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Jul 16 2025
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average electric bill

What’s The Average Electric Bill in 2025 And How Does Yours Compare?

By How Do Solar Panels Lower Your Electric Bill?, The Pros and Cons of Rooftop Solar in 2025 No Comments

In the 21st century, electricity is an essential cost of living that we’re all going to pay for, one way or another. Yet it’s common for homeowners to feel unsure about whether their electricity costs are high, low, or just right.

Understanding how your average bill compares to the state average is a great first step to answering the question “Why is my electricity bill so high?”

So, in this article, we’ll explore:

Let’s start by taking a look at the average electricity bill for each state and the entire US.

U.S. Average Electric Bill in 2025

The average US electric bill in 2025 is $167 per month based on the average residential electricity price of 19 cents per kWh and the average household consumption of 881 kWh per month, based on data from the US Energy Information Administration. This figure does not include fixed basic charges.

Of course, the United States is a large country and a land of extremes, so the national average is more of a landmark than a measuring stick. For example, the average bill in Hawaii ($282) is nearly two and a half times higher than the average bill in Utah ($95).

Why is such a wide range? Well, electricity costs are a combination of usage and rates, both of which vary greatly from state to state.

Related reading: What Is the Average Monthly Electric Bill With Solar Panels?

Average US electricity rate in 2025

The price of electricity in the US ranges from 12 cents to over 40 cents per kWh based on the availability of energy resources, demand, and—quite frankly— politics. In June 2025, the average electric rate in the US  reached an all-time high of 19 cents per kWh.

State Average Residential Electricity Rate (cents/kWh)
Alabama 16.76
Alaska 25.96
Arizona 15.73
Arkansas 13.61
California 31.77
Colorado 15.61
Connecticut 32.28
Delaware 17.96
District of Columbia 21.32
Florida 15.27
Georgia 14.84
Hawaii 42.44
Idaho 11.89
Illinois 18.32
Indiana 17.01
Iowa 13.41
Kansas 14.78
Kentucky 13.91
Louisiana 13.46
Maine 28.11
Maryland 19.08
Massachusetts 30.65
Michigan 19.95
Minnesota 15.12
Mississippi 15.05
Missouri 12.83
Montana 12.33
Nebraska 13.1
Nevada 13.36
New Hampshire 23.66
New Jersey 20.16
New Mexico 14.44
New York 25.67
North Carolina 14.48
North Dakota 11.69
Ohio 16.34
Oklahoma 13.3
Oregon 15.38
Pennsylvania 18.98
Rhode Island 28.89
South Carolina 15.77
South Dakota 13.37
Tennessee 14.05
Texas 15.55
Utah 12.52
Vermont 23.2
Virginia 15.43
Washington 13.03
West Virginia 16.04
Wisconsin 18.27
Wyoming 13.05

Average Monthly Electricity Consumption in the US

Meanwhile, electricity usage depends largely on the weather and average temperatures. In the hot, sticky South, it’s common for households to average well over 1,000 kWh of electricity per month, while more moderate coastal states use less than 600 kWh per month on average.

State Average household electricity consumption (kWh/month)
Alabama 1,151
Alaska 621
Arizona 1,134
Arkansas 1,116
California 540
Colorado 679
Connecticut 650
Delaware 928
District of Columbia 585
Florida 1,166
Georgia 1,106
Hawaii 665
Idaho 924
Illinois 704
Indiana 970
Iowa 855
Kansas 902
Kentucky 1,111
Louisiana 1,232
Maine 587
Maryland 961
Massachusetts 603
Michigan 698
Minnesota 778
Mississippi 1,172
Missouri 999
Montana 776
Nebraska 893
Nevada 925
New Hampshire 606
New Jersey 692
New Mexico 686
New York 576
North Carolina 1,042
North Dakota 987
Ohio 857
Oklahoma 1,132
Oregon 928
Pennsylvania 854
Rhode Island 576
South Carolina 1,127
South Dakota 898
Tennessee 1,185
Texas 1,120
Utah 760
Vermont 562
Virginia 1,078
Washington 916
West Virginia 1,122
Wisconsin 703
Wyoming 765

Average Electric Bill By State in 2025

The map below shows the average electric bill in each state. While these averages can serve as a useful benchmark, it’s important to note that there can be considerable variation within each state, which we’ll discuss below.

Related reading: How To Cut Your Electric Bill by 75 Percent

How many kWh per day is normal?

Electricity consumption is unique to each household based on climate conditions, the size of the home, the number of people in the household, and consumption habits.

In Louisiana, it’s normal to use nearly 1,200 kWh per month while in Hawaii the average is closer to 530 kWh per month. This is largely due to climate control needs based on weather, as heating and air conditioning account for over 30% of household electricity consumption.

a chart showing what uses the most electricity in a home

With this in mind, the size of your home has a significant impact on electricity consumption. Larger homes typically require more electricity to heat and cool, especially if you’re using a central air system that can’t specifically target certain areas.

The number of people per household can also make an impact. For example, the average electricity bill for a four-person household may be much different than the average electricity bill for a two-person household because there are more people consuming electricity. However, electricity consumption also depends on your appliances and vehicles. A larger household with two EVs and all-electric appliances can easily consume more electricity than a smaller household with gas cars and appliances.

This tremendous variability is why it’s important to focus on your own average electricity usage and costs to use as a baseline for your unique situation.

In any case, high electricity usage isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because electricity is typically cheaper than gasoline to fuel a car and natural gas to power appliances. And, unlike the price of fossil fuels, homeowners can lower the price per kWh of electricity by installing solar panels.

 

 

How to Calculate Your Own Average Electric Bill

Now that you have a sense of the average cost of electricity in your state, let’s go over some ways to find your average electricity costs using your utility bill.

First, let’s make sure we’re looking at the right bill. The difference between a gas bill and an electricity bill is that a gas bill measures the consumption of natural gas in therms, while an electricity bill measures the use of electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Both may appear on the same utility bill, but this article pertains only to the electricity portion.

With the correct bill in hand, let’s explore two ways to find your average monthly electricity cost.

Average a year’s worth of electricity bills

If you have access to your previous electricity bills, simply gather together one year’s worth of bills, add up the amounts due, and divide by 12 to get a monthly average.

Pro tip: Subtract out any fixed fees in your bill, if you have them, to get a more accurate comparison to your state average.

The table below shows a year’s worth of monthly electricity bills averaged together.

Billing month Bill amount
November $119.52
December $170.32
January $152.39
February $124.00
March $125.50
April $141.93
May $140.44
June $125.50
July $138.94
August $162.85
September $152.39
October $125.50
Monthly average $139.94

Why a year’s worth? As we mentioned above, over 30% of electricity usage is due to heating and cooling, which varies throughout the year based on the weather. Averaging a full year of bills controls for seasonality throughout the year.

How can I check my electricity bill balance?

Most utility companies offer online billing services, in which you can log into your account and see previous billing statements.

If that’s not offered or you’re experiencing technical issues, you can dig up paper copies of your bills, provided you saved and filed them. If not, there’s a way to find your average usage and cost using a single electricity bill.

Use a single bill to find your average

If you only have your latest electricity bill handy, you can use the consumption details graph to get a decent estimate of your average bill.

Most electric bills feature a graph that shows the last 13 months of electricity usage. This graph shows how your usage fluctuates throughout the year and how the usage in the current billing period compares to the usage in the same period in the previous year (hence the 13 months of data).

These graphs typically look something like this:

graph showing an example year of electricity consumption

To find your average electric bill, first add up the last 12 months of usage data (in this case, November through October) and divide it by 12.

Quick tip: It’s not easy to get precise usage figures from these graphs, but do your best to get as close as possible.

Month Electricity usage (kW)
November 720
December 1026
January 918
February 747
March 756
April 855
May 846
June 756
July 837
August 981
September 918
October 756
Total annual usage 10,116
Monthly Average (total / 12 months) 843

Once you have your average monthly usage, you can multiply it by your electricity rate to get an average monthly bill amount. Of course, it’s not always easy to find your electricity rate.

On most electricity bills (like the example below), the rate is broken up into multiple individual charges and credits. There are two ways to discern your rate from your bill.

example electricity bill showing different rates and charges

Add up each rate

First, you can add together the individual rates for each charge. In the example above, the individual rates add up to $0.1962 per kWh. However, this method can get tricky if you have a time-of-use (TOU) or tiered rate schedule that features multiple rates during a single billing period.

Divide your amount due by your usage

The second way is to take the cost of electricity on your latest bill, subtract the flat fee ($15 in this example), and divide by the usage during the billing period.

($97.79 - $15) / 422 kWh = $0.1962 per kWh

Once you have your rate, multiply it by your average monthly consumption to find your average monthly electric bill. In our example, the average bill would be $165.40 per month.

843 kWh per month x $0.1962 per kWh = $165.40 per month

 So now what? You have your own average electric bill and the average monthly bill for your state. What do we do with this information?

Comparing your average electricity costs

The best thing to compare your average electricity bill to is your own future electricity bills. In other words, use your average bill as a measuring stick for your own electricity costs, not your neighbors. This can help you identify spikes in your rate and/or usage.

As we discussed earlier in the article, everybody’s electricity needs are unique, and having a high electricity bill isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, if you are charging two EVs at home, your electricity bill is going to skyrocket, even if you are saving a ton of money by not buying gasoline.

Having a high electricity bill isn’t necessarily bad, but having a higher-than-average bill is a red flag. For example, if your average bill is $165 per month and you get a bill for $250, it’s time to investigate what happened. If a high electricity bill can’t be explained by a new electrical system (EV charging, AC unit, heat pump, etc), then it’s typically due to a utility rate hike, and you’ll want to catch it as early as possible so you can explore alternative sources of electricity like home solar.

 

 

Electricity burden

If you must compare your average electric bill to something, there is a useful measurement called Electricity Burden that answers the question “Am I paying too much for electricity?”.

Electricity burden is the percentage of your gross household income that is spent on electricity. To find it, simply divide your annual electricity consumption by your gross household income.

Electricity Burden = average annual consumption / gross household income

 Based on data from the EIA and the US Census Bureau, the average electricity burden in the US is around 2%. So, a household with $90,000 in gross income should expect to pay around $1,800 for electricity per year, or $150 per month.

The average state electricity burden varies from less than 1% in Utah to over 3% in Nevada and can be significantly higher for low-income households. If your electricity burden creeps up above 5%, then you are definitely paying too much for electricity and it’s time to look into ways to reduce your consumption and/or lower your rate with solar panels.

The bottom line

While humans are nosy little creatures that love to compare ourselves to each other, comparing your average electric bill against the state or national average isn’t always helpful. There are simply too many variables that affect each household’s average bill.

However, it is still worthwhile to know your average electric bill so you can quickly identify outliers. In many cases – especially since 2022 – high electricity bills are due to utility rate hikes. It’s important to identify rate hikes early so you can consider alternatives before you spend months or years overpaying for electricity.

If your average electric bill is higher than you can handle, connect with an Energy Advisor to design a solar system that reduces your electricity costs.

 

Jul 07 2025
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Solar leases and ppas with the big beautiful bill signed into law

Leasing Solar After Trump’s Megabill: Here’s What You Need to Know

By Solar Lease, Solar Financing No Comments

With the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) signed into law on July 4th, homeowners considering going solar will undoubtedly be presented with more third-party owned lease and PPA options, as the eligibility for these tax credits is preserved through 2027. We’ve put together this guide as part of a larger OBBB information center. 

Solar.com’s OBBB Resource Center:

 

Why Homeowners Should Consider a Third-Party Owned System with the One Big Beautiful Bill as law

In most cases, buying a solar system (with a cash or loan purchase) is a better option for homeowners who have sufficient tax liability to claim the full 30% solar tax credit and want the flexibility in owning their system versus having someone else own and operate it (and sell them the power from it). However, Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” ends the homeowner-claimed tax credit at the end of 2025, and not all homeowners will be in a position to purchase and install before it’s gone. 

Starting in 2026, the only way to have a solar array benefit from the 30% tax credit (plus depreciation) is to have a business claim it against Section 48E of the tax code—or to say it a different way, to enter into a Third-Party Ownership (TPO) contract via lease or PPA. Let’s break down the pros and cons of third-party ownership and how to ensure you enter the best agreement for your energy goals.

Solar tax credits with the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law

Want to learn more about the benefits of buying versus leasing solar? The solar.com team has done extensive analysis on this, and you can read all about it here. 

Pros and Cons of Third-Party Owned Solar

Like anything, there are pros and cons to entering into a TPO arrangement versus owning a solar array outright. Prior to OBBB, the solar.com analysis was that for most homeowners it was better to own vs lease. But having access to the tax credit after 2025 certain changes that math. 

Advantages of TPO Solar

Third-party owned leases and PPAs aren’t all bad; in fact, they provide several benefits and advantages (beyond just being able to capture the tax credit). They inherently remove a lot of the risk of going solar. The third-party owner is responsible for the ownership and operation of the system, including maintenance. This theoretically removes a lot of the potential hassles and headaches homeowners are concerned about in going solar–especially with anticipated changes in suppliers’ ability to access and remain competitive in the US market. 

They also have much stricter compliance controls related to sales practices. A basic tenet of a lease or PPA is that they’ll sell you power from your roof at a lower rate than the utility. This inhibits the ability of an unscrupulous salesperson from charging exorbitant fees. And since the TPO retains ownership of the system, they have a vested interest in ensuring proper installation practices are adhered to. 

Disadvantages of TPO Solar

The disadvantages of TPOs are mainly around system economics and availability. The investor’s rate of return on the array they own on your roof typically represents the lost savings by not owning the solar array outright. But a well-structured TPO ensures everyone wins. 

The other big downside to a TPO is that they can present challenges with buyouts if you ever want to end your contract early or sell your house. While most offer TPO transfers to subsequent owners, this is at the discretion and approval of the TPO provider and not guaranteed. Some homebuyers may not want to deal with a TPO arrangement, which can inhibit your potential homebuyer pool or force you to reduce the value of your home’s price.

This disadvantage is rooted in the way TPOs work. They claim the tax credit and depreciable basis on a formula that considers the “step-up value” of the array. This step-up value goes beyond the cost to construct it and also includes the net present value of its future energy yield, less operation and maintenance expenses. 

So a 10kW solar array might cost $25,000-$30,000 to build, but in a TPO the step-up cost basis might be $50,000-$60,000. This is why many homeowners who go to buy out their leases are shocked at the high costs. 

There is also an IRS rule related to the tax credit recapture, which doesn’t allow the tax equity investor to exit the project ownership structure in the first five years. Although this doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to sell your house, it does restrict your ability to buy out the array early. 

Check This One Thing on Your Solar Lease or PPA Contract

There are two “flavors” of PPAs and Leases – ones with a fixed rate of power (either a monthly flat rate in a lease or a flat kWh rate in a PPA) and ones that offer a lower upfront rate but that “escalate” or increase annually. Solar.com highly recommends selecting the flat rate PPAs and Leases to lock in savings. 

Is it Worth Signing a TPO Contract?

Solar.com’s recommendation is for homeowners considering TPO solar to wait until 2026. Allow homeowners who want to capture the tax credit access to installers and equipment to help them bring their projects online in 2025. As the industry is forced into TPOs in 2026 (thanks to the OBBB), we’ll likely see some financial innovation in these deal structures, which will offer greater value to homeowners. 

A Final Note

The solar.com editorial team has gone to great lengths to provide accurate and approachable information. See something we missed or find an error? Please CONTACT us at newsroom@solar.com. If you’re doing research on the OBBB and found this article helpful, please link back to this article to help others find it. 

And finally, we believe informed homeowners make smarter solar decisions. The biggest compliment you can make is by getting no-obligation binding quotes for your home solar projects via solar.com. We never sell or remarket your information. You’ll be assigned a dedicated energy advisor to help you navigate the process with the same care and trust we hope we’ve earned through producing content like this.