The state with the highest rate has the highest bill: partly true
Partly The claim: “The state with the highest rate has the highest bill” Bill = price times use. Hawaii households use 515 kWh a month on average (rank 50 of 51 for use), Hawaii households 515 (rank 50). Only 4 of the 10 highest prices are also among the 10 highest bills.
Hawaii is #1 on bills
Ranking 51 states by the 2025 home price puts Hawaii first at 40.40 cents. Its typical bill, average kWh per account times that price, is $207.87 a month, 1st of 51. It also has the largest bill of the 51.
The two lists agree loosely: rank correlation +0.50. They disagree most for Louisiana (48th on price, 21st on bill) and Colorado (23rd, 49th).
Price against bill, and the largest rank gaps
Price rank against bill rank: rank correlation +0.50; price against bill in dollars r = +0.56.
Use sets the second half of the bill
Monthly use runs from 493 kWh in California to 1,225 in Louisiana, a factor of 2.5. Prices span a factor of 3.4. A state with mid-range prices and heavy use can top the bill list, and a high-price state with light use can sit mid-table.
All 51 states in price order: bills $95 to $208
| Hawaii | 40.40 | 1 | 515 | $207.87 | 1 | +0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 31.35 | 2 | 493 | $154.64 | 20 | +18 |
| Massachusetts | 30.41 | 3 | 595 | $180.94 | 5 | +2 |
| Rhode Island | 29.48 | 4 | 562 | $165.65 | 9 | +5 |
| Connecticut | 29.31 | 5 | 705 | $206.63 | 2 | -3 |
| Maine | 27.69 | 6 | 534 | $147.77 | 24 | +18 |
| New York | 26.39 | 7 | 586 | $154.76 | 19 | +12 |
| Alaska | 26.11 | 8 | 564 | $147.20 | 26 | +18 |
| New Hampshire | 24.53 | 9 | 640 | $156.98 | 17 | +8 |
| Vermont | 22.79 | 10 | 592 | $134.81 | 33 | +23 |
| New Jersey | 22.48 | 11 | 670 | $150.63 | 22 | +11 |
| District of Columbia | 21.92 | 12 | 639 | $140.04 | 30 | +18 |
| Michigan | 20.03 | 13 | 635 | $127.17 | 36 | +23 |
| Maryland | 19.53 | 14 | 945 | $184.43 | 3 | -11 |
| Pennsylvania | 19.29 | 15 | 839 | $161.92 | 12 | -3 |
| Wisconsin | 18.08 | 16 | 667 | $120.60 | 41 | +25 |
| Illinois | 17.67 | 17 | 716 | $126.56 | 37 | +20 |
| Delaware | 17.15 | 18 | 920 | $157.81 | 15 | -3 |
| Ohio | 16.90 | 19 | 874 | $147.75 | 25 | +6 |
| Alabama | 16.09 | 20 | 1,145 | $184.30 | 4 | -16 |
| Indiana | 15.96 | 21 | 938 | $149.72 | 23 | +2 |
| Minnesota | 15.83 | 22 | 744 | $117.66 | 42 | +20 |
| Colorado | 15.69 | 23 | 658 | $103.30 | 49 | +26 |
| Oregon | 15.46 | 24 | 866 | $133.88 | 34 | +10 |
| Texas | 15.40 | 25 | 1,110 | $170.86 | 6 | -19 |
| West Virginia | 15.39 | 26 | 1,073 | $165.08 | 10 | -16 |
| Virginia | 15.28 | 27 | 1,067 | $163.05 | 11 | -16 |
| Arizona | 15.26 | 28 | 1,030 | $157.21 | 16 | -12 |
| Florida | 15.21 | 29 | 1,103 | $167.85 | 7 | -22 |
| South Carolina | 15.12 | 30 | 1,067 | $161.25 | 13 | -17 |
| New Mexico | 14.85 | 31 | 638 | $94.66 | 51 | +20 |
| Georgia | 14.74 | 32 | 1,077 | $158.67 | 14 | -18 |
| Kansas | 14.44 | 33 | 876 | $126.42 | 38 | +5 |
| Mississippi | 14.03 | 34 | 1,184 | $166.03 | 8 | -26 |
| North Carolina | 14.00 | 35 | 1,044 | $146.15 | 27 | -8 |
| Iowa | 13.62 | 36 | 861 | $117.34 | 43 | +7 |
| Wyoming | 13.37 | 37 | 835 | $111.60 | 46 | +9 |
| South Dakota | 13.32 | 38 | 984 | $131.14 | 35 | -3 |
| Missouri | 13.30 | 39 | 1,038 | $137.98 | 32 | -7 |
| Nevada | 13.26 | 40 | 867 | $115.05 | 45 | +5 |
| Tennessee | 13.22 | 41 | 1,181 | $156.07 | 18 | -23 |
| Oklahoma | 13.21 | 42 | 1,064 | $140.52 | 29 | -13 |
| Washington | 13.17 | 43 | 945 | $124.40 | 40 | -3 |
| Kentucky | 13.13 | 44 | 1,094 | $143.74 | 28 | -16 |
| Utah | 13.02 | 45 | 761 | $99.03 | 50 | +5 |
| Montana | 12.99 | 46 | 853 | $110.81 | 47 | +1 |
| Arkansas | 12.87 | 47 | 1,076 | $138.42 | 31 | -16 |
| Louisiana | 12.52 | 48 | 1,225 | $153.26 | 21 | -27 |
| Nebraska | 12.05 | 49 | 973 | $117.23 | 44 | -5 |
| Idaho | 11.83 | 50 | 933 | $110.37 | 48 | -2 |
| North Dakota | 11.82 | 51 | 1,070 | $126.40 | 39 | -12 |
Price rank 1 is Hawaii (40.40 ¢) with bill rank 1; bill rank 1 is Hawaii ($208) with price rank 1. 15 states are within 5 places on both lists.
CSVWhere the two lists agree
4 states are in the top 10 on both lists: Hawaii (40.40 ¢, $208), Massachusetts (30.41 ¢, $181), Rhode Island (29.48 ¢, $166), Connecticut (29.31 ¢, $207).
The reverse also happens. The three biggest jumps down from price rank to bill rank are Colorado (23rd on price, 49th on bill), Wisconsin (16th on price, 41st on bill), Michigan (13th on price, 36th on bill); the three biggest jumps up are Louisiana (48th, 21st), Mississippi (34th, 8th), Tennessee (41st, 18th).
Price times use
Pick a state to fill its price and average monthly use, then change either number.
What the bill figure leaves out
Our typical bill is a statewide average: average use per account from EIA monthly data for 2025 times EIA's average price (revenue divided by kWh sold). It is not a bill from any one utility. Your bill depends on your own use and your own utility, and a home with a heat pump or a pool can use several times the state average.
Map: typical bill by state
- $95 to $121
- $121 to $138
- $138 to $155
- $155 to $165
- $165 to $208
Darker = a larger bill. $95 to $208.
Keep reading
Sources and dates
| Source | Data period | Retrieved | Used here for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EIA electricity retail sales, annual and monthly (API v2) | annual 2010 to 2025, monthly to Aug 2026 | 26 Oct 2026 | Price, average use per account and typical bill, 2025 |
Questions
Does the state with the highest rate have the highest bill?
Not as a rule. Hawaii has the highest price (40.40 ¢) and ranks 1st of 51 on the typical bill, but the two rankings agree only loosely (rank correlation +0.50).
Which state has the highest typical bill?
Hawaii at $207.87 a month on 515 kWh, price 40.40 cents.
Which state has the lowest bill?
New Mexico at $94.66 a month.
How are the bills worked out?
Average kWh per account times the average price for each state, EIA monthly data for 2025, then averaged over the months. It is a statewide average, not any one utility's bill.
Why is the link between price and bill loose?
Use differs by a factor of 2.5 between states, so r = +0.56 between price and bill.
Which state has the biggest gap between its price and bill ranks?
Louisiana: 48th on price and 21st on bill, 27 places apart.
How many states have a top-10 price and a top-10 bill?
4 of the 10 highest-price states are also in the 10 highest bills.
Is the bill the right measure of cost?
It is one view. Burden as a share of income uses the same bill with median income.