Same kilowatt. Same physics. 3.6× the price.
A kWh consumed in Bismarck and a kWh consumed in Honolulu are the same physical quantity of energy. Yet a household in North Dakota pays 11.45¢ for it, and a household in Hawaii pays 41.53¢. That gap is not market noise — it is the predictable output of four cost drivers stacking on top of each other.
About 60% of the spread is fuel mix. The five cheapest states (ND, NE, IA, OK, SD) sit on cheap lignite coal and abundant onshore wind. Hawaii imports nearly all its fuel by ship — mostly residual oil — and burns it in expensive island-scale plants. California's rates carry large climate-policy and wildfire-cost riders. New England has limited gas pipeline capacity into a high-demand winter market.
None of these are problems your supplier can shop away. They are baked into where you live.
Why your state's rate is what it is.
Four cost layers, set independently by geology, geography, regulation and policy. Each one shifts the average residential rate by several cents per kWh.
Factor 1 — Largest effect
In-state generation fuel mix
States that sit on cheap fuel pay less. The Great Plains have lignite coal, hydro and wind under 3¢/kWh wholesale. The Pacific Northwest runs on federal hydro. Hawaii burns imported oil at five times the cost.
Factor 2 — Geography
Fuel imports & transport
Hawaii imports nearly 100% of its fuel by ship. Alaska runs isolated diesel grids in many communities. New England has limited natural-gas pipeline capacity from Appalachian fields, so winter prices spike to LNG imports.
Factor 3 — Wires & poles
Transmission & distribution distance
Long transmission lines and low population density per mile of pole drive up delivery cost. Sparse rural states with dense in-state generation (like ND) still win, but states with long imports and rural distribution (parts of ME, VT) compound both penalties.
Factor 4 — Policy
State riders & climate policy
California's rates include wildfire-recovery, public-purpose and climate-credit riders worth several cents per kWh. New York and Massachusetts carry clean-energy standard charges. Texas and Louisiana carry almost none — closer to raw cost-of-service rates.
Roughly 60% of the spread is fuel mix (factor 1 + 2). The remaining 40% is delivery distance and state policy stack-up. Your supplier, if you have one to choose, sits on top of these — not underneath.
The five cheapest and five priciest states.
Annual cost is calculated at the US-average residential consumption of 886 kWh per month (about 10,632 kWh per year). Use the widget at the top of the page for all 50 states plus DC.
| Rank | State | ¢/kWh | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 11.45 | $1,217 |
| 2 | Utah | 11.70 | $1,244 |
| 3 | Idaho | 11.85 | $1,260 |
| 4 | Wyoming | 12.10 | $1,287 |
| 5 | Nebraska | 12.16 | $1,293 |
| Rank | State | ¢/kWh | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Hawaii | 41.53 | $4,415 |
| 50 | California | 32.08 | $3,411 |
| 49 | Rhode Island | 31.30 | $3,328 |
| 48 | Massachusetts | 30.63 | $3,257 |
| 47 | Maine | 29.55 | $3,142 |
Every state in the cheapest column sits on either cheap in-state fossil fuel (lignite, gas) or federal hydro. Every state in the priciest column is either a fuel importer (HI), a high-policy state (CA, MA), or a winter-constrained gas market (RI, ME, NH).
Your region predicts your rate better than your supplier does.
The Northeast averages 25.63¢/kWh. The South Central region averages 14.11¢/kWh. That is an 11.5¢ regional spread — about $1,220 per year at typical use.
Within each region the variation is small. Within the Northeast, MA, RI and CT all sit between 28¢ and 31¢. Within the South Central region, AR, LA and OK all sit between 12¢ and 14¢. A regional move can save more than any supplier switch.
Why your state's rate keeps changing.
US residential rates moved 21% in just 5 years (2022 to 2026), and 5.4% in the last 12 months alone. Four moving parts explain it.
Wholesale fuel costs
Natural gas now sets the price in most US grid hours. When Henry Hub gas moves from $2.50 to $5.00/MMBtu, residential rates follow within a billing cycle on variable plans and within months on fixed-rate filings.
Delivery rate cases
Each utility files a rate case with its state PUC every 2 to 5 years. Approved increases — for grid hardening, new transmission, storm recovery — flow straight to the delivery line on your bill.
Capacity & reliability charges
In PJM and ISO-NE, capacity auctions for the right to be available on peak days have cleared at record prices for 2025–2026. Those costs flow through to retail bills.
State riders & storm cost recovery
California has added wildfire-mitigation surcharges of several cents per kWh. Louisiana, Florida and the Carolinas have added storm-recovery riders. These show up on the "delivery" or "rider" line, not in the supply rate.
A locked-in fixed supply contract only hedges layer 1 (wholesale fuel). The other three layers can still rise mid-contract — which is why a "fixed plan" bill can still climb.
How a low-rate state still ends up with a high bill.
A state rate is one number. Your bill is at least three. Five recurring mistakes turn a "cheap state" into an expensive household.
What you can actually do with this number.
Calculate your actual yearly cost
Your kWh per year × your state rate ÷ 100. That is the supply portion. Add about 40% more for delivery and fees to estimate the all-in.
Check your retail-choice status
About 18 states plus DC let you pick your own supplier. If yours does, the supply portion is shoppable; if not, your rate is set by the utility tariff.
Look at YoY change, not absolute rate
A 5.4% YoY increase on 17.91¢ adds about $103 a year at 886 kWh/month. The trend matters more than the snapshot.
Cut usage, not the rate
A 10% drop in kWh saves the same as a 10% rate cut. Heat pumps, attic insulation, smart thermostats and LED lighting move kWh in the right direction.
Use TOU to your advantage
If your state offers time-of-use rates, shifting laundry, dishwasher and EV charging to off-peak hours can cut effective rates by 30 to 50%.
Check assistance & credits
Income-eligible households can apply for LIHEAP. Federal IRS tax credits cover up to 30% of heat-pump, insulation and solar costs.
Common questions about US electricity prices.
North Dakota, at 11.45¢ per kWh on the EIA March 2026 YTD residential price series. It is followed by Utah (11.70¢), Idaho (11.85¢), Wyoming (12.10¢) and Nebraska (12.16¢). All five are heavy in cheap in-state generation — lignite coal, federal hydro and onshore wind — and have low delivery costs per kWh because population density along the wires is reasonable.
Hawaii imports nearly all its fuel by ship, mostly residual oil. Each island runs its own isolated grid, so plants are built at small scale with no interconnect to share reserves. The state has aggressive renewable targets and adds policy riders on top. Together these put residential rates above 41¢/kWh — about 2.3× the US average.
New England relies on natural gas for about half its power, but pipeline capacity into the region is constrained. During winter, gas is priced for heating first, so power plants compete with home furnaces and sometimes burn LNG imports or oil. That winter scarcity pushes annual averages in Massachusetts (30.63¢), Rhode Island (31.30¢), Connecticut (28.10¢) and Maine (29.55¢) well above the US average.
Not always. Texas has a per-kWh rate of 14.92¢ but the average Texas household uses around 14,000 kWh per year, partly for summer cooling. Maine pays roughly twice the rate but uses only about 6,500 kWh per year. The two end up paying similar annual totals. Bill = rate × usage, and usage varies more by climate and home size than rate varies between low-rate states.
The EIA publishes residential prices monthly. Headline averages tend to move 3 to 8% per year in normal conditions, but US rates moved roughly 21% in just 5 years (2022 to 2026) due to gas-price volatility, post-COVID inflation in utility capital costs and several large state policy riders. Always pull the latest EIA release before relying on a number.
The official source is EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B, updated monthly. It lists average residential price by state for the most recent month and the year-to-date. All numbers on this page are pulled from the March 2026 YTD release.