Energy Bill Lab

National Energy Research Report

U.S. Residential Electricity-Rate Report

An original, source-led data report analyzing residential electricity rates across all U.S. states for one common reporting period. Features national benchmarks, state rankings, month-over-month rate movements, annual price shifts, and normalized household energy charge comparisons.

Validated Reporting PeriodApril 2026Latest complete reporting period available in Energy Bill Lab’s validated database. The U.S. EIA may have published a newer monthly release that has not yet completed our import and validation process.
U.S. Residential Average18.83 ¢/kWhWeighted national residential baseline
Highest vs. Lowest Spread34.27 ¢/kWh3.8× regional rate ratio
Database Coverage50 U.S. States20 states with published editorial reports

Key Research Findings

  • Common Reporting Period Integration: To eliminate period mismatch skew, all ranking calculations compare data strictly for the single common EIA reporting period of April 2026.
  • National Residential Baseline: The U.S. residential average rate for this period stood at 18.83 ¢/kWh.
  • Regional Rate Disparity: The state with the highest residential rate (Hawaii at 46.62 ¢/kWh) was approximately 3.8× higher than the state with the lowest rate (North Dakota at 12.35 ¢/kWh).
  • Household Cost Sensitivity: A standard 1,000 kWh monthly energy charge ranges from $123.50 in North Dakota to $466.20 in Hawaii.

Highest Residential Electricity Rates by State

Top 10 U.S. states with the highest residential electricity rates for period April 2026.

Top 10 U.S. states with highest residential electricity rates (Form EIA-861M, April 2026)
RankStateResidential Rate (¢/kWh)Reporting PeriodEditorial Report
#1Hawaii (HI)46.62 ¢April 2026Data Only
#2California (CA)35.25 ¢April 2026View California Report →
#3Connecticut (CT)32.24 ¢April 2026Data Only
#4New York (NY)29.45 ¢April 2026View New York Report →
#5Massachusetts (MA)29.45 ¢April 2026View Massachusetts Report →
#6Maine (ME)28.42 ¢April 2026Data Only
#7Rhode Island (RI)28.30 ¢April 2026Data Only
#8Alaska (AK)27.35 ¢April 2026Data Only
#9New Hampshire (NH)27.24 ¢April 2026Data Only
#10Vermont (VT)24.56 ¢April 2026Data Only

Lowest Residential Electricity Rates by State

Top 10 U.S. states with the lowest residential electricity rates for period April 2026.

Top 10 U.S. states with lowest residential electricity rates (Form EIA-861M, April 2026)
RankStateResidential Rate (¢/kWh)Reporting PeriodEditorial Report
#1North Dakota (ND)12.35 ¢April 2026Data Only
#2Idaho (ID)12.70 ¢April 2026Data Only
#3Nebraska (NE)13.28 ¢April 2026Data Only
#4Utah (UT)13.29 ¢April 2026Data Only
#5Oklahoma (OK)13.31 ¢April 2026Data Only
#6Iowa (IA)13.86 ¢April 2026Data Only
#7Montana (MT)13.90 ¢April 2026Data Only
#8Missouri (MO)14.01 ¢April 2026View Missouri Report →
#9Arkansas (AR)14.16 ¢April 2026Data Only
#10Nevada (NV)14.29 ¢April 2026Data Only

Largest Month-over-Month Rate Movements

States experiencing the largest single-month residential rate increases and decreases compared to the preceding calendar month.

Interpretation Guidance: Monthly movements should be interpreted cautiously. EIA state prices represent average residential revenue per kilowatt-hour, not a single utility tariff. Preliminary reporting, billing-cycle timing, supplier settlements, and customer mix can create unusually large month-to-month changes.

Largest Monthly Increases

Largest monthly rate increases (Form EIA-861M)
StateRateChange (¢)Change (%)
Hawaii46.62¢+4.39¢+10.4%
California35.25¢+1.90¢+5.7%
Connecticut32.24¢+1.77¢+5.8%
Illinois20.47¢+1.61¢+8.5%
Minnesota16.39¢+1.31¢+8.7%

Largest Monthly Decreases

Largest monthly rate decreases (Form EIA-861M)
StateRateChange (¢)Change (%)
Maryland22.07¢-13.78¢-38.4% *
Rhode Island28.30¢-1.61¢-5.4%
Massachusetts29.45¢-0.76¢-2.5%
West Virginia16.06¢-0.31¢-1.9%
Idaho12.70¢-0.31¢-2.4%

Largest 12-Month Annual Rate Movements

States with the highest year-over-year rate shifts compared to the exact same calendar month one year earlier.

Largest Annual Increases

Largest 12-month annual rate increases (Form EIA-861M)
StateRateChange (¢)Change (%)
Hawaii46.62¢+4.18¢+9.8%
New York29.45¢+3.76¢+14.6%
New Hampshire27.24¢+3.58¢+15.1%
New Jersey23.53¢+3.38¢+16.8%
Ohio19.49¢+3.17¢+19.4%

Largest Annual Decreases

Largest 12-month annual rate decreases (Form EIA-861M)
StateRateChange (¢)Change (%)
Massachusetts29.45¢-1.18¢-3.9%
Rhode Island28.30¢-0.59¢-2.0%
Arizona15.48¢-0.19¢-1.2%

Normalized Household Energy Charge Benchmarks

Monthly energy-only cost estimates calculated at standard consumption levels (kWh × rate in cents ÷ 100).

Important Consumer Disclaimer: These figures represent normalized energy-only charges. Actual monthly electric bills include fixed customer account fees, local transmission tariffs, time-of-use (TOU) rates, and municipal taxes.
Household monthly energy cost comparisons by usage level (Form EIA-861M, April 2026)
Monthly UsageNational Avg CostLowest State CostHighest State Cost
500 kWh / month (Small Apartment / Low Usage)$94.15$61.75 (North Dakota)$233.10 (Hawaii)
800 kWh / month (Medium Home / Efficient Household)$150.64$98.80 (North Dakota)$372.96 (Hawaii)
1,000 kWh / month (Standard U.S. Household Baseline)$188.30$123.50 (North Dakota)$466.20 (Hawaii)
1,500 kWh / month (Large Home / All-Electric / High AC)$282.45$185.25 (North Dakota)$699.30 (Hawaii)

Published State Rate Reports (50 Published States)

Explore our full 24-month historical trend analysis and market driver reports for editorially published states:

CaliforniaCATexasTXFloridaFLNew YorkNYPennsylvaniaPAIllinoisILOhioOHGeorgiaGANorth CarolinaNCMichiganMIArizonaAZVirginiaVAWashingtonWANew JerseyNJMassachusettsMATennesseeTNIndianaINMissouriMOMarylandMDWisconsinWIColoradoCOMinnesotaMNSouth CarolinaSCAlabamaALLouisianaLAKentuckyKYOregonOROklahomaOKConnecticutCTIowaIANevadaNVArkansasARMississippiMSKansasKSUtahUTNebraskaNENew MexicoNMWest VirginiaWVIdahoIDHawaiiHIMaineMENew HampshireNHRhode IslandRIVermontVTDelawareDEMontanaMTSouth DakotaSDNorth DakotaNDWyomingWYAlaskaAK

Data Sourcing, Methodology & Exclusions

Data Source & Sourcing Standard

All rate figures are derived from Form EIA-861M Monthly Retail Sales of Electricity reports published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The average residential rate is calculated by dividing total residential revenue (in U.S. dollars) by total residential energy sales (in kilowatt-hours) for each state.

Common Period Principle

To avoid skew caused by asynchronous state data updates, this report evaluates all rankings using a single common reporting period (April 2026). If a state record is missing for that specific period, it is disclosed under excluded states and omitted from rankings rather than replaced with an older value.

Citation & Data Reuse Guidance

Journalists, researchers, university faculties, and educational resource pages are welcome to cite or quote this report with proper attribution.

Energy Bill Lab. "U.S. Residential Electricity-Rate Report." Reporting period: April 2026. Based on U.S. Energy Information Administration Form EIA-861M Monthly Retail Sales data. Published by Jaynesh Shingala. https://energybilllab.com/research/us-residential-electricity-rate-report
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About the Publisher

This report is researched, built, and technically published by Jaynesh Shingala, Founder & Technical Publisher of Energy Bill Lab (Surat, Gujarat, India). Jaynesh is a Full-Stack Software Engineer specializing in deterministic energy data tools and transparent public calculators.

For custom data extracts, media inquiries, or technical methodology questions, contact:shingala.jaynesh@gmail.com