America's Electric Bill Report 2025: Every State and Utility, Ranked

1. A $150.68 average bill. The U.S. average monthly residential bill rose 5.9% in 2025, to $1,808 a year. After inflation, the increase was 3.2%. [1]
2. $17.5 billion more for residential electricity. Residential revenue reached $261.8 billion, up from $187.4 billion in 2019. About $2.8 billion of the one-year increase reflects 1.7 million more customer accounts; the remaining $14.6 billion reflects higher average bills.
3. Most of the increase came from higher prices. The average price rose 4.6%, from 16.48 cents to 17.23 cents per kWh, while average use rose 1.3%, to 874 kWh a month.
4. Bills rose in 46 states and D.C. They fell only in Nevada (17.4%), California (3.8%), Hawaii (2.0%) and Arizona (1.9%). Bills rose faster than inflation in 39 states and D.C.
5. The PJM region broke away. In the area served by the PJM grid, 27.9 million residential customers saw average bills rise 11.6%, versus 4.6% in the rest of the country. PJM customers went from paying less than the rest of the U.S. in 2024 ($136.53 vs $143.64) to paying more in 2025 ($152.36 vs $150.28).
6. D.C., New Jersey and Illinois led. Average bills rose 23.7% in the District of Columbia, 17.5% in New Jersey and 15.1% in Illinois.
7. 24 utilities raised average bills 20% or more in one year. They bill 8.0 million residential customers. Across 880 comparable utilities, the median change was 5.9% and the customer-weighted average 6.4%; 640 posted increases above inflation.
8. The bill weighs most in the South. In Mississippi, the average annual bill equals 3.37% of median household income, against 2.22% nationally.
9. 2026 is running higher again. From January through July 2026, the average residential price was 6.9% higher than in the same months of 2025, with increases in 47 states and D.C. [2]

In 2019, the average U.S. residential customer paid $115.49 a month for electricity. By 2025 the average was $150.68, 30.5% higher. Overall consumer prices rose 25.9% over the same six years, so the inflation-adjusted increase since 2019 is 3.6%. [4]

The six-year view hides the shape of the climb. Bills jumped in 2022, flattened in 2023 and then accelerated again, rising 4.0% in 2024 and 5.9% in 2025. The 2025 increase was the largest since 2022.

The consumer price index for electricity points the same way: the average of the 11 monthly values BLS published for 2025 was 4.6% above the 2024 average. [5] [7] That index tracks the price of a fixed amount of electricity. The EIA averages in this report also capture changes in how much customers used.

Use our 50/30/20 budget calculator to see where a higher electric bill fits among your needs, and the Cost-of-Living and Budget Pressure report for how housing, food and utilities combine in each state.

Bills are highest where prices are high, where homes use a lot of power, or both. Hawaii ($207.89) and Connecticut ($206.46) top the list mainly on price: 40.40 and 29.31 cents per kWh, against 17.23 cents nationally. Alabama ($184.31) ranks high on use instead, averaging 1,145 kWh a month at a price of 16.09 cents. New Mexico ($94.65) and Utah ($99.06) have the lowest average bills.

The largest one-year increases were in District of Columbia (23.7%), New Jersey (17.5%), Illinois (15.1%), Indiana (12.5%), Pennsylvania (11.5%), Maryland (11.2%), New York (10.9%) and Maine (10.5%). Six of those eight sit wholly or partly inside the PJM region, covered in the next section.

Nevada moved the other way. Its average bill fell 17.4% as its average price fell 11.6% and use fell 6.7%. State names in the table link to FinanceFirst's cost-of-living guide for that state.

Bill-to-income ratio divides the 2025 average annual bill, a mean across customers, by 2024 median household income from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The 2024 survey is the latest available; Census has not set a release date for 2025 estimates. [6] [13]

EIA's files record the balancing authority, the grid operator that balances supply and demand, for each utility's customers. That makes it possible to compare regions that cross state lines. The clearest break in 2025 follows the footprint of PJM Interconnection, which coordinates wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, from New Jersey to Illinois. [12]

Average residential bills in the PJM region rose 11.6% in 2025, compared with 4.6% everywhere else. PJM customers paid $136.53 a month in 2024, less than the rest of the country's $143.64. In 2025 they paid $152.36, more than the rest of the country's $150.28. Over two years, average PJM bills are up 19.5%.

What the data cannot show is why. One relevant input: PJM's capacity auction, which sets what is paid to keep enough generating capacity available, cleared at $269.92 per megawatt-day for June 2025 through May 2026, up from $28.92 the year before. [8] That price took effect June 1, 2025, so it could reach at most seven months of 2025 bills, and how it passes through to households varies with each state's default-service rules. The next auction cleared at the $329.17 cap for the year starting June 2026; PJM said that could raise some customers' bills by 1.5% to 5%. [9] Fuel, transmission, distribution investment and state policy also feed into bills. This report measures what customers paid, not the share attributable to any one cause.

State averages blend dozens of utilities with very different bills. The explorer below covers 1,261 utilities that both supply and deliver power to at least 1,000 residential customers, plus 51 Texas retail electric providers. Choose a state or search by name to see a provider's average bill in 2024 and 2025, the change and its average price.

The full table, including EIA utility ID numbers, ownership type, usage and 2023 figures, is in the downloads section.

To compare utilities fairly, rankings use a comparable set: 880 utilities with at least 10,000 residential customers, observed rather than imputed 2025 data, and customer counts that changed by less than 25% since 2023. Together they bill 114.4 million residential customers. Counts below treat each utility equally, so the customer totals show how many accounts each group covers.

• 24 utilities raised their average residential bill by 20% or more from 2024 to 2025. They bill 8.0 million customers.
• 190 utilities billing 33.4 million customers posted increases of 10% or more.
• 89 utilities billing 20.8 million customers are up 20% or more over two years.
• 111 utilities billing 19.2 million customers saw average bills fall.

Among utilities with 100,000 or more residential customers, these posted the largest one-year increases:

These large utilities posted the largest decreases, mostly where both prices and usage fell:

† In retail-choice states, a utility's bundled figures cover only customers on its standard supply; customers who buy power from a competitive supplier are excluded. Use change reflects weather as well as household behavior.

Ranked by residential customers who buy both power and delivery from the utility, the 15 largest utilities in the comparable set bill 34.8 million customers. Utilities that mainly deliver power bought from other suppliers, such as Texas transmission and distribution companies, are not in this ranking; their delivery charges are in the downloads.

† Standard-supply customers only; see the note above.

A high bill in a high-income state is a different problem from a moderate bill in a lower-income one. Dividing each state's 2025 average annual bill by its 2024 median household income gives a simple bill-to-income ratio. [6]

In Mississippi, the average annual bill of $1,993 equals 3.37% of median household income. Alabama (3.32%) and West Virginia (3.26%) follow. Nationally, the ratio is 2.22%. The ratio combines a mean bill with median income, so it is an indicator for comparing states, not a measure of any household's energy burden.

EIA's monthly survey of a sample of utilities runs ahead of the annual census. For January through July 2026, the average U.S. residential price was 18.19 cents per kWh, 6.9% higher than in the same months of 2025. [2]

Prices were higher in 47 states and D.C., led by District of Columbia (17.9%), New Hampshire (15.2%), Maryland (13.6%), Virginia (13.2%) and Ohio (13.0%). They were lower only in Connecticut (7.7%), Rhode Island (1.1%) and Massachusetts (0.3%). Monthly data are preliminary and may be revised.

1. Compare your use with your state's average. Your bill shows monthly kWh. If you use far more than the state average in the table above, efficiency changes will usually do more than switching plans.
2. Read the price components. Most bills separate supply (generation) from delivery. In retail-choice states, check whether you are on the utility's standard supply or a competitive contract, and what happens when a fixed-rate contract ends.
3. Ask about budget billing. Many utilities average payments across the year so summer and winter peaks do not land in a single month. It smooths cash flow; it does not lower the total.
4. Check energy assistance. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps eligible households pay home energy bills, handle energy emergencies and weatherize homes. Apply through your state or local agency. [10]
5. Look into weatherization. The Department of Energy says households in its Weatherization Assistance Program save $372 or more a year on average. [11]
6. Plan for seasonal spikes. Utility bills belong in any emergency fund target; a summer or winter bill well above your monthly average is a cash-flow shock worth planning for.

All files are free to use with attribution to FinanceFirst and a link to this report.

• State bills, 2019 to 2025 (CSV): average bill, price, use, inflation-adjusted change, bill-to-income ratio, 2026 price change and ranks for all 50 states, D.C. and the U.S.
• Utility bills, 2023 to 2025 (CSV): 1,312 utilities and Texas retail providers with EIA IDs, customer scope and the comparable-set flag.
• Delivery-only utilities (CSV): average delivery charge for utilities whose customers buy power elsewhere.
• Grid regions (CSV): average bill by balancing authority, 2023 to 2025, plus the all-other-areas comparison row.
• 2026 year-to-date prices (CSV): January to July average price by state, 2025 and 2026.
• Validation file (CSV): our computed state bills, prices and usage beside EIA's published figures for 2024 and 2025.
• CPI inputs (CSV) and explorer data (JSON).

• Cost-of-Living and Budget Pressure 2026: how regional prices and household spending combine.
• Emergency Savings and Financial Resilience: who could cover a surprise expense.
• The State of American Household Debt: balances, delinquencies and payoff resources.
• Personal finance guides: budgeting, saving and cost-of-living guides by state.

Plain text

Asim Ahmad. "America's Electric Bill Report 2025: Every State and Utility, Ranked." FinanceFirst Research, version 1.0, October 8, 2026. https://financefirst.co/reports/us-electric-bills-2025

APA

Ahmad, A. (2026, October 8). America's electric bill report 2025: Every state and utility, ranked. FinanceFirst Research. https://financefirst.co/reports/us-electric-bills-2025

Chicago

Ahmad, Asim. "America's Electric Bill Report 2025: Every State and Utility, Ranked." FinanceFirst Research. October 8, 2026. https://financefirst.co/reports/us-electric-bills-2025.

BibTeX

@report{ahmad2026electricbills,
  author = {Ahmad, Asim},
  title = {America's Electric Bill Report 2025: Every State and Utility, Ranked},
  institution = {FinanceFirst Research},
  year = {2026},
  month = {oct},
  url = {https://financefirst.co/reports/us-electric-bills-2025}
}