CostPerKWh shows what electricity costs in each U.S. state and what everyday appliances cost to run, using official government data instead of guesses.
Data and update schedule
- State electricity rates come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly. EIA publishes each month with about a two-month delay; the current figures are for August 2026 (downloaded 2026-11-02). We refresh them when a new month is released.
- Average bills and monthly usage by state come from EIA's annual electric sales and revenue data (2024).
- Real-world appliance use comes from EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (2020), the most recent national survey of how homes use energy, broken down by region.
- Formulas follow the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Saver guidance.
Sources
- EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A – Average price of electricity by state
- EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B – Year-to-date average price by state
- EIA Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price – 2024 average monthly bill (Table 5A)
- EIA 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey – end-use consumption (Tables CE5.3a, CE5.3b)
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver – Estimating appliance and home electronic energy use (archived)
- U.S. Department of Energy – 2023 central air conditioner standards FAQ
- fueleconomy.gov – Electric vehicle efficiency ratings (kWh/100 mi)
- ENERGY STAR – Room air conditioners
Photos
Photos are from Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License.
Limitations
State rates are averages: total residential revenue divided by kWh sold. Your utility, plan and fixed charges determine your real price, and appliance wattages on our pages are examples you should replace with the figure on your own appliance's label.
Contact
Spotted an error? Write to juanfersem@gmail.com.