Average Electric Bill in California
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $1,970 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, California has the 16th highest average residential bill.
Data current through August 2026 — the latest available from the U.S. EIA, which publishes monthly figures on a roughly two-month delay.
What makes up the bill
Price × usage = bill, exactly: 32.71¢/kWh × 502 kWh ≈ $164. A state can land high on either factor — California pays well above the national rate but uses less power than average.
Compared with nearby states
| California | $164 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Arizona | $163 | |
| Oregon | $131 | |
| Nevada | $122 |
California is $6 a month above (+3.7%) the U.S. average of $158. Neighboring states share fuel mixes, weather, and often a grid operator, which makes them a closer benchmark than the national average.
Trend since 2008
Each point is a trailing 12-month average, which strips out the summer/winter swing and leaves the underlying trend. Bills start in January 2008 because that is when EIA began reporting customer counts.
Seasonal swing
- Highest month
- $235
- August 2026
- Lowest month
- $134
- November 2025
- Swing
- $101
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $235
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: California peaks in August 2026 and bottoms out in November 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
California electricity bills in context
California's average monthly electricity bill is $164, ranking 16th highest among the 50 states and DC. This bill reflects two forces working in opposite directions: the state's price of 32.71¢/kWh is far above the national average of 18.07¢/kWh, pushing the bill up by 14.64¢/kWh. However, California homes use 502 kWh per month, well below the national average of 876 kWh, which pulls the bill down. Together these effects leave California's bill $6 above the national figure of $158.
Over the past year, the bill rose 4.5%, from $157 to $164. The longer history shows steeper climbs: since August 2021 the bill has grown 29.5%, and since December 2008 it has more than doubled, rising 102.4% from $81. Seasonal swings are pronounced, with August 2026 reaching $235 and November 2025 dropping to $134, a spread of $101 around the twelve-month average.
Among neighbouring states, Arizona's bill of $163 nearly matches California's, while Oregon at $131 and Nevada at $122 are both considerably lower.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in California?
›Is the electric bill in California higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity expensive in California?
›When is the electric bill highest in California?
›How does California compare with neighboring states?
How this is calculated
EIA’s retail-sales dataset reports, for every state and month, total residential revenue and the number of residential customers served. The average monthly bill is simply the first divided by the second — total spending across all households, spread evenly over all accounts.
bill = revenue ÷ customers · averaged over 12 months (September 2025 – August 2026)
Two caveats worth knowing. It is an average, so it blends apartments with large houses — a typical household in California may pay well above or below $164. And it counts what was actually billed for electricity, including fixed service charges, so it is not the same as multiplying your own usage by the advertised rate.
Looking for the rate rather than the bill? See California electricity prices by sector.