U.S. Electricity Prices by State

This page reports the average retail price of electricity in the United States, in cents per kilowatt-hour, for every state and the District of Columbia. The figures come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which collects monthly revenue and sales from electric utilities and other retailers.

A state’s price for a month is its electricity revenue divided by the kilowatt-hours it sold. The national average applies the same division to the pooled totals, so a state that sells more electricity counts for more. The result is what customers paid on average, including delivery and fixed charges, not a rate any one customer is quoted.

In August 2026, residential customers paid an average of 18.16¢ per kilowatt-hour, up 3.2% from a year earlier. Commercial customers paid 14.47¢ and industrial customers 9.64¢. Residential prices ranged from 12.72¢ in Nevada to 47.18¢ in Hawaii. In January 2001 the national residential average was 7.73¢. Over the 12 months to August 2026, the average household’s bill came to $158 a month.

Prices move for several reasons. The cost of fuel, especially natural gas, feeds into rates. Spending on power lines and other grid equipment raises delivery charges over time. Regulators in many states approve rate changes on their own schedules, so prices often change in steps. Weather changes how much electricity is sold, and because fixed charges are spread across those sales, the average price per kilowatt-hour also varies by season. Industrial prices are usually the lowest because large customers take power in high volumes at higher voltage, which costs less to deliver.