2018’s Most & Least Energy-Expensive States

Get ready to crank up your air conditioner — and utility budget. July tends to be the hottest month of the year. So if you’re trying to beat the heat, this month’s higher-than-usual power bill could burn a hole through your wallet.

In the U.S., energy costs eat between 5 and 22 percent of families’ total after-tax income, with the poorest Americans, or 25 million households, paying the highest of that range. And lower energy prices don’t necessarily equate to savings. Where we live and how much energy we use are a big part of the equation. For instance, although electricity is relatively cheaper in Southern Louisiana, its scorching summer heat raises costs for residents compared with the temperate climate in more energy-expensive Northern California, where heating and cooling units stay idle most of the year.

To better understand the impact of energy on our finances relative to our location and consumption habits, WalletHub compared the total monthly energy bills in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our analysis uses a special formula that accounts for the following residential energy types: electricity, natural gas, motor fuel and home heating oil. Read on for our findings, tips and insight from a panel of experts, and a full description of our methodology.

1 Main Findings 2 Ask the Experts

3 Methodology

Main Findings

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Total Energy Costs by State

Overall Rank*	State	Total Energy Cost	Monthly Electricity Cost (Rank)	Monthly Natural-Gas Cost (Rank)	Monthly Motor-Fuel Cost (Rank)	Monthly Home Heating-Oil Cost (Rank)
1	Wyoming	$372	$112 (38)	$37 (12)	$221 (1)	$1 (26)
2	Connecticut	$366	$156 (3)	$37 (16)	$126 (37)	$47 (3)
3	Georgia	$349	$154 (4)	$39 (11)	$157 (15)	~ $0 (42)
4	Alabama	$341	$173 (2)	$18 (41)	$150 (17)	~ $0 (39)
5	Mississippi	$340	$147 (9)	$15 (48)	$178 (2)	~ $0 (51)
6	Alaska	$338	$136 (16)	$58 (1)	$107 (49)	$37 (5)
7	Indiana	$337	$129 (25)	$33 (22)	$175 (4)	~ $0 (29)
8	West Virginia	$332	$147 (8)	$24 (33)	$158 (13)	$3 (15)
9	Oklahoma	$331	$132 (19)	$30 (25)	$168 (6)	~ $0 (44)
10	North Dakota	$330	$132 (23)	$20 (38)	$175 (3)	$3 (14)
11	Missouri	$326	$135 (17)	$34 (20)	$157 (14)	~ $0 (38)
12	Maine	$319	$110 (40)	$5 (49)	$140 (26)	$65 (1)
13	Maryland	$318	$149 (7)	$34 (19)	$129 (35)	$8 (12)
14	Massachusetts	$315	$122 (28)	$45 (8)	$113 (48)	$35 (7)
15	Michigan	$313	$114 (36)	$52 (4)	$147 (21)	$1 (25)
16	South Carolina	$313	$176 (1)	$16 (46)	$121 (43)	~ $0 (31)
17	Kansas	$312	$132 (22)	$40 (10)	$141 (25)	~ $0 (46)
18	New Hampshire	$311	$130 (24)	$16 (47)	$116 (45)	$49 (2)
19	Delaware	$310	$153 (5)	$27 (30)	$122 (42)	$8 (11)
20	Texas	$310	$144 (10)	$18 (39)	$148 (20)	~ $0 (50)
21	Minnesota	$309	$108 (41)	$37 (15)	$162 (8)	$2 (17)
22	Utah	$308	$94 (48)	$53 (2)	$161 (9)	~ $0 (33)
23	Nevada	$307	$117 (32)	$32 (23)	$158 (12)	~ $0 (32)
24	Vermont	$307	$116 (34)	$16 (44)	$129 (34)	$47 (4)
25	Kentucky	$306	$134 (18)	$22 (35)	$149 (18)	~ $0 (30)
26	South Dakota	$305	$132 (20)	$22 (36)	$148 (19)	$2 (21)
27	Idaho	$304	$114 (35)	$28 (28)	$160 (11)	$2 (20)
28	California	$303	$100 (47)	$32 (24)	$171 (5)	~ $0 (41)
29	Rhode Island	$302	$117 (33)	$48 (6)	$101 (50)	$37 (6)
30	North Carolina	$301	$141 (12)	$16 (45)	$142 (24)	$3 (16)
31	Montana	$298	$107 (42)	$28 (29)	$161 (10)	$1 (24)
32	Ohio	$295	$119 (30)	$42 (9)	$133 (30)	$2 (19)
33	Pennsylvania	$295	$125 (27)	$37 (14)	$115 (47)	$18 (9)
34	New Jersey	$293	$119 (29)	$47 (7)	$119 (44)	$8 (10)
35	Florida	$292	$153 (6)	$4 (51)	$136 (28)	~ $0 (45)
36	Tennessee	$292	$144 (11)	$18 (42)	$130 (33)	~ $0 (36)
37	Wisconsin	$292	$111 (39)	$37 (17)	$142 (23)	$2 (18)
38	Arizona	$291	$139 (13)	$18 (40)	$133 (29)	~ $0 (48)
39	Virginia	$290	$138 (14)	$23 (34)	$125 (38)	$4 (13)
40	Hawaii	$290	$132 (21)	$4 (50)	$154 (16)	~ $0 (49)
41	New York	$287	$102 (44)	$51 (5)	$115 (46)	$19 (8)
42	Nebraska	$285	$119 (31)	$30 (26)	$137 (27)	~ $0 (35)
43	New Mexico	$284	$87 (51)	$29 (27)	$168 (7)	~ $0 (47)
44	Arkansas	$282	$129 (26)	$22 (37)	$131 (31)	~ $0 (37)
45	Louisiana	$280	$138 (15)	$17 (43)	$125 (40)	~ $0 (43)
46	Illinois	$279	$100 (46)	$53 (3)	$126 (36)	~ $0 (34)
47	Iowa	$277	$113 (37)	$33 (21)	$131 (32)	$1 (28)
48	Oregon	$277	$107 (43)	$25 (32)	$144 (22)	$1 (23)
49	Washington	$253	$100 (45)	$25 (31)	$125 (39)	$2 (22)
50	Colorado	$252	$92 (50)	$36 (18)	$123 (41)	~ $0 (40)
51	District of Columbia	$203	$93 (49)	$37 (13)	$72 (51)	$1 (27)

*No. 1 = Most Energy-Expensive

Ask the Experts

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the highest energy consumption of the year is recorded in July, followed by August. That leads to higher energy costs during this period. For advice on reducing our dependence on traditional energy sources and cutting costs, we asked a panel of energy and policy experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

What are some good tips for saving money on energy bills?
What makes energy costs higher in some states than in others?
Are tax deductions and credits effective at incentivizing households to be more energy-efficient?
Do you believe the government should continue to provide energy assistance to low-income households? If so, what’s the best way?
Have recent regulatory changes made by the Trump administration begun to bring coal back?

< >

Lisa Schweitzer Professor, Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California
Matthew A. Turner Professor, Department of Economics, Brown University
S. Ismat Shah Director Energy and Environmental Policy Program, Professor, Physics and Astronomy, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware

Methodology

In order to determine the most and least energy-expensive states, WalletHub compared the average monthly energy bills in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia using the following equation:

(Average Monthly Consumption of Electricity * Average Retail Price of Electricity) + (Average Monthly Consumption of Natural Gas * Average Residential Price of Natural Gas) + (Average Monthly Consumption of Home Heating Oil * Average Residential Price of Home Heating Oil) + (Average Motor-Fuel Price * (Miles Traveled/Average Motor-Fuel Consumption/Number of Drivers in the State)) = Average Monthly Energy Bill in the State

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Energy Information Administration, Federal Highway Administration, American Automobile Association, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and The Regents of the University of Michigan.

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Clay E Chastain @scchastain

October 27, 2018

You should know that LINDSEY MILLER, a candidate for the Georgia PSC, is using this data in an extremely misleading way. Her intent is to paint energy providers as greedy corporations that she will get under control if elected to the PCS. She fails to point out what the RATES are. As far as electricity is concerned, Georgia's rates are BELOW the national average. Hot weather matters!

RedSpeckIn ABlueSea @atlantaph25

November 30, 2018

A much better representation of electricity pricing by State since 1998: http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/204.htm Ga is in the middle range

TONY SEGURA @ivmewl8

September 10, 2018

Since heating oil is of low demand in Texas, the results indicate the expected. On further analysis of electricity, which is, agreeably, the predominant source of power that is examined for the practices of energy efficiency, City Public Service of San Antonio presents a calculation methodology that, by perception, at the very least, charges its customers for energy-saving choices, such using solar energy to alleviate realtime costs. Further, local legislation makes it illegal to use any other known source of energy if it is not provided through the CPS power grid. For example, customers that have solar panels in use are required to have that use monitored by CPS. That usage is then subject to fees that are then paid to CPS. Without proper education of how the costs are calculated back to the customer, the perception, in large part, is that it is not worth the cost of going solar at all. CPS makes no effort to challenge this nor do they educate the public in a way that may thwart this mindset. CPS, from a public perspective, has an over-reach and sense of legal power that equals that of law enforcement. Meaning, it pretty much goes unchallenged. When checked and exposed for unreasonable practices, such as the head fo CPS's earnings reaching over $500k per year, and nearly as much itemized as business expenses, it quietly gets pushed under the rug. In addition, there are regular public statements that announce that "CPS has approved another rate increase." CPS is known to "average" the amount of a bill based on the previous year's usage, even if the customer has simply reduced their consumption using thoughtful practices designed to reduce their bill. So, I am actually a bit shocked that Texas has the moderate, and almost inconsequential, results that have been shown in this survey. Thank you for your efforts!

@rjsteven

July 19, 2018

live in Iowa and work for an electric utility. It doesn’t surprise me that Iowa is on the lower end but when seeing the average cost of $1 for heating oil in Iowa, I wonder if they are capturing propane for any of the states? Propane is fairly predominant in rural Iowa. Not as much as natural gas but the unit costs are much higher.