Homes pay 2.0 times as much per kWh as industry, and 2.8 times in New York
Across the U.S. in 2025, homes paid 17.30 cents per kWh and industry paid 8.62. In New York the ratio was 2.8 to one. In Hawaii it was 1.3.
What we found
Industrial customers buy in bulk at high voltage and run steadily. That costs a utility less per kilowatt-hour than serving many small homes, so a gap is expected.
What differs by state is the size of the gap: from 1.3 to 2.8 across 51 places.
Map
- 1.3x to 1.6x
- 1.6x to 1.7x
- 1.7x to 1.9x
- 1.9x to 2.0x
- 2.0x to 2.8x
Highest and lowest
Ten widest gaps
Ten narrowest gaps
How we computed it
- Take EIA's average price for home and for industrial customers in each state for 2025.
- Divide home by industrial. New York: 26.39 ÷ 9.55 = 2.76.
- U.S. ratio: 17.30 ÷ 8.62 = 2.01.
- Sort by ratio.
Formula: ratio = home price / industrial price
All 51 places
| New York | 1 | 26.39 | 9.55 | 2.76 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 2 | 15.08 | 5.90 | 2.56 |
| Texas | 3 | 15.47 | 6.55 | 2.36 |
| Michigan | 4 | 20.01 | 8.59 | 2.33 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 13.12 | 6.15 | 2.13 |
| South Carolina | 6 | 14.96 | 7.11 | 2.10 |
| Alabama | 7 | 16.10 | 7.73 | 2.08 |
| Pennsylvania | 8 | 19.30 | 9.36 | 2.06 |
| Wisconsin | 9 | 18.16 | 8.92 | 2.04 |
| Louisiana | 10 | 12.57 | 6.23 | 2.02 |
| Ohio | 11 | 16.96 | 8.52 | 1.99 |
| Tennessee | 12 | 13.18 | 6.74 | 1.96 |
| Arkansas | 13 | 12.84 | 6.71 | 1.91 |
| Iowa | 14 | 13.72 | 7.20 | 1.91 |
| Washington | 15 | 13.11 | 6.88 | 1.91 |
| Kentucky | 16 | 13.24 | 6.96 | 1.90 |
| Mississippi | 17 | 14.03 | 7.38 | 1.90 |
| West Virginia | 18 | 15.41 | 8.11 | 1.90 |
| Arizona | 19 | 15.32 | 8.10 | 1.89 |
| Georgia | 20 | 14.73 | 7.81 | 1.89 |
| Oregon | 21 | 15.37 | 8.28 | 1.86 |
| Vermont | 22 | 22.92 | 12.39 | 1.85 |
| Montana | 23 | 12.98 | 7.02 | 1.85 |
| Indiana | 24 | 16.23 | 8.89 | 1.83 |
| Kansas | 25 | 14.56 | 8.03 | 1.81 |
| North Carolina | 26 | 14.02 | 7.80 | 1.80 |
| Maine | 27 | 27.78 | 15.50 | 1.79 |
| Delaware | 28 | 17.13 | 9.64 | 1.78 |
| Colorado | 29 | 15.85 | 9.07 | 1.75 |
| Illinois | 30 | 17.69 | 10.14 | 1.74 |
| Florida | 31 | 15.24 | 8.84 | 1.72 |
| Minnesota | 32 | 15.82 | 9.32 | 1.70 |
| New Jersey | 33 | 22.63 | 13.90 | 1.63 |
| Nevada | 34 | 13.15 | 8.08 | 1.63 |
| Virginia | 35 | 15.28 | 9.45 | 1.62 |
| Missouri | 36 | 13.49 | 8.38 | 1.61 |
| Connecticut | 37 | 29.38 | 18.35 | 1.60 |
| Massachusetts | 38 | 30.48 | 19.35 | 1.58 |
| North Dakota | 39 | 11.81 | 7.50 | 1.57 |
| Maryland | 40 | 19.48 | 12.50 | 1.56 |
| Utah | 41 | 13.07 | 8.43 | 1.55 |
| Wyoming | 42 | 13.38 | 8.66 | 1.55 |
| Nebraska | 43 | 12.34 | 8.00 | 1.54 |
| South Dakota | 44 | 13.38 | 8.68 | 1.54 |
| California | 45 | 32.54 | 21.62 | 1.51 |
| District of Columbia | 46 | 21.94 | 14.78 | 1.48 |
| Idaho | 47 | 11.82 | 7.98 | 1.48 |
| New Hampshire | 48 | 24.56 | 16.88 | 1.45 |
| Rhode Island | 49 | 29.46 | 21.74 | 1.36 |
| Alaska | 50 | 26.09 | 20.03 | 1.30 |
| Hawaii | 51 | 40.59 | 31.46 | 1.29 |
51 rows. Also as a plain file: facts/data/homes-pay-more-than-industry.csv.
CSVWhat this does not show
Industrial price covers a very mixed group of customers, and in a small state a few large plants can move it. The ratio compares averages, not what one factory and one home would pay.
Sources, dates and licences
| Source | Data period | Retrieved | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| EIA electricity retail sales, annual and monthly (API v2) | annual 2010 to 2025, monthly to Jul 2026 | 1 Oct 2026 | U.S. government data, public domain; cite EIA |
All source data are U.S. government publications. The tables and charts on this page are our own computations from them; how the sources are joined.
Related
Previous: Outage minutes · Next: Clean power and price · All facts
Questions
Why do homes pay more than industry?
A utility serves a factory with one connection at high voltage and steady demand. Homes need more wires, meters and billing per kilowatt-hour.
Which state has the widest gap?
New York, where homes pay 2.8 times the industrial price.
Which has the narrowest?
Hawaii, at 1.3 times.
What is the U.S. average?
2.01 times, from 17.30 and 8.62 cents.
Is this unfair to households?
That is a policy question. The numbers show the size of the gap, not whether it is justified.