Average Electricity Bill by State: Hawaii Pays Twice New Mexico

A household in Hawaii paid $212.12 a month for electricity on average in 2024. One in New Mexico paid $92.88. Across the country the average residential bill was $142.26 a month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s final annual table, which covers 143.1 million residential customers. That table, released on 7 October 2025, is the most recent state-by-state bill table EIA has published. This guide covers the United States, with all figures in US dollars.

Average Electricity Bill by State: The Full Table

Every state and the District of Columbia appears below, ranked from the highest average monthly bill to the lowest. The figures come from EIA’s Table 5A, “2024 Average Monthly Bill – Residential”, built from utility filings on forms EIA-861, EIA-861S and EIA-861U. Data period: calendar year 2024.

We checked the table in Python before publishing. The state customer counts add up exactly to EIA’s national total of 143,144,185, and for every row, average use multiplied by average price lands within 1% of the published bill. Weighting each state by its customers reproduces the national average of $142.26.

Why Is This 2024 Data and Not 2025?

EIA has stopped producing the formatted sales, revenue and price tables; the product page now says it has been discontinued, with 2024 as the last edition. Final 2025 survey data came out on 7 October 2026, but only as raw EIA-861 data files, not as a ready-made bill table. We will update this page once state bill figures for 2025 are published in a citable form. In the meantime, EIA’s explainer on electricity prices gives a 2025 national average residential price of 17.30 cents per kWh, compared with 16.48 cents in the 2024 bill table.

Readers may also see slightly different 2024 numbers elsewhere. An EIA Today in Energy article from May 2025, written before the final data, put the national average at $144 a month and named Utah the cheapest state at $89. The final table above lowers the national figure to $142.26 and puts New Mexico, at $92.88, below Utah’s $94.57.

States With the Highest Electricity Bills

The top five reach the same result by two different routes. Hawaii households used fewer kilowatt-hours than anyone else in the country, 495 a month, yet paid the most because each unit cost 42.86 cents. EIA says Hawaii’s high prices come mainly from its reliance on imported petroleum fuels. Connecticut and Massachusetts follow the same pattern, with modest use and prices close to 30 cents.

Alabama is the opposite case. Its price of 15.18 cents was not far from the national 16.48, but its homes used 1,143 kWh a month, the fourth-highest figure in the table. Texas, sixth at $163.72, is similar: 1,096 kWh at 14.94 cents.

States With the Lowest Electricity Bills

The cheapest states are mostly in the Mountain West, where homes used no more than the national average of 863 kWh and paid less than the national price per kWh. A Hawaii household’s bill was 2.28 times New Mexico’s, a gap of $119.24 a month or about $1,431 over a year.

The lowest prices per kWh were in North Dakota (11.51 cents), Idaho (11.52), Nebraska (11.53), Louisiana (11.73) and Washington (11.90). Cheap power does not guarantee a small bill. Louisiana households used 1,202 kWh a month, the most of any state, and paid $140.96, just $1.30 under the national average.

Why Electricity Bills Differ So Much Between States

A bill is consumption multiplied by price, so every gap in the table traces back to one or both. EIA lists the forces that move the price side in its electricity prices explainer:

• Fuel mix and fuel costs: natural gas and petroleum prices rise when demand is high or supply is disrupted. States that import fuel, like Hawaii, pay more.
• Power plant costs: financing, building, running and maintaining plants all feed into rates.
• Transmission and distribution: building and repairing the grid, including storm damage and cybersecurity upgrades, adds cost.
• Weather: heat waves and cold snaps lift demand, and drought or weak wind can cut hydro and wind output, pushing prices up.
• Regulation: some states set prices fully through regulators, while others combine unregulated generation prices with regulated grid charges.

On the consumption side, climate does most of the work. The six highest-use states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Texas) are all in the South, where air conditioning runs for much of the year. The lowest-use states are Hawaii, California, New England and New York, where mild weather or high prices, or both, keep usage down. California is a good example of the trade-off: its homes used 503 kWh a month, about 58% of the national average, at 31.97 cents, and still paid $160.86.

Homes also pay more per unit than factories. EIA says delivering power to houses costs more than supplying industrial users, who take large volumes at higher voltages. In 2025 the average residential price was 17.30 cents per kWh, against 8.62 cents for industrial customers.

How to Estimate Your Own Monthly Bill

EIA’s state bill is simply average use times average price. Your own bill works the same way, with your utility’s fixed customer charge and taxes folded in. EIA’s average price is total revenue divided by total sales, so it already spreads those fixed charges across every kWh.

Monthly bill ≈ monthly kWh × price per kWh ÷ 100 (with the price in cents)

Worked Example: What 100 kWh Is Worth in Four States

Take a household that uses the national average of 863 kWh a month. At the 2025 national price of 17.30 cents, that comes to about $149.30 a month, up from $142.26 at the 2024 price. Now suppose the household trims 100 kWh a month, by raising the air-conditioning setpoint or replacing an old fridge. The saving depends heavily on where it lives. We ran the numbers in Python using each state’s 2024 price.

The same effort is worth more than three times as much in Hawaii as in Louisiana. That matters when weighing an upgrade: a heat pump or solar panel that pays back quickly in a high-price state can take far longer in a cheap one. Our break-even calculator handles that sort of payback sum, and the percentage calculator is useful for comparing your bill with your state’s average.

Ways to Cut Your Electricity Bill

Because the bill has two parts, savings come from using fewer kWh or paying less for each one.

• Set the thermostat back: the Department of Energy, as cited by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Building America guide, says turning the thermostat back 7°F to 10°F for eight hours a day can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling. The guide adds that savings are proportionally larger in mild climates.
• Check for a time-of-use rate: EIA notes that wholesale power costs peak in the afternoon and early evening, and some utilities offer time-of-day pricing. If you can run the dishwasher, laundry or EV charging late at night, such a plan may cost less.
• Watch summer use: EIA says prices are usually highest in summer. In hot states, cooling is the biggest lever, so shading, sealing ducts and servicing the AC pay off fastest there.
• Read your own meter data: many statements include a usage history. Compare yours with your state’s average in the table to see whether the problem is usage or price.
• Size backup power properly: if you run a generator, inverter or battery, matching it to real loads avoids waste. Our guide on how to calculate inverter battery backup time walks through the kWh arithmetic.

For small businesses the logic is the same, although commercial customers sit in a separate EIA table with different prices. More money explainers are in our Finance section.

This article is for information and education only and is not investment, tax or financial advice. Figures were checked on 29 October 2026; confirm current details with the official source or a registered adviser before acting.

Is $200 a Month High, and How Many kWh Does a Home Use?

What Is the Average Electric Bill in the US Per Month?

EIA’s final 2024 figure is $142.26 a month for residential customers, based on average use of 863 kWh at 16.48 cents per kWh. That is about $1,707 a year.

Which State Has the Highest Electric Bill?

Hawaii, at $212.12 a month in 2024, followed by Connecticut at $199.66. Hawaii also had the highest price per kWh, 42.86 cents.

Which State Has the Cheapest Electricity Bill?

New Mexico had the lowest average bill in EIA’s final 2024 table, $92.88 a month, just below Utah’s $94.57. North Dakota had the lowest price per kWh at 11.51 cents.

Is a $200 Electric Bill High?

Against the national average of $142.26, yes. Only Hawaii’s average exceeded $200 in 2024, though a large home in a hot state can pass that level in summer.

How Many kWh Does an Average Home Use Per Month?

The 2024 US average was 863 kWh a month, ranging from 495 kWh in Hawaii to 1,202 kWh in Louisiana.

EIA Bill Tables, Form 861 Data and PNNL Building Research

• EIA: Table 5A, 2024 Average Monthly Bill – Residential
• EIA: Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price (data for 2024)
• EIA: Annual Electric Power Industry Report, Form EIA-861 detailed data files
• EIA Energy Explained: Electricity prices and factors affecting prices
• EIA Today in Energy: Residential electric bills in Hawaii and Connecticut are twice those in New Mexico, Utah (May 2025)
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Building America Solution Center: Thermostat controls