Electricity Cost per kWh by State (2026)
What a kilowatt-hour costs in all 50 states and DC, from 12.35 ¢ in Idaho to 52 ¢ in Hawaii — with what that difference does to a real bill.
A kilowatt-hour is not a national price. The same fridge, the same hours, the same year — and the bill changes by a factor of 4.2 depending on which state you plug it in. That gap is bigger than almost any efficiency upgrade you could make, and it is the single number most cost estimates leave out.
These are the May 2026 residential figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the same source utilities and regulators cite, with May 2025 alongside so you can see which way your state is moving.
What the gap costs you
Same appliance, same usage, three different states. Yearly running cost at Idaho rates, at the US average, and at Hawaii rates.
| Appliance | Idaho | US average | Hawaii |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air conditioner 648 kWh/yr | $80 | $119 | $337 |
| Refrigerator 460 kWh/yr | $57 | $85 | $239 |
| Tumble dryer 390 kWh/yr | $48 | $72 | $203 |
| Electric water heater 1,577 kWh/yr | $195 | $291 | $820 |
Price per kWh in every state
Residential average, May 2026. The last column is the change from May 2025 — worth a look before you sign a fixed-rate contract.
| State | ¢ /kWh | vs. last year | vs. US average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52 ¢ | +26.7 % | +182 % |
| California | 33.25 ¢ | −0.1 % | +80.3 % |
| New York | 29.93 ¢ | +12.1 % | +62.3 % |
| Rhode Island | 29.46 ¢ | +1.6 % | +59.8 % |
| Massachusetts | 28.82 ¢ | −3.6 % | +56.3 % |
| Maine | 28.63 ¢ | +2.6 % | +55.3 % |
| Alaska | 28.23 ¢ | +8.2 % | +53.1 % |
| Connecticut | 27.37 ¢ | −13.4 % | +48.4 % |
| New Hampshire | 27.33 ¢ | +13.8 % | +48.2 % |
| District of Columbia | 25.4 ¢ | +24.3 % | +37.7 % |
| Vermont | 24.89 ¢ | +4.8 % | +35 % |
| Illinois | 23.85 ¢ | +28.4 % | +29.3 % |
| New Jersey | 23.27 ¢ | +13.6 % | +26.2 % |
| Michigan | 22.01 ¢ | +8.8 % | +19.4 % |
| Maryland | 21.77 ¢ | +14.6 % | +18.1 % |
| Pennsylvania | 21.55 ¢ | +11.7 % | +16.9 % |
| Wisconsin | 19.74 ¢ | +4.2 % | +7 % |
| Ohio | 19.52 ¢ | +14.2 % | +5.9 % |
| Delaware | 19.38 ¢ | +6.9 % | +5.1 % |
| Indiana | 18.15 ¢ | +7.4 % | −1.6 % |
| Virginia | 17.61 ¢ | +15.4 % | −4.5 % |
| Minnesota | 16.95 ¢ | +7 % | −8.1 % |
| West Virginia | 16.8 ¢ | +3.8 % | −8.9 % |
| Alabama | 16.77 ¢ | +3.8 % | −9.1 % |
| Texas | 16.44 ¢ | +5.9 % | −10.8 % |
| Oregon | 16.27 ¢ | +2.3 % | −11.8 % |
| South Carolina | 16.18 ¢ | +5 % | −12.3 % |
| Colorado | 16.16 ¢ | +3.7 % | −12.4 % |
| Mississippi | 16.16 ¢ | +8.9 % | −12.4 % |
| Georgia | 15.84 ¢ | +5.7 % | −14.1 % |
| South Dakota | 15.73 ¢ | +9.8 % | −14.7 % |
| Arizona | 15.23 ¢ | −3.1 % | −17.4 % |
| Florida | 15.17 ¢ | +1.3 % | −17.7 % |
| Kansas | 15.13 ¢ | +2.7 % | −18 % |
| North Carolina | 15.09 ¢ | +5.4 % | −18.2 % |
| Kentucky | 14.98 ¢ | +8.2 % | −18.8 % |
| Washington | 14.95 ¢ | +9.5 % | −18.9 % |
| Wyoming | 14.8 ¢ | +7.1 % | −19.7 % |
| Montana | 14.67 ¢ | +13.9 % | −20.4 % |
| Tennessee | 14.47 ¢ | +5.4 % | −21.5 % |
| Arkansas | 14.36 ¢ | +8.9 % | −22.1 % |
| Louisiana | 14.15 ¢ | +6.7 % | −23.3 % |
| Iowa | 14.14 ¢ | −0.1 % | −23.3 % |
| New Mexico | 14.12 ¢ | −2.6 % | −23.4 % |
| Missouri | 13.68 ¢ | +5.1 % | −25.8 % |
| North Dakota | 13.61 ¢ | +3.9 % | −26.2 % |
| Nevada | 13.6 ¢ | +2.3 % | −26.2 % |
| Nebraska | 13.59 ¢ | +3.3 % | −26.3 % |
| Oklahoma | 13.38 ¢ | +3.4 % | −27.4 % |
| Utah | 12.96 ¢ | +2.9 % | −29.7 % |
| Idaho | 12.35 ¢ | +4 % | −33 % |
The whole country at a glance
Every state, dearest first. The highlighted bar is the national average.
Why the difference is so big
Four things drive most of the spread, and none of them is how much electricity you use:
- What burns in the power plants. States sitting on cheap hydro or their own gas — the Pacific Northwest, the Gulf Coast — generate for less than states importing fuel. Hawaii is the extreme case: most of its power still comes from oil delivered by ship, which is why it pays 52 ¢ while Idaho pays 12.35 ¢.
- Distance and terrain. Wires have to reach everyone. Long rural lines and dense, expensive urban networks both cost more per customer than compact suburban ones, and that goes on the bill as delivery charges rather than energy.
- Whether the market is deregulated. In about a third of states you buy energy from a competitive retailer and delivery from the utility. That can cut the energy half — or raise it, if a teaser rate rolls over into a variable one.
- What the state decided to fund through the bill. Efficiency programmes, renewable mandates, wildfire liability and storm hardening are recovered through rates. It is a policy choice, and it shows up as cents per kilowatt-hour.
None of this is under your control. What is: knowing your own number and using it. The state average is a starting point — your utility's actual rate is on your bill, and every calculator here takes it.
State averages are exactly that: averages. Your rate depends on your utility, your tariff, whether you are on time-of-use pricing, and the season. Use the figure on your own bill for anything that matters. WattFigures is not affiliated with the U.S. Energy Information Administration.