Energy Burden by State: Where Households Pay the Most (and Least) of Their Income
Quick Answers
Which state has the highest electricity rate?
Hawaii, at 46.62 cents/kWh as of April 2026, largely due to imported fuel and island grid isolation (EIA).
Which state has the lowest?
North Dakota, at 12.35 cents/kWh, driven by wind and lignite coal generation and low population density (EIA).
Does a high state rate always mean high energy burden?
Not alone — income and home efficiency matter too, but rate is one of the three inputs to the CCM Energy Score for exactly this reason.
Why state matters independent of your own habits
Two households using an identical amount of electricity can face a nearly 4x cost difference purely based on which state they live in — a variable entirely outside their control.
The regional pattern
The Northeast carries the highest average regional rate in the country at 25.91 cents/kWh, driven by limited natural gas pipeline capacity and aging grid infrastructure, while the South Central region averages 14.73 cents/kWh, the cheapest of any U.S. region.
Check your own state
Use the CCM Energy Score calculator's state dropdown to see your own state's rate against the national average of 18.83 cents/kWh, and how much of your score that differential is responsible for.
Want to see where you personally stand? Check your own CCM Energy Score, free and takes under a minute.