The Cheapest and Most Expensive States for Electricity — July 2026
The residential price per kilowatt-hour is not close to uniform across the country: the cheapest jurisdiction EIA reported for July 2026, Louisiana at 12.72¢/kWh, charges roughly 3.8× less than the most expensive, Hawaii at 48.00¢/kWh. Two households using identical kilowatt-hours in these two states pay very different bills, for reasons that have nothing to do with either one wasting electricity.
10 cheapest and 10 most expensive
Cheapest
| 1 | Louisiana | 12.72¢/kWh |
| 2 | Nevada | 12.77¢/kWh |
| 3 | Utah | 13.12¢/kWh |
| 4 | North Dakota | 13.41¢/kWh |
| 5 | Tennessee | 13.71¢/kWh |
| 6 | Idaho | 13.73¢/kWh |
| 7 | Nebraska | 13.78¢/kWh |
| 8 | Kentucky | 13.81¢/kWh |
| 9 | Arkansas | 14.33¢/kWh |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 14.35¢/kWh |
Most expensive
| 1 | Hawaii | 48.00¢/kWh |
| 2 | California | 33.61¢/kWh |
| 3 | Maine | 32.41¢/kWh |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 30.49¢/kWh |
| 5 | New York | 29.90¢/kWh |
| 6 | Alaska | 28.83¢/kWh |
| 7 | Rhode Island | 28.29¢/kWh |
| 8 | New Hampshire | 26.60¢/kWh |
| 9 | District of Columbia | 25.21¢/kWh |
| 10 | New Jersey | 25.19¢/kWh |
All 51 reported jurisdictions, with 12-month history, are on the state directory.
Why the range is this wide
A residential rate stacks several costs that vary independently by region: the generation mix available nearby (a state near cheap hydro or an oversupplied gas basin starts from a lower fuel cost than one that has to import most of its power), how far electricity has to travel over transmission lines to reach homes, and the capacity and reliability charges a grid operator collects to guarantee power is available at peak demand.
2 of the 10 most expensive jurisdictions above sit inside the PJM Interconnection footprint, where capacity prices are set years ahead at auction and are already fixed through 2028/2029 — a documented, sourced piece of why that region skews toward the expensive end. Weather matters too: a state that needs heavy air conditioning or electric heat for months at a time buys more power at whatever the peak-hour price happens to be, which shows up in the annual average even though the per-kWh rate itself did not change.
Does having supplier choice make electricity cheaper?
Not in any simple way the two lists above would show on their own — both the cheapest and most expensive jurisdictions include deregulated and regulated states. Retail choice changes who sets the supply price (a competitive market versus a state commission), not the underlying fuel and grid costs that drive most of the state-to-state gap covered above. What it actually changes for a bill, and where it applies, is covered in deregulated vs. regulated states.
See where your own state ranks
Enter your state and bill: the calculator places you against your state's average and shows the increases already locked in. Nothing you type is stored.
Bill Shock Calculator
See where you stand - and where your bill is headed. Nothing you type is stored.
Ohio average: $224/mo at 19.45¢/kWh (+11.9% YoY)
Your bill is 33.0% below the state average (≈771 kWh/mo at the state average price).
Where your bill is headed:
- locked2027/2028 delivery year (Jun 2027 - May 2028)+$0.23/mo
- locked2028/2029 delivery year (Jun 2028 - May 2029)-$0.23/mo
- trendIf the last 12 months' trend continues+$17.89/mo
“Locked” = PJM capacity auction prices already cleared (a floor - several utility zones cleared higher). “Trend” = the observed 12-month EIA trend extended, not a promise.
Three ways to fight it:
- Switch your plan. Ohio lets residents pick their electricity supplier. Plan comparison coming soon.
- Find your energy hogs. See what each appliance actually costs to run at Ohio rates: cost-to-run guides.
- Get a home energy audit. DOE guide to professional and DIY audits.
Estimate only, based on official data as of July 2026 (U.S. EIA residential averages; PJM auction results). Your actual plan price differs.
Keep going
- The PJM capacity charge, explained — the auction that fixes part of your future bill years ahead.
- Deregulated vs. regulated states — what market structure actually changes for a bill.
- Your state's average price and history — all 51 reported jurisdictions, refreshed monthly.
Estimate only, based on official data as of July 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, residential retail sales (public domain), refreshed monthly. Jurisdictions EIA has not yet reported for July 2026 are excluded from this ranking, never counted as zero. Your actual plan price differs.