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Electricity prices and average bills by state

In 2024 the average U.S. residential electricity price was 16.48¢ per kWh and the average monthly bill $142.26 on 863 kWh of use (EIA-861). The state spread is wide on both measures — and they don't move together, which is the single most useful thing to understand about electricity costs.

Annual figures: EIA, Electric Sales, Revenue & Average Price 2024, Table 5A. July 2026 column: EIA, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A, preliminary monthly data — a summer snapshot, not an annual rate.

What "average price" actually means

EIA's average price is not a tariff. It is total residential revenue divided by total residential kilowatt-hours sold in the state, so it blends the energy charge, the fixed monthly customer charge, riders, and taxes that flow through revenue into one per-kWh figure. Two households on the same tariff can sit either side of it. Its proper use is comparison: your utility against the state blend, your state against the country, this year against last.

Price is not the bill: three states that prove it

• Alabama — a below-average price (15.18¢) but the third-highest average bill in the country ($173.50), because the average Alabama home uses 1,143 kWh a month, a third more than the national average.
• California — the second-highest price in the country (31.97¢) but a mid-pack bill ($160.86), because the average California home uses only 503 kWh a month.
• Louisiana — nearly the cheapest electricity in the country (11.73¢) and the highest usage (1,202 kWh a month), landing on a near-average bill of $140.96.

Usage is set by climate, home size, and which fuels do the heating, cooling, and water heating. Price is set by generation mix, fuel costs, and regulation. A household can act on the first; the second is the benchmark it judges its tariff against.

Reading your own bill against these numbers

1. Find "kWh used" and the total on a recent bill. Divide total by kWh for your all-in effective price — that is the figure comparable to the average price above.
2. Compare your monthly kWh with your state's average use, same month if you can — bills are seasonal, and the annual average month exists in no season.
3. If your effective price is well above the state average, the gap is usually the fixed charge spread over low usage, or a tariff with a high energy rate — your utility's published rate schedule shows which.

Sources: EIA — Electric Sales, Revenue & Average Price 2024, Table 5A (Form EIA-861) · EIA — Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (July 2026). Researched October 2026 — energy prices move with seasons and markets; confirm the current rate on your own bill.