Average Electric Bill in New Jersey
Residential · 12-month average, September 2025 – August 2026.
That works out to about $1,924 a year. Among the 50 states and DC, New Jersey has the 21st 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: 23.76¢/kWh × 675 kWh ≈ $160. A state can land high on either factor — New Jersey pays well above the national rate but uses less power than average.
Compared with nearby states
| New Jersey | $160 | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. average | $158 | |
| Pennsylvania | $175 | |
| New York | $168 | |
| Delaware | $167 |
New Jersey is $2 a month above (+1.2%) 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
- $261
- July 2026
- Lowest month
- $109
- October 2025
- Swing
- $152
- peak minus low
- Latest month
- $236
- August 2026
Actual bills are far from flat: New Jersey peaks in July 2026 and bottoms out in October 2025. The headline figure above is the average across all twelve months.
New Jersey electricity bills in context
New Jersey's average monthly electricity bill is $160, ranking 21st among the 50 states and DC — closer to the national average of $158 than to the extremes. The state's price of 23.76¢/kWh runs well above the national rate of 18.07¢/kWh, pushing the bill higher. This premium is partially offset by lower usage: New Jersey homes consume 675 kWh per month on average, compared with 876 kWh nationally, a difference of 201 kWh that pulls the bill down. The net effect leaves New Jersey just $2 above the national figure for the twelve-month period from September 2025 to August 2026.
Over the past year, the bill has grown sharply. It stood at $141 in the prior twelve-month period, marking a rise of 13.8%. The climb accelerates over longer spans: the bill has increased 42.3% since August 2021 and 43.8% since the series began in December 2008, when it was $111.
Seasonal swings are pronounced. July 2026 saw the peak at $261, while October 2025 brought the lowest point at $109 — a gap of $152 that dwarfs the modest annual average. Among neighbouring states, Pennsylvania's average bill of $175 stands notably higher, whereas New York at $168 and Delaware at $167 both exceed New Jersey's figure by a smaller margin.
Written from the EIA figures on this page, covering data through August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
›How much is the average electric bill in New Jersey?
›Is the electric bill in New Jersey higher than the national average?
›Why is electricity expensive in New Jersey?
›When is the electric bill highest in New Jersey?
›How does New Jersey 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 New Jersey may pay well above or below $160. 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 New Jersey electricity prices by sector.