.S. grid today is Vermont at 99.8% renewable.
How current is the data on this page?
EIA refreshes retail-rate and generation data monthly on a roughly two-month lag. The current dataset was last refreshed April 2026. Each individual state page stamps its own last-updated date in the header. Across the full 51-state dataset, 16 states sit above the national average residential rate of 17.92¢/kWh and 35 sit at or below it.
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 tracked.