Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: DOE LEAD, HHS LIHEAP · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Energy burden by state: who can afford the bill?

8.3%of income goes to home energy for U.S. households under 60% of state median income, against 2.2% for everyone

Vermont is highest at 13.1% and Washington lowest at 5.0%. Across 51 places, 23% of households live in an income bracket whose average burden is at or above DOE's 6% line. The gap between lower-income and all households is widest in Mississippi (+9.4 points).

Lower-income energy burden by state

Home energy burden of households under 60% of state median income, by stateNew Mexico: 10.4%Texas: 8.4%Kentucky: 10.1%Ohio: 9.3%Georgia: 8.8%Arkansas: 10.9%Oregon: 6.2%Pennsylvania: 10.0%Missouri: 9.8%North Carolina: 8.4%Utah: 5.8%Virginia: 7.5%Wyoming: 9.8%West Virginia: 11.8%New York: 8.5%Indiana: 9.4%Kansas: 9.8%Idaho: 8.0%Nevada: 8.8%Illinois: 8.9%Vermont: 13.1%New Jersey: 5.7%Minnesota: 7.4%Maryland: 6.8%Iowa: 8.9%Hawaii: 8.3%New Hampshire: 9.8%Rhode Island: 8.9%Connecticut: 10.1%Montana: 10.3%Arizona: 7.7%Nebraska: 9.2%Washington: 5.0%South Dakota: 9.6%California: 6.7%Alabama: 11.2%Wisconsin: 7.4%Mississippi: 12.4%Colorado: 6.1%Oklahoma: 11.5%Tennessee: 9.1%Louisiana: 11.0%Michigan: 9.5%Massachusetts: 8.5%Florida: 8.2%Alaska: 11.2%North Dakota: 7.8%South Carolina: 10.0%Maine: 12.8%Delaware: 8.5%District of Columbia: 5.9%
  • 5.0% to 7.5%
  • 7.5% to 8.5%
  • 8.5% to 9.6%
  • 9.6% to 10.4%
  • 10.4% to 13.1%

Share of yearly income spent on electricity, gas and other home fuels by households under 60% of state median income. Darker is higher. Click a state for its page.

All states in one table

Energy burden by income, tenure and LIHEAP coverage, 50 states and DC
Alabama11.22.823.24.02.63012
Alaska11.23.225.42.83.3258
Arizona7.72.017.42.31.992
Arkansas10.92.824.23.62.6279
California6.71.713.81.81.7112
Colorado6.11.713.01.61.71015
Connecticut10.12.918.93.42.93024
Delaware8.52.317.42.62.2269
District of Columbia5.91.111.51.21.0187
Florida8.22.018.72.41.9241
Georgia8.82.119.32.92.0278
Hawaii8.32.217.82.62.0246
Idaho8.02.218.12.42.22220
Illinois8.92.318.42.72.32914
Indiana9.42.720.83.42.62618
Iowa8.92.818.33.12.82624
Kansas9.82.721.23.52.62513
Kentucky10.12.620.93.22.52914
Louisiana11.02.722.33.82.5324
Maine12.84.025.03.64.04027
Maryland6.81.913.72.01.91215
Massachusetts8.52.514.82.42.63118
Michigan9.52.719.83.22.62838
Minnesota7.42.314.21.92.32721
Mississippi12.43.027.64.22.82910
Missouri9.82.620.63.52.52717
Montana10.32.821.62.72.92613
Nebraska9.22.719.93.22.62619
Nevada8.82.121.92.62.024No data
New Hampshire9.83.318.42.83.42620
New Jersey5.71.710.41.61.71423
New Mexico10.42.323.02.72.32610
New York8.52.315.21.82.63050
North Carolina8.42.117.82.62.02712
North Dakota7.82.416.11.92.51216
Ohio9.32.618.83.42.52819
Oklahoma11.53.025.53.82.82515
Oregon6.21.812.82.01.71112
Pennsylvania10.02.819.43.12.82920
Rhode Island8.93.016.43.03.02923
South Carolina10.02.422.23.22.2273
South Dakota9.62.820.72.92.82429
Tennessee9.12.419.12.92.2279
Texas8.42.217.52.52.1261
Utah5.81.713.71.91.6712
Vermont13.13.823.63.33.93733
Virginia7.51.915.82.21.9110
Washington5.01.410.11.31.51012
West Virginia11.83.125.14.22.93021
Wisconsin7.42.414.82.32.41028
Wyoming9.83.021.72.73.12614

Download state data as CSV Download all counties as CSV

Click a header to sort. Burden is the group's total home energy cost over its total income.

Top 15 states, lower-income households

% of income spent on home energy, households under 60% of state median income

  1. 1Vermont13.1%
  2. 2Maine12.8%
  3. 3Mississippi12.4%
  4. 4West Virginia11.8%
  5. 5Oklahoma11.5%
  6. 6Alaska11.2%
  7. 7Alabama11.2%
  8. 8Louisiana11.0%
  9. 9Arkansas10.9%
  10. 10New Mexico10.4%
  11. 11Montana10.3%
  12. 12Kentucky10.1%
  13. 13Connecticut10.1%
  14. 14South Carolina10.0%
  15. 15Pennsylvania10.0%

The staircase: burden falls as income rises

Households under 30% of state median income spend 17.0% of income on energy; those above the median spend 1.6%. In dollars the gap runs the other way: the top bracket spends $2,499 a year on energy and the bottom $1,635.

U.S. energy burden, % of income, by income bracket

  1. 17Under 30%
  2. 630% to 60%
  3. 460% to 80%
  4. 380% to 100%
  5. 2Over 100%

Does a high electricity price mean a high burden?

Lower-income energy burden against home electricity price, 51 states4681012141020304050Alaska: 26, 11Alabama: 16, 11Arkansas: 13, 11Arizona: 15, 8California: 33, 7Colorado: 16, 6Connecticut: 29, 10District of Columbia: 22, 6Delaware: 17, 8Florida: 15, 8Georgia: 15, 9Hawaii: 41, 8HIIowa: 14, 9Idaho: 12, 8Illinois: 18, 9Indiana: 16, 9Kansas: 15, 10Kentucky: 13, 10Louisiana: 13, 11Massachusetts: 30, 9Maryland: 19, 7Maine: 28, 13Michigan: 20, 9Minnesota: 16, 7Missouri: 13, 10Mississippi: 14, 12Montana: 13, 10North Carolina: 14, 8North Dakota: 12, 8NDNebraska: 12, 9New Hampshire: 25, 10New Jersey: 23, 6New Mexico: 15, 10Nevada: 13, 9New York: 26, 8Ohio: 17, 9Oklahoma: 13, 12Oregon: 15, 6Pennsylvania: 19, 10Rhode Island: 29, 9South Carolina: 15, 10South Dakota: 13, 10Tennessee: 13, 9Texas: 15, 8Utah: 13, 6Virginia: 15, 8Vermont: 23, 13VTWashington: 13, 5WAWisconsin: 18, 7West Virginia: 15, 12Wyoming: 13, 10home electricity price 2025, cents per kWhlower-income energy burden, %

Across 51 states the correlation is r = -0.01, a weak negative link. Burden also depends on income, climate, home size and what fuel heats the home, so price alone does not decide it.

Help against need

LIHEAP heating help in FY2024 equals 50 homes for every 100 households under 60% of state median income in New York, and 0 in Virginia. This pairs two sources that measure different things (state eligibility rules against a fixed income share), so it shows where help is thin, not who was turned away. The column is in the table above; each state page has the details and the shutoff rule we read.

Counties

Within states the spread is wider than between them. The 100 counties with the highest energy burden (5,000+ households) start at 7.0%.

How we measure it

DOE's LEAD Tool models household income and energy cost from Census survey data. We add up households, income and yearly electricity, gas and other-fuel cost for each state and group, then divide cost by income. Income brackets are shares of the state median, so a bracket means a different dollar amount in each state. A group's burden is its total cost over its total income, which comes out lower than the average of each household's own ratio, so read the 6% line as a guide for a group, not a count of households over it. Burden uses gross income before tax; it is a model, not a bill, and it dates from 2022, before the price rise shown in the FAQ below. The electricity burden ranking uses a different measure: the typical bill for the median household, electricity only, 2025 prices.

Browse by state

Sources

DOE LEAD Tool, 2022 update (OEDI submission 6219); HHS LIHEAP Clearinghouse; EIA 2025 state prices. The 6% definition: DOE LEAD Tool page.

Questions

Which state has the highest energy burden for lower-income households?

Vermont, at 13.1% of income for households under 60% of state median income; Maine is next at 12.8%.

What is an energy burden?

The share of gross household income spent on home energy. DOE's LEAD Tool calls a household at 6% or more a high-burden household.

Does energy burden include gas and heating oil?

Yes. These pages add electricity, gas and other fuel cost. The electricity burden ranking covers electricity only.

Why group by share of state median income?

So a bracket means the same thing in every state, relative to local incomes. The dollar amounts differ by state and are on each state page.

How old is the data?

The LEAD update used here is the 2022 release, modeled from Census survey data. The U.S. average home electricity price was 15.04 cents per kWh in 2022 and 17.30 in 2025 (EIA), so today's burdens may differ.

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8.3% of income goes to home energy for U.S. households under 60% of state median income, against 2.2% for everyone