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.

Research & analysis by Jaynesh Shingala•Lead Energy Data Analyst & Publisher•Source: U.S. EIA Form EIA-861M
Validated Reporting PeriodJuly 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 Average18.31 ¢/kWhWeighted national residential baseline
Highest vs. Lowest Spread35.28 ¢/kWh3.8× regional rate ratio
Database Coverage50 U.S. States50 of 50 state reports published

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 July 2026.
  • National Residential Baseline: The U.S. residential average rate for this period stood at 18.31 ¢/kWh.
  • Regional Rate Disparity: The state with the highest residential rate (Hawaii at 48.00 ¢/kWh) was approximately 3.8× higher than the state with the lowest rate (Louisiana at 12.72 ¢/kWh).
  • Household Cost Sensitivity: A standard 1,000 kWh monthly energy charge ranges from $127.20 in Louisiana to $480.00 in Hawaii.

Highest Residential Electricity Rates by State

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

Top 10 U.S. states with highest residential electricity rates (Form EIA-861M, July 2026)
RankStateResidential Rate (¢/kWh)Reporting PeriodEditorial Report
#1Hawaii (HI)48.00 ¢July 2026View Hawaii Report →
#2California (CA)33.61 ¢July 2026View California Report →
#3Maine (ME)32.41 ¢July 2026View Maine Report →
#4Massachusetts (MA)30.49 ¢July 2026View Massachusetts Report →
#5New York (NY)29.90 ¢July 2026View New York Report →
#6Alaska (AK)28.83 ¢July 2026View Alaska Report →
#7Rhode Island (RI)28.29 ¢July 2026View Rhode Island Report →
#8New Hampshire (NH)26.60 ¢July 2026View New Hampshire Report →
#9New Jersey (NJ)25.19 ¢July 2026View New Jersey Report →
#10Connecticut (CT)24.16 ¢July 2026View Connecticut Report →

Lowest Residential Electricity Rates by State

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

Top 10 U.S. states with lowest residential electricity rates (Form EIA-861M, July 2026)
RankStateResidential Rate (¢/kWh)Reporting PeriodEditorial Report
#1Louisiana (LA)12.72 ¢July 2026View Louisiana Report →
#2Nevada (NV)12.77 ¢July 2026View Nevada Report →
#3Utah (UT)13.12 ¢July 2026View Utah Report →
#4North Dakota (ND)13.41 ¢July 2026View North Dakota Report →
#5Tennessee (TN)13.71 ¢July 2026View Tennessee Report →
#6Idaho (ID)13.73 ¢July 2026View Idaho Report →
#7Nebraska (NE)13.78 ¢July 2026View Nebraska Report →
#8Kentucky (KY)13.81 ¢July 2026View Kentucky Report →
#9Arkansas (AR)14.33 ¢July 2026View Arkansas Report →
#10Oklahoma (OK)14.35 ¢July 2026View Oklahoma Report →

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 (%)
Maine32.41¢+2.82¢+9.5%
New Mexico16.09¢+1.03¢+6.8%
Massachusetts30.49¢+0.88¢+3.0%
Alaska28.83¢+0.62¢+2.2%
Nebraska13.78¢+0.53¢+4.0%

Largest Monthly Decreases

Largest monthly rate decreases (Form EIA-861M)
StateRateChange (¢)Change (%)
Hawaii48.00¢-4.72¢-9.0%
California33.61¢-1.13¢-3.3%
Rhode Island28.29¢-0.94¢-3.2%
Wyoming14.36¢-0.88¢-5.8%
Delaware18.48¢-0.81¢-4.2%

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 (%)
Hawaii48.00¢+8.64¢+22.0%
Maine32.41¢+4.43¢+15.8%
New Hampshire26.60¢+3.81¢+16.7%
New York29.90¢+3.68¢+14.0%
Maryland21.41¢+2.58¢+13.7%

Largest Annual Decreases

Largest 12-month annual rate decreases (Form EIA-861M)
StateRateChange (¢)Change (%)
Connecticut24.16¢-3.44¢-12.5%
Louisiana12.72¢-0.40¢-3.0%
Utah13.12¢-0.33¢-2.5%
Wyoming14.36¢-0.28¢-1.9%
New Jersey25.19¢-0.13¢-0.5%

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, July 2026)
Monthly UsageNational Avg CostLowest State CostHighest State Cost
500 kWh / month (Small Apartment / Low Usage)$91.55$63.60 (Louisiana)$240.00 (Hawaii)
800 kWh / month (Medium Home / Efficient Household)$146.48$101.76 (Louisiana)$384.00 (Hawaii)
1,000 kWh / month (Standard U.S. Household Baseline)$183.10$127.20 (Louisiana)$480.00 (Hawaii)
1,500 kWh / month (Large Home / All-Electric / High AC)$274.65$190.80 (Louisiana)$720.00 (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 (July 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: July 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
Download Report Summary (CSV) ↓

About the Publisher

This report is researched, built, and technically published by Jaynesh Shingala for Energy Bill Lab.

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