EntityMap

Places — states and DC (51)

Alabama

Alabama households average $191.68 a month at 16.77 cents per kWh — a below-average price applied to a well above-average 1,143 kWh of consumption.

The average residential electricity bill in Alabama is $191.68 a month , the product of roughly 1,143 kWh of consumption billed at 16.77 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Put that beside the national picture — 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14 — and the shape of the Alabama bill becomes obvious. Electricity here is priced about nine percent below the national average, yet the bill lands about twenty percent above it, because the typical Alabama household burns roughly a third more kilowatt-hours than the typical American one.

Average Electric Bill in Alabama — bill.ninja

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Alaska

Alaska averages $163.17 a month at 28.23 cents per kWh — the third-highest price in the country applied to barely two-thirds of national household usage.

The average residential electricity bill in Alaska is $163.17 a month : about 578 kWh at 28.23 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. So Alaskans pay roughly 53 percent more per unit than the country as a whole, use roughly a third less of it, and end up with a bill about three percent above the national figure. Two extreme numbers cancelling each other out into an unremarkable total is the single most important thing to understand about electricity in this state.

Average Electric Bill in Alaska — bill.ninja

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Arizona

Arizona averages $163.72 a month at 15.23 cents per kWh — cheap power by national standards, offset by a cooling season that runs most of the year.

The average residential electricity bill in Arizona is $163.72 a month — about 1,075 kWh at 15.23 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Nationally the figures are 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. Arizona's price is roughly 17 percent below the national average; its consumption is roughly 25 percent above it; and the bill lands within about three percent of the national figure. On an annual view, Arizona looks unremarkable. The annual view is close to useless here. No state in the country has a wider gap between its average month and its worst month.

Average Electric Bill in Arizona — bill.ninja

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Arkansas

Arkansas averages $150.49 a month at 14.36 cents per kWh — one of the cheaper rates in the country, on usage about a fifth above the national average.

The average residential electricity bill in Arkansas is $150.49 a month : roughly 1,048 kWh at 14.36 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. Arkansas is therefore about 22 percent cheaper per unit than the country as a whole, uses about 21 percent more of it, and comes out around five percent below the national bill. That combination is less common than it sounds.

Average Electric Bill in Arkansas — bill.ninja

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California

California averages $167.25 a month at 33.25 cents per kWh — the country's most extreme combination of very high prices and very low household consumption.

The average residential electricity bill in California is $167.25 a month — about 503 kWh at 33.25 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Nationally: 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. California's price is roughly 80 percent above the national average. Its consumption is roughly 42 percent below it. The bill lands about five percent above the national figure. Both halves get reported in isolation, and both mislead on their own. The claim that Californians pay far more for electricity is true per unit and barely true per bill.

Average Electric Bill in California — bill.ninja

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Colorado

Colorado averages $108.92 a month at 16.16 cents per kWh — one of the lowest electric bills in the country, because gas does most of the work in a Colorado home.

The average residential electricity bill in Colorado is $108.92 a month : roughly 674 kWh at 16.16 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. So Colorado's rate sits about 12 percent below the national average, its consumption about 22 percent below, and the two compound into a bill roughly 32 percent below the national figure — one of the lowest in the country. The rate is doing only part of that work. The larger factor is that a Colorado household simply does not ask its electric meter to do very much.

Average Electric Bill in Colorado — bill.ninja

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Connecticut

Connecticut households pay about 27.37 cents per kWh and average roughly $190.22 a month, one of the country's highest rates paired with below-average usage.

The average Connecticut residential electric bill is $190.22 a month , built from an average price of 27.37 cents per kilowatt-hour (May 2026) and average consumption of 695 kWh a month . Set that against the national picture: 18.44 cents per kWh, 863 kWh, and $159.14 a month. Connecticut pays roughly 48 percent more for each unit of electricity and uses about 19 percent less of it, and the two effects do not cancel. The bill lands about 20 percent above the national figure.

Average Electric Bill in Connecticut — bill.ninja

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Delaware

Delaware averages 19.38 cents per kWh and about $176.55 a month, close to the national rate but on higher usage and across three very different utility types.

The average Delaware residential electric bill is $176.55 a month , the product of an average price of 19.38 cents per kilowatt-hour (May 2026) and average usage of 911 kWh a month . Nationally the figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. Delaware is about five percent above the national rate and about six percent above national usage, and those two modest premiums compound into a bill roughly eleven percent higher than average.

Average Electric Bill in Delaware — bill.ninja

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District of Columbia

Washington DC averages 25.4 cents per kWh and about $162.31 a month: a rate far above the national average offset by the lowest household usage in the region.

The average residential electric bill in the District of Columbia is $162.31 a month , from an average price of 25.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (May 2026) and average consumption of 639 kWh a month . The national comparison is 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. The District's rate runs roughly 38 percent above the national average while its usage runs roughly 26 percent below it, and the two forces nearly cancel. The resulting bill is within two percent of the national figure. That coincidence produces a common misreading.

Average Electric Bill in District of Columbia — bill.ninja

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Florida

Florida averages 15.17 cents per kWh, below the national rate, but 1,104 kWh a month of usage pushes the typical bill to about $167.48.

The average Florida residential electric bill is $167.48 a month , from an average price of 15.17 cents per kilowatt-hour (May 2026) and average consumption of 1,104 kWh a month . Nationally: 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, $159.14. Florida's price is about 18 percent below the national average while its usage is about 28 percent above it, and volume wins. The bill comes in roughly five percent higher than the national figure despite genuinely cheap electricity. This is the most important thing to understand about a Florida bill.

Average Electric Bill in Florida — bill.ninja

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Georgia

Georgia averages 15.84 cents per kWh, below the national rate, but 1,074 kWh a month of usage lifts the typical bill to about $170.12.

The average Georgia residential electric bill is $170.12 a month , from an average price of 15.84 cents per kilowatt-hour (May 2026) and average usage of 1,074 kWh a month . The national comparison is 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. Georgia buys electricity about 14 percent cheaper than the national average and uses about 24 percent more of it, and the second effect is larger. The bill lands roughly seven percent above the national figure. The shape of that outcome matters.

Average Electric Bill in Georgia — bill.ninja

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Hawaii

Hawaii averages 52 cents per kWh, the highest in the nation, and about $257.40 a month even though households use less electricity than anywhere else.

The average Hawaii residential electric bill is $257.40 a month , from an average price of 52 cents per kilowatt-hour (May 2026) and average consumption of 495 kWh a month . The national figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. Hawaii's rate is roughly 2.8 times the national average. Its usage is about 43 percent below it. The result is the highest average electric bill in the United States, produced by the lowest household consumption.

Average Electric Bill in Hawaii — bill.ninja

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Idaho

Idaho households average $116.58 a month at 12.35 cents per kWh - one of the lowest rates in the country, even though homes here use more power than average.

The average residential electric bill in Idaho is $116.58 a month . That figure is the product of two numbers: an average residential rate of 12.35 cents per kilowatt-hour and average household consumption of 944 kWh a month . The national comparison is $159.14 a month, built from 18.44 cents per kWh and 863 kWh. Idaho households pay roughly $42 a month less than the country as a whole - about $510 a year - while using around nine percent more electricity. That inverts the usual assumption. A low bill is normally read as evidence of a frugal household.

Average Electric Bill in Idaho — bill.ninja

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Illinois

Illinois households average $165.28 a month at 23.85 cents per kWh - a high rate paired with unusually low usage of just 693 kWh a month.

The average residential electric bill in Illinois is $165.28 a month : an average rate of 23.85 cents per kilowatt-hour applied to average household consumption of 693 kWh . Nationally, the equivalent figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. So Illinois sits about six dollars a month above the national bill while using roughly twenty percent less electricity. Run the counterfactual and the picture sharpens. An Illinois household consuming the national average of 863 kWh would pay close to $206 a month at the state's rate.

Average Electric Bill in Illinois — bill.ninja

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Indiana

Indiana households average $163.53 a month at 18.15 cents per kWh on 901 kWh of usage - a rate near the national average and a bill just above it.

The average residential electric bill in Indiana is $163.53 a month , the product of a 18.15 cents per kilowatt-hour average rate and 901 kWh of average monthly household consumption. The national comparison is 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. Read those side by side and something useful appears. Indiana's price per kilowatt-hour is fractionally below the national average - about a third of a cent below. Its bill is about four and a half dollars above. Every bit of that gap comes from consumption, not price.

Average Electric Bill in Indiana — bill.ninja

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Iowa

Iowa households average $117.64 a month at 14.14 cents per kWh on 832 kWh - roughly $41 a month below the national average bill.

The average residential electric bill in Iowa is $117.64 a month : an average rate of 14.14 cents per kilowatt-hour against average household consumption of 832 kWh . The national figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14 a month. Iowa is below the national average on both inputs, and that is why the gap is as large as it is. The rate is about 23 percent lower and consumption is about four percent lower, and the two compound: an Iowa household pays roughly $41.50 a month less than the national average, close to $500 a year.

Average Electric Bill in Iowa — bill.ninja

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Kansas

Kansas households average $132.54 a month at 15.13 cents per kWh on 876 kWh - about $27 a month below the national average bill.

The average residential electric bill in Kansas is $132.54 a month , built from an average rate of 15.13 cents per kilowatt-hour and average household consumption of 876 kWh . The national comparison is 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14. Kansas households use marginally more electricity than the national average - about 13 kWh a month, which is trivial - and pay roughly 18 percent less per unit. The bill lands about $26.60 a month below the national figure, near $320 a year. The saving is entirely a price effect.

Average Electric Bill in Kansas — bill.ninja

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Kentucky

Kentucky households average $156.84 a month at 14.98 cents per kWh - a low rate paired with 1,047 kWh of monthly usage, far above the national average.

The average residential electric bill in Kentucky is $156.84 a month : an average rate of 14.98 cents per kilowatt-hour multiplied by average household consumption of 1,047 kWh . The national figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh, and $159.14 a month. Kentucky pays about 19 percent less per kilowatt-hour than the country and uses about 21 percent more of them. The two effects very nearly cancel, and the bill lands a couple of dollars under the national average.

Average Electric Bill in Kentucky — bill.ninja

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Louisiana

Louisiana households pay about 14.15 cents per kWh, among the lowest rates in the country, but average 1,202 kWh a month for a bill near $170.08.

The average Louisiana household pays roughly $170.08 a month for electricity. That figure comes from two numbers that pull in opposite directions: an average residential price of 14.15 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026, and average consumption of about 1,202 kilowatt-hours a month . The national picture for comparison is 18.44 cents per kWh and 863 kWh a month, for an average bill of $159.14.

Average Electric Bill in Louisiana — bill.ninja

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Maine

Maine households pay about 28.63 cents per kWh, among the highest rates anywhere, but use only 550 kWh a month — leaving an average bill near $157.47.

The average Maine household pays about $157.47 a month for electricity. That comes from an average residential price of 28.63 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 and average consumption of roughly 550 kilowatt-hours a month . Nationally the figures are 18.44 cents per kWh, 863 kWh, and $159.14. Maine therefore pays more than half again the national price for each unit of electricity and still ends up slightly below the national bill, because it buys barely two-thirds as many units.

Average Electric Bill in Maine — bill.ninja

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Maryland

Maryland households average about 929 kWh a month at 21.77 cents per kWh, producing a bill near $202.24 — well above the national average on both counts.

The average Maryland household pays about $202.24 a month for electricity — an average residential price of 21.77 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 against average consumption of roughly 929 kilowatt-hours a month . The national comparison is 18.44 cents, 863 kWh and $159.14. Most expensive states are expensive for one reason. New England pays a high price for very little electricity; the Gulf South pays a low price for a great deal of it. Maryland is above the national line on both measures at once, and the two effects compound.

Average Electric Bill in Maryland — bill.ninja

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Massachusetts

Massachusetts households pay about 28.82 cents per kWh — among the highest in the nation — but use only 570 kWh a month, for an average bill near $164.27.

The average Massachusetts household pays roughly $164.27 a month for electricity, built from an average residential price of 28.82 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 and average consumption of about 570 kilowatt-hours a month . The national figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh and $159.14. Massachusetts pays over half again the national price and lands only slightly above the national bill, because it uses about a third less electricity than the country does. High price, small quantity.

Average Electric Bill in Massachusetts — bill.ninja

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Michigan

Michigan households pay about 22.01 cents per kWh, high for the Midwest, but average only 618 kWh a month — leaving a bill near $136.02.

The average Michigan household pays about $136.02 a month for electricity — an average residential price of 22.01 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 against average consumption of roughly 618 kilowatt-hours a month . Against a national average of 18.44 cents, 863 kWh and a $159.14 bill, that is a striking split. Michigan pays a noticeably higher price than the country and a noticeably smaller bill, which is a combination people find counterintuitive until they see the usage figure.

Average Electric Bill in Michigan — bill.ninja

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Minnesota

Minnesota households average 712 kWh a month at 16.95 cents per kWh, giving an average electric bill near $120.68 — below the national figure on both counts.

The average Minnesota household pays about $120.68 a month for electricity: an average residential price of 16.95 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 and average consumption of roughly 712 kilowatt-hours a month . Nationally, the comparable figures are 18.44 cents, 863 kWh and $159.14. Minnesota is below the national line on both halves at once, which is unusual — most states are cheap on price and heavy on usage, or the reverse.

Average Electric Bill in Minnesota — bill.ninja

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Mississippi

Mississippi households average $186.81 a month for electricity: 16.16 cents per kWh, below the national rate, on 1,156 kWh a month, far above it.

The average Mississippi household pays about $186.81 a month for electricity. That figure is the product of two numbers pulling hard in opposite directions: an average residential rate of 16.16 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026, which is roughly 12 percent below the national average of 18.44 cents, and average consumption of 1,156 kilowatt-hours a month , which is about 34 percent above the national average of 863. Mississippi buys cheap electricity in unusually large quantities, and the quantity wins by a wide margin.

Average Electric Bill in Mississippi — bill.ninja

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Missouri

Missouri households average $136.94 a month for electricity, paying 13.68 cents per kWh — well under the national rate — on 1,001 kWh a month.

The average Missouri household pays roughly $136.94 a month for electricity. That comes from an average residential rate of 13.68 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 — about 26 percent below the national average of 18.44 cents — applied to 1,001 kilowatt-hours a month, which is about 16 percent above the national average of 863. The cheap rate more than absorbs the heavy usage, and the resulting bill lands roughly 14 percent under the national average of $159.14. What that single number hides is a state with two distinct seasonal peaks.

Average Electric Bill in Missouri — bill.ninja

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Montana

Montana households average $124.99 a month for electricity, from 852 kWh at 14.67 cents per kWh — both below the national figures.

The average Montana household pays about $124.99 a month for electricity — roughly 21 percent below the national average of $159.14. That comes from a rate of 14.67 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026, about 20 percent under the national 18.44 cents, and consumption of 852 kilowatt-hours a month, which is fractionally below the national average of 863. That last figure surprises people.

Average Electric Bill in Montana — bill.ninja

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Nebraska

Nebraska households average $129.92 a month for electricity: 956 kWh at 13.59 cents per kWh, in the only state with no investor-owned electric utilities.

The average Nebraska household pays about $129.92 a month for electricity, roughly 18 percent below the national average of $159.14. The components are a rate of 13.59 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 — about 26 percent under the national 18.44 cents — and consumption of 956 kilowatt-hours a month, about 11 percent above the national average of 863. Nebraska is a two-season electricity state, and the average flattens a curve that is anything but flat.

Average Electric Bill in Nebraska — bill.ninja

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Nevada

Nevada households average $126.48 a month for electricity: 930 kWh at 13.60 cents per kWh, well under the national rate despite a punishing summer.

The average Nevada household pays about $126.48 a month for electricity — roughly 21 percent below the national average of $159.14. That figure comes from a rate of 13.60 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026, about 26 percent under the national 18.44 cents, and consumption of 930 kilowatt-hours a month, about 8 percent above the national average of 863. People expect Nevada to be near the top of the bill rankings and are surprised that it is not.

Average Electric Bill in Nevada — bill.ninja

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire households average $169.17 a month for electricity: just 619 kWh, the low end nationally, at a steep 27.33 cents per kWh.

The average New Hampshire household pays about $169.17 a month for electricity, roughly 6 percent above the national average of $159.14. But the two numbers underneath tell a far more interesting story than the total does. The state's rate is 27.33 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026 — about 48 percent above the national average of 18.44 cents — while consumption averages just 619 kilowatt-hours a month, roughly 28 percent below the national 863. New Hampshire households are, by national standards, extremely frugal users of electricity.

Average Electric Bill in New Hampshire — bill.ninja

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New Jersey

New Jersey averages $154.05 a month at 23.27 cents per kWh — a Northeast price applied to unusually low household consumption.

The average residential electricity bill in New Jersey is $154.05 a month , the product of roughly 662 kWh of consumption billed at 23.27 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Set that beside the national picture — 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14 — and the state looks like a contradiction. New Jersey electricity costs about a quarter more per unit than the national average, and the monthly bill comes in slightly below it. Consumption is the reconciliation.

Average Electric Bill in New Jersey — bill.ninja

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New Mexico

New Mexico averages $92.34 a month at 14.12 cents per kWh — one of the lowest bills in the country, built on cheap power and light consumption.

The average residential electricity bill in New Mexico is $92.34 a month — about 654 kWh billed at 14.12 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Both halves of that arithmetic sit well below the national figures of 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. New Mexico is one of the few states where the price is cheap and the quantity is small, and the combination produces a monthly bill roughly 42 percent below the national average. Be precise about what that means, because a low electric bill is not the same as low energy spending.

Average Electric Bill in New Mexico — bill.ninja

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New York

New York averages $170.90 a month at 29.93 cents per kWh — the country's second-highest rate applied to some of its lowest household usage.

The average residential electricity bill in New York is $170.90 a month , produced by roughly 571 kWh of consumption at 29.93 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Against the national figures — 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14 — the shape is stark. New Yorkers pay about 62 percent more per unit of electricity than the country as a whole and buy about 34 percent less of it. The bill ends up only modestly above average because the two extremes partially cancel.

Average Electric Bill in New York — bill.ninja

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North Carolina

North Carolina averages $153.16 a month at 15.09 cents per kWh — cheap electricity bought in well above-average quantity.

The average residential electricity bill in North Carolina is $153.16 a month , the product of about 1,015 kWh billed at 15.09 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Put that against the national picture — 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14 — and the structure is clear. North Carolina electricity is priced about 18 percent below the national average, and North Carolina households buy about 18 percent more of it. The two movements almost exactly offset, landing the bill slightly under the national figure.

Average Electric Bill in North Carolina — bill.ninja

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North Dakota

North Dakota averages $140.05 a month at 13.61 cents per kWh — some of the cheapest electricity in the country, bought in large volume.

The average residential electricity bill in North Dakota is $140.05 a month — roughly 1,029 kWh at 13.61 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Compared with the national figures of 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14, the pattern is a familiar one in energy-producing states: a price about 26 percent below the national average, consumption about 19 percent above it, and a bill that lands roughly 12 percent under the national number. The average conceals more here than in most places, because North Dakota's residential customers are not a homogeneous group.

Average Electric Bill in North Dakota — bill.ninja

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Ohio

Ohio averages $165.14 a month at 19.52 cents per kWh — close to the national figure on rate, usage and bill alike.

The average residential electricity bill in Ohio is $165.14 a month , made up of roughly 846 kWh at 19.52 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national figures are 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. Ohio is within a few percent of the country on all three measures at once, which makes it one of the least distinctive states in the raw statistics and one of the most complicated once you look at what produces the number. The reason is that Ohio's average is assembled from parts that vary far more than the total suggests.

Average Electric Bill in Ohio — bill.ninja

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma households average $144.37 a month at 13.38 cents per kWh — one of the cheapest rates in the country applied to a well above-average 1,079 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Oklahoma is $144.37 a month — about 1,079 kWh of consumption billed at 13.38 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Set that beside the national picture of 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14, and the arithmetic of the Oklahoma bill becomes obvious. Electricity here is priced roughly 27 percent below the national average, which ought to produce a dramatically cheaper bill. It does not, because the typical Oklahoma household buys about 25 percent more kilowatt-hours than the typical American one.

Average Electric Bill in Oklahoma — bill.ninja

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Oregon

Oregon households average $143.50 a month at 16.27 cents per kWh — a below-average rate on near-average usage, held down by Columbia River hydropower.

The average residential electricity bill in Oregon is $143.50 a month , the product of about 882 kWh billed at 16.27 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. Oregon's bill is therefore about ten percent below the national average, and essentially all of that gap is price: households here use only about two percent more electricity than the national norm. This is an unusually clean case. In most states the bill is a fight between rate and volume.

Average Electric Bill in Oregon — bill.ninja

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania households average $176.06 a month at 21.55 cents per kWh — an above-average rate on below-average usage, in a state where you can shop for supply.

The average residential electricity bill in Pennsylvania is $176.06 a month — roughly 817 kWh billed at 21.55 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. Pennsylvania households use about five percent less electricity than the national average and still pay about eleven percent more, because the price per kilowatt-hour runs roughly seventeen percent above the national figure. This is a price problem, not a consumption problem, and the distinction determines which remedies are worth your time.

Average Electric Bill in Pennsylvania — bill.ninja

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island households average $167.04 a month at 29.46 cents per kWh — one of the highest rates anywhere applied to unusually low usage of 567 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Rhode Island is $167.04 a month , produced by roughly 567 kWh of consumption billed at 29.46 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. Rhode Island households therefore use about a third less electricity than the national average and still pay about five percent more, because the price per kilowatt-hour runs roughly sixty percent above the national figure. Almost nothing about this bill is a usage story. Low consumption has a consequence people miss.

Average Electric Bill in Rhode Island — bill.ninja

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South Carolina

South Carolina households average $169.89 a month at 16.18 cents per kWh — a below-average rate applied to 1,050 kWh, well above the national norm.

The average residential electricity bill in South Carolina is $169.89 a month , the product of roughly 1,050 kWh billed at 16.18 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Set that against the national picture of 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. South Carolina prices power about twelve percent below the national average and still lands a bill about seven percent above it, because the typical household here buys about twenty-two percent more kilowatt-hours than the typical American one. The state does not have an expensive-electricity problem.

Average Electric Bill in South Carolina — bill.ninja

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South Dakota

South Dakota households average $156.36 a month at 15.73 cents per kWh — a below-average rate on 994 kWh, pushed up by a long and severe heating season.

The average residential electricity bill in South Dakota is $156.36 a month , the result of roughly 994 kWh billed at 15.73 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. The South Dakota bill therefore lands within about two percent of the national figure — but it gets there by an entirely different route, combining a rate roughly fifteen percent below the national average with consumption roughly fifteen percent above it. A state that looks unremarkable in dollars is unusual in both of its components.

Average Electric Bill in South Dakota — bill.ninja

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Tennessee

Tennessee households average $166.98 a month at 14.47 cents per kWh — one of the lower prices in the country applied to well above-average usage of 1,154 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Tennessee is $166.98 a month — roughly 1,154 kWh of consumption billed at 14.47 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Set that against the national picture of 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14 and the arithmetic becomes clear. Electricity here is priced about 22 percent below the national average, and the bill still lands about five percent above it, because the typical Tennessee household consumes about a third more kilowatt-hours than the typical American one.

Average Electric Bill in Tennessee — bill.ninja

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Texas

Texas households average $180.18 a month at 16.44 cents per kWh across 1,096 kWh — and in most of the state, the rate you pay is the one you agreed to.

The average residential electricity bill in Texas is $180.18 a month : about 1,096 kWh at 16.44 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Against the national figures — 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14 — Texas is cheaper per unit by around 11 percent and more expensive per bill by around 13 percent. The reason is volume: the typical Texas household uses roughly 27 percent more electricity than the typical American one, and no rate advantage of that size absorbs a usage gap that large.

Average Electric Bill in Texas — bill.ninja

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Utah

Utah households average $100.31 a month at 12.96 cents per kWh — one of the lowest bills in the country, built on cheap power and modest usage of 774 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Utah is $100.31 a month — around 774 kWh of consumption at 12.96 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is stark: 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. Utah's price is roughly 30 percent below the national average and its consumption is about 10 percent below, and the two discounts compound into a bill nearly 37 percent under the national figure. Very few states get to stack both advantages at once. The average still describes no particular household.

Average Electric Bill in Utah — bill.ninja

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Vermont

Vermont households average $142.87 a month at 24.89 cents per kWh — a high price applied to just 574 kWh, among the lowest household usage anywhere.

The average residential electricity bill in Vermont is $142.87 a month — about 574 kWh of consumption at 24.89 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. Vermont's price is roughly 35 percent above the national average, its consumption roughly a third below it, and the two nearly cancel: the bill lands about 10 percent under the national figure. Vermont is the clearest illustration anywhere of why a rate and a bill are different questions.

Average Electric Bill in Vermont — bill.ninja

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Virginia

Virginia households average $181.74 a month at 17.61 cents per kWh — a slightly below-average rate meeting well above-average consumption of 1,032 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Virginia is $181.74 a month — roughly 1,032 kWh of consumption at 17.61 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Against the national picture of 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14, Virginia's rate is about five percent below average while its bill is about 14 percent above it. That gap is usage: the typical Virginia household consumes roughly 20 percent more electricity than the typical American one. Virginia does not have a rate problem. It has a consumption profile, and the two get confused.

Average Electric Bill in Virginia — bill.ninja

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Washington

Washington households average $142.77 a month at 14.95 cents per kWh — hydropower keeps the price low while electric heating pushes usage to 955 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Washington is $142.77 a month — about 955 kWh at 14.95 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Nationally the figures are 863 kWh at 18.44 cents for $159.14. Washington's price is roughly 19 percent below the national average and its consumption about 11 percent above it, and the price advantage wins: the bill lands around 10 percent under the national figure. Cheap power, used freely, is the Pacific Northwest pattern in a sentence.

Average Electric Bill in Washington — bill.ninja

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West Virginia

West Virginia households average $172.54 a month at 16.8 cents per kWh — a below-average price applied to about 1,027 kWh of consumption.

The average residential electricity bill in West Virginia is $172.54 a month , the product of roughly 1,027 kWh of consumption billed at 16.8 cents per kWh as of May 2026. Put that next to the national picture — 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14 — and the shape of the bill is easy to read. West Virginia prices electricity about nine percent below the national average, but the typical household here burns close to a fifth more of it, so the monthly total lands roughly eight percent above the national one.

Average Electric Bill in West Virginia — bill.ninja

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin households average $127.32 a month at 19.74 cents per kWh — an above-average price applied to just 645 kWh, among the lowest usage anywhere.

The average residential electricity bill in Wisconsin is $127.32 a month , the result of about 645 kWh of consumption billed at 19.74 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national comparison is 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. Wisconsin therefore pays roughly seven percent more per unit than the country as a whole and about twenty percent less per month, because the typical household here uses around a quarter fewer kilowatt-hours than the national norm.

Average Electric Bill in Wisconsin — bill.ninja

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Wyoming

Wyoming households average $127.72 a month at 14.8 cents per kWh — one of the country's cheaper rates applied to exactly the national average 863 kWh.

The average residential electricity bill in Wyoming is $127.72 a month , made up of 863 kWh of consumption at 14.8 cents per kWh as of May 2026. The national figures are 863 kWh at 18.44 cents, for $159.14. Wyoming households therefore use precisely the national average quantity of electricity and pay about twenty percent less per unit, producing a bill about twenty percent below the national one. The usage figure is a coincidence, and worth pausing on.

Average Electric Bill in Wyoming — bill.ninja

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Products — appliances (32)

Refrigerator

A fridge is plugged in 24 hours a day but the compressor only runs about a third of that -- roughly 8 hours of actual run time -- so duty-cycle hours, not 24, are the honest basis. DOE's own wattage table lists 725 W for a 16 cu ft frost-free unit, which is peak compressor-plus-defrost draw; multipl

Two different numbers get attached to refrigerators, and they do not measure the same thing. The first is nameplate wattage — the peak electrical draw stamped on the data plate, which is what the appliance pulls when everything inside it is running at once. The second is running wattage averaged over real operation, which is far lower. The Department of Energy's appliance wattage table lists 725 W for a 16 cubic foot frost-free unit. That figure is real, but it describes the compressor, condenser fan and defrost heater drawing together at peak.

How Much Electricity Does a Refrigerator Use? — bill.ninja

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Freezer (Chest or Upright)

A chest freezer's lid keeps cold air from spilling out, so it cycles less than an upright of the same capacity -- but placement dominates. EIA RECS 2020 measured 570 kWh/year for the average separate freezer, versus roughly 215-260 kWh/year on the EnergyGuide label of a new ENERGY STAR chest model.

A standalone freezer, chest or upright, averages about 130 W while its compressor runs, with real units spread between 60 W and 250 W. The compressor runs roughly 8.5 hours out of every 24 — slightly more than a refrigerator's, because a freezer holds a much larger temperature difference against the room and because it is more often placed somewhere warm. That distinction between plugged-in hours and running hours is the whole ballgame.

How Much Electricity Does a Freezer (Chest or Upright) Use? — bill.ninja

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Clothes Dryer (Electric)

A typical US household runs about 5 loads a week at 45-50 minutes each, which averages to roughly 0.6 hours a day -- the dryer is idle 97% of the time but draws enormous power when it runs. DOE lists 1,800-5,000 W and SCE lists 3,000-4,500 W; the low end of that spread is heat-pump dryers, the high

An electric clothes dryer is the clearest example of a high-power, low-energy appliance. Power is the rate of draw; energy is power multiplied by time, and it is energy you are billed for. A dryer draws an enormous rate for a very short slice of the day. The rate is genuinely large. DOE's table gives a range of 1,800 to 5,000 W, and Southern California Edison lists 3,000 to 4,500 W. Those spreads are not measurement noise, they describe different machines.

How Much Electricity Does a Clothes Dryer (Electric) Use? — bill.ninja

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Clothes Washer

About 5 loads a week at 50-60 minutes each is roughly 0.4 hours a day. The critical point is that this wattage is the machine only -- motor, controls, pump. If you wash warm or hot, the water heater does the real work and that energy lands on the water heater line of your bill, not here. That is why

A clothes washer draws about 500 W, with typical machines falling between 350 W and 500 W. That figure covers the motor turning the drum, the control board, the pump moving water out, and the high-speed spin at the end of the cycle. It does not include heating water, and that omission is the single most important fact on this page. The machine runs about 50 to 60 minutes per load, and a typical household runs about five loads a week, which averages to roughly 0.4 hours a day .

How Much Electricity Does a Clothes Washer Use? — bill.ninja

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Dishwasher

A cycle runs 1.5-2.5 hours on the clock but the heating element only fires during wash-water heat-up and heated dry -- roughly 30-45 minutes of real draw across about 4 loads a week. Sources disagree sharply and it is worth knowing why: EIA RECS 2020 measured 112 kWh/year, which is the machine alone

A dishwasher is rated around 1,200 W, with the range across machines running from 1,000 W to 2,400 W. Almost all of that is a heating element. The pump that sprays water and the motor that drives it are small loads; the element that raises wash water to temperature and then dries the dishes is what makes the number large. The important thing is that the element does not run for the length of the cycle.

How Much Electricity Does a Dishwasher Use? — bill.ninja

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Electric Oven / Range

An oven set to 350F does not draw 2,400 W continuously -- it pulls full power through preheat, then cycles the element on only 20-30% of the time to hold temperature. SCE lists 2,000 W for a large surface burner and 800-1,200 W for a small one, used in short bursts. Combined oven-plus-cooktop use av

An electric range is really two appliances sharing a cabinet and a circuit, and they behave differently. The oven is a large heating element, typically around 2,400 W, inside an insulated box with a thermostat. It draws full power during preheat, when it is bringing a cold cavity and its steel racks up to temperature. Once it reaches setpoint the thermostat takes over and the element cycles — switching on and off to replace heat lost through the door and walls. Holding 350°F typically means the element is energised only 20 to 30 percent of the time.

How Much Electricity Does a Electric Oven / Range Use? — bill.ninja

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Microwave Oven

The number on the front of a microwave -- '1,000 W' -- is cooking output, not electricity draw; input runs 40-60% higher. DOE's table lists 750-1,100 W and DTE's chart puts a microwave near 1,094 W. Actual use is short, about 15 minutes a day for a typical household, which is why it costs so little

The number on the front of a microwave is not the number on your meter, and this is the one appliance where the label is actively misleading. When a microwave says 1,000 W , that is cooking output — the microwave energy delivered into the food. The electricity it draws to produce that output is 40 to 60 percent higher, because the magnetron that generates the microwaves, the transformer that feeds it, the turntable motor, the cooling fan and the cavity light all consume power too.

How Much Electricity Does a Microwave Oven Use? — bill.ninja

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Toaster Oven

DOE lists 1,225 W and DTE's chart puts it at 1,277 W -- close agreement. Like a full-size oven it cycles the element to hold temperature, but the tiny cavity means preheat is under 5 minutes instead of 10-15, so nearly all of its runtime is productive cooking rather than warm-up.

A toaster oven draws about 1,225 W, and the sources agree closely here for once: DOE's appliance table lists 1,225 W and DTE's chart puts it at 1,277 W. Across the market, expect 1,000 W for a small two-slice unit up to 1,800 W for a large countertop convection model that doubles as an air fryer. Most plug into an ordinary 15-amp circuit, which caps what they can draw. Like a full-size oven, it does not hold that draw continuously. The element runs flat out during preheat, then a thermostat cycles it on and off to maintain temperature.

How Much Electricity Does a Toaster Oven Use? — bill.ninja

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Air Fryer

Nameplate ratings run 800-1,800 W, similar to a toaster oven, but that is peak draw before the thermostat starts cycling. Forced convection cuts cook times 20-40% and preheat to 2-3 minutes, so typical daily runtime is only about 12 minutes. We Energies lists air fryers in its kitchen calculator alo

An air fryer is a small convection oven with an aggressive fan, and its electrical behaviour follows from that. Nameplate ratings — the peak wattage printed on the data plate or in the manual — run from 800 W for a two-quart basket to 1,800 W for a large multi-shelf model, with 1,500 W the common middle. We Energies lists air fryers in its kitchen calculator alongside toaster ovens at comparable wattage, which is the right comparison: the heating element is the same kind of resistance coil.

How Much Electricity Does a Air Fryer Use? — bill.ninja

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Coffee Maker

DOE lists 900-1,200 W and SCE lists 600-900 W; the spread is drip machines versus single-serve pod brewers with heated reservoirs. Brewing takes only 5-10 minutes, but a glass-carafe machine's warming plate keeps pulling 50-100 W for as long as it stays on, which is what pushes effective runtime to

Two respectable sources give two different answers for the same appliance. The Department of Energy's wattage table lists 900–1,200 W for a coffee maker. Southern California Edison's ratings sheet lists 600–900 W. Neither is wrong, and the gap is worth understanding rather than averaging away. The higher figure describes a standard drip machine, where a single resistance element flash-heats water as it passes through a tube on its way to the basket.

How Much Electricity Does a Coffee Maker Use? — bill.ninja

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Central Air Conditioner

These are cooling-season hours, not year-round hours. A 3-ton, 14-SEER system draws roughly 3,000-3,500 W including the air handler and runs about 6 hours a day during a hot-climate summer month -- but only 1-3 hours a day in a mild climate and essentially zero for half the year. EIA RECS 2020 measu

A central system is two machines wired together, and both count. Outside, the condensing unit runs a compressor and a condenser fan. Inside, the air handler runs a blower that pushes cooled air through the ducts. A 3-ton, 14-SEER system — a common size for a mid-sized American house — draws roughly 3,000 to 3,500 W with both ends running, and the blower alone accounts for 300 to 500 W of that. The nameplate on the condenser is not that number.

How Much Electricity Does a Central Air Conditioner Use? — bill.ninja

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Window Air Conditioner

A 10,000 BTU window unit draws roughly 900 W. Runtime is higher than you would expect -- often 8+ hours a day in season -- because a window unit usually cools one occupied room continuously rather than cycling a whole house from a central thermostat. ENERGY STAR notes room units span 5,000 BTU (100-

A 10,000 BTU window unit — the size that suits a large bedroom or a small living room — draws roughly 900 W with the compressor running. That figure covers the compressor and both fans, since a room unit packages the whole refrigeration cycle into one chassis with the condenser hanging outside the sash. The spread across room air conditioners is not a quality range; it is a sizing range. ENERGY STAR describes room units from 5,000 BTU, rated for roughly 100 to 150 square feet and drawing near 500 W, up to 34,000 BTU units meant for large open spaces.

How Much Electricity Does a Window Air Conditioner Use? — bill.ninja

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Space Heater (Portable Electric)

Essentially every portable electric heater sold in the US tops out at 1,500 W, because that is the most a standard 15-amp, 120-volt branch circuit can safely carry continuously -- DOE's 750-1,500 W range is just the low and high switch positions of the same appliance, and SCE lists 800-1,500 W. Runt

Essentially every portable electric heater sold in the United States tops out at 1,500 W, and the reason is electrical rather than thermal. A standard household branch circuit is 15 amps at 120 volts, which is 1,800 watts of absolute capacity, and continuous loads must sit well below that. 1,500 W is the largest round number that fits with margin for the rest of the circuit. This is why the hardware store shelf is full of visibly different appliances with identical ratings. The published ranges reflect that ceiling rather than any real variety.

How Much Electricity Does a Space Heater (Portable Electric) Use? — bill.ninja

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Electric Furnace / Heat Pump

This is the widest range in the dataset, and the driver is technology, not house size. An air-source heat pump moves heat and draws roughly 3,000-5,000 W to warm a typical home; an electric-resistance furnace makes heat and draws 10,000-25,000 W of strip elements for the same job -- three to five ti

"Electric heat" covers two machines that behave nothing alike, and confusing them is the single largest source of bad estimates in household energy. An air-source heat pump does not make heat. It runs a refrigeration cycle backwards, collecting warmth from outdoor air — which contains plenty even at 35°F — and moving it indoors. Moving heat costs far less than creating it, so a heat pump warming a typical home draws roughly 3,000 to 5,000 W, about what the same equipment draws running as an air conditioner in summer.

How Much Electricity Does a Electric Furnace / Heat Pump Use? — bill.ninja

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Ceiling Fan

DOE lists 65-175 W; ENERGY STAR certified fans are up to 44% more efficient than conventional ones thanks to improved motors and blade designs, and newer DC-motor models draw as little as 30 W on medium. Fans get left running for long stretches -- 6 hours a day is typical -- so the modest wattage st

Published ceiling fan wattages do not agree, and the disagreement is informative rather than sloppy. DOE lists 65 to 175 W. DTE's time-of-day chart puts a ceiling fan near 140 watt-hours per operating hour, which is effectively 140 W. Newer DC-motor models draw as little as 30 W on medium. ENERGY STAR certified fans are up to 44% more efficient than conventional ones, thanks to better motors and blade designs. All of those describe real fans. The spread comes from three things.

How Much Electricity Does a Ceiling Fan Use? — bill.ninja

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Dehumidifier

DOE's table lists 785 W; modern ENERGY STAR 50-pint units draw closer to 500 W and use about 20% less energy than conventional models. What makes a dehumidifier one of the largest hidden loads in a home is runtime, not wattage -- a basement unit fighting summer humidity can run 10-16 hours a day for

A dehumidifier is a small air conditioner that throws its cold and its heat back into the same room. Air passes over a chilled evaporator coil, water condenses out and drips into a bucket or a hose, and the now-dry air passes over the hot condenser coil before returning to the room slightly warmer than it left. Compressor and fan together draw about 500 W on a modern ENERGY STAR 50-pint unit, which uses about 20% less energy than a conventional model. The published figures disagree, and the gap is generational.

How Much Electricity Does a Dehumidifier Use? — bill.ninja

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Humidifier

The range here is a technology split, not a size split. Evaporative and ultrasonic humidifiers only run a fan or a piezo transducer and draw 30-60 W; warm-mist units boil the water and draw 250-500 W for the same output. Runtime is long -- typically overnight or all day through the dry heating month

Humidifier wattage gets quoted across a range so wide it looks like a typographical error: 30 watts at one end, 500 at the other. The range is accurate. What it is not is the thing most appliance ranges describe. This is not a size split, where a bigger machine uses more for a bigger room. It is a technology split, and the two technologies put water into the air by completely different physics.

How Much Electricity Does a Humidifier Use? — bill.ninja

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Electric Water Heater (Tank)

DOE lists 4,500-5,500 W for a 40-gallon tank. A standard tank has two 4,500 W elements but they are wired non-simultaneously -- only one fires at a time, so the running draw is 4,500 W, not 9,000 W. Sources disagree meaningfully on the total: EIA RECS 2020 measured 2,706 kWh/year per household using

The Department of Energy lists 4,500 to 5,500 W for a 40-gallon electric tank. Open the access panel on a standard residential unit and you will find two heating elements, each typically rated 4,500 W, which is where a persistent piece of misinformation begins. They are wired non-simultaneously : an interlock in the upper thermostat guarantees that only one element can be energised at any moment. The upper element fires first to recover the top of the tank quickly, then control passes to the lower one. Running draw is 4,500 W, not 9,000 W.

How Much Electricity Does a Electric Water Heater (Tank) Use? — bill.ninja

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Tankless Electric Water Heater

The wattage looks alarming because it is: a whole-house electric tankless unit draws 18,000-36,000 W, typically needing three or four 40-amp double-pole breakers and often a 200-amp service upgrade. But it only draws that while water is actually flowing -- roughly 30 minutes of real hot-water draw a

The wattage looks alarming because it is. A whole-house electric tankless unit draws 18,000 to 36,000 W, typically requiring three or four 40-amp double-pole breakers and often a 200-amp service upgrade to feed them. This is not a peak-versus-running distinction of the kind that inflates published refrigerator figures. When the unit is heating at full output it really is pulling 24 kW or more, which is more instantaneous draw than everything else in a typical house combined. What rescues the number is duty cycle.

How Much Electricity Does a Tankless Electric Water Heater Use? — bill.ninja

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Well Pump

DOE lists 250-1,100 W for a deep-well pump; 1 HP and larger submersibles reach 2,000 W running, with a starting surge several times that for a fraction of a second. The pump only runs to refill the pressure tank, so a typical household lands near 1-2 hours a day. The failure mode nobody notices: a r

The Department of Energy lists 250 to 1,100 W for a deep-well pump. One horsepower and larger submersible pumps reach about 2,000 W running, and every one of them draws a starting surge several times that figure for a fraction of a second as the motor overcomes inertia. That surge, called inrush or locked-rotor current, is what makes lights flicker when the pump kicks in. It lasts too briefly to add meaningfully to kilowatt-hours, but it matters for a different reason covered below.

How Much Electricity Does a Well Pump Use? — bill.ninja

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Pool Pump

The widest-swinging real-world number here. A legacy single-speed 1.5 HP pump draws 1,500-2,000 W and, run the customary 8 hours a day, exceeds 4,000 kWh a year -- larger than most homes' air conditioning. A variable-speed pump on low RPM draws 150-400 W for the same daily turnover. EIA RECS 2020 me

This is the widest-swinging real-world number of any household appliance, and the swing is not noise. It is two entirely different machines sold under the same name. A legacy single-speed 1.5 HP pump draws 1,500 to 2,000 W and, run the customary eight hours a day, exceeds 4,000 kWh a year on its own, which is larger than most homes' air conditioning. A variable-speed pump running on low RPM draws 150 to 400 W and achieves the same daily turnover of the pool's water. Same pool, same clarity, roughly a quarter of the energy or better.

How Much Electricity Does a Pool Pump Use? — bill.ninja

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Hot Tub / Spa

A hot tub's 4,000-6,000 W heater and 750-1,500 W jet pumps only run in bursts, so the meaningful figure is the blended average of holding 400 gallons at 102F against ambient losses. EIA RECS 2020 measured 484 kWh/year for hot tub pumps plus 1,479 kWh/year for hot tub heaters -- about 1,963 kWh/year

A hot tub has two loads with very different personalities. The heater is a 4,000 to 6,000 W resistance element, and the jet pumps are 750 to 1,500 W each. Neither runs continuously. The heater fires in bursts whenever the water drifts below setpoint, and the jets run only while somebody is in the tub. There is also a small circulation pump and controller holding roughly 50 W around the clock on many models. Quoting the peak figure is therefore useless.

How Much Electricity Does a Hot Tub / Spa Use? — bill.ninja

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Television (LED / LCD)

A 50-55 inch LED TV draws about 60 W in normal viewing, and DTE's chart puts a 65 inch LED near 640 W-hours per operating hour block. DOE's older table lists 120 W for 'flat screen,' which reflects the plasma and CCFL-backlight era and now overstates a modern set roughly twofold -- a useful example

A 50 to 55 inch LED television draws about 60 W in normal viewing. That is measured running draw, not a nameplate figure, and for a modern set the two are closer together than they are for anything with a motor or a heating element. A television has no compressor to surge and no element to cycle; it lights a backlight and runs a processor. The published tables genuinely disagree, and it is worth setting them side by side rather than picking one.

How Much Electricity Does a Television (LED / LCD) Use? — bill.ninja

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Gaming Console

A current-generation PS5 or Xbox Series X draws roughly 150-200 W during gameplay; a docked Nintendo Switch is nearer 10-18 W, and SCE's older list shows PS3/Xbox 360 era units at 215-400 W. The number that surprises people is not gameplay but standby: 'Rest Mode' and 'Instant-On' hold 10-15 W aroun

A current-generation PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X draws roughly 150 to 200 W during gameplay . A docked Nintendo Switch is nearer 10 to 18 W , an order of magnitude below, because it is a handheld chip in a dock rather than a desktop-class graphics processor. Older hardware ran hotter than either: Southern California Edison's appliance list shows PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era units at 215 to 400 W , which is a reminder that console power has fallen even as performance has risen. Nameplate is not the number here.

How Much Electricity Does a Gaming Console Use? — bill.ninja

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Desktop Computer

DOE lists 120 W for the tower awake (30 W or less asleep) plus up to 150 W for an older CRT-era monitor; a modern office desktop with an LED monitor totals about 150 W, and DTE's chart agrees at 468 W-hours per operating block. A gaming rig with a discrete GPU under load pulls 400-600 W. The number

Start with the number that misleads almost everybody. The figure stamped on a desktop's power supply — 650 W , 750 W , 1,000 W — is the maximum the unit can deliver, not what the machine pulls from the wall. It is a ceiling, sized with headroom so the supply never runs at its limit. Reading it as consumption is the single most common mistake made about this appliance, and it inflates people's estimates by a factor of four or five. The measured picture is calmer.

How Much Electricity Does a Desktop Computer Use? — bill.ninja

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Laptop Computer

DOE lists 50 W and DTE's chart puts a laptop at 100 W-hours per operating block. Real draw is usually well below the charger's rating: a 65 W or 96 W USB-C brick only delivers full power while the battery is actively charging, and once topped off a laptop browsing the web settles around 10-25 W. Gam

The number on the charging brick is not the number on your meter. A 65 W or 96 W USB-C charger states what it is capable of delivering, and it only delivers that much while the battery is genuinely charging — which is a fraction of the day. Once the battery is full, the machine draws only what it needs to run, and a laptop browsing the web, writing email or sitting in a video call settles at 10 to 25 W . Averaged across a working day, DOE lists 50 W for a laptop, and DTE's chart puts one at 100 watt-hours per operating block.

How Much Electricity Does a Laptop Computer Use? — bill.ninja

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WiFi Router / Modem

The clearest case in this dataset of runtime beating wattage. A router draws only 5-20 W -- the high end being a combined modem-router or a multi-node mesh system -- but it runs all 8,760 hours of the year with no duty cycle whatsoever. A 10 W router therefore consumes more electricity annually than

A home router or modem draws between 5 and 20 W . The low end is a bare wireless router; the high end is a combined modem-router gateway from an internet provider, or a multi-node mesh system where every node is its own small load. Eight watts is a fair typical figure for a single modern unit. What makes this appliance interesting is not the wattage. It is the runtime . A router has no duty cycle at all — no thermostat, no compressor, no idle state anyone uses.

How Much Electricity Does a WiFi Router / Modem Use? — bill.ninja

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Phone Charger

A charger draws 2-5 W topping up a battery overnight; a modern fast charger hits 20-45 W but only for the first 20-30 minutes of a charge, after which draw collapses to under a watt as the phone tapers. Effective charging time is about 3 hours a day. DTE's chart lists a cell phone charger at 0.004 k

A charger topping up a phone overnight draws 2 to 5 W . A modern fast charger can hit 20 to 45 W , but only for the first 20 to 30 minutes of a charge — the window when the battery is deeply discharged and will accept power quickly. After that, the phone tapers deliberately to protect the cells, and draw collapses to under a watt long before the battery reads full. This is why the number printed on the charger tells you so little. A 45 W brick is a delivery ceiling, reached briefly and rarely.

How Much Electricity Does a Phone Charger Use? — bill.ninja

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LED Light Bulb

A 9 W LED replaces a 60 W incandescent at the same roughly 800 lumens. Three hours a day is the standard federal assumption used on the Lighting Facts label and in rated-life math, so it is the correct apples-to-apples basis for comparing bulbs -- DTE's chart uses 0.008 kWh for a 60W-equivalent LED,

A standard replacement LED draws 9 W and produces roughly 800 lumens — the same light as the 60 W incandescent it replaces. Bulbs in this class run from about 5 W for a dimmer 450-lumen bulb up to 15 W for a brighter 1,100 or 1,600-lumen equivalent. Lumens are the unit of light output; watts are the unit of electricity consumed. Those two things used to move together, which is why people learned to shop by watts, and they no longer do. The usage assumption matters as much as the wattage.

How Much Electricity Does a LED Light Bulb Use? — bill.ninja

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Incandescent Light Bulb

A standard 60 W incandescent turns roughly 90% of its electricity into heat and only about 10% into light. Compared at the same 3 hours a day as an LED, it uses about 6.7 times the electricity for identical brightness. DOE's general service lamp rules effectively ended US sales of most of these in A

A standard incandescent bulb draws exactly what its label says — 60 W for the common size, with 40 W and 100 W bulbs at the ends of the usual range. Unlike almost every other appliance on this site, there is no gap between nameplate and running wattage. A filament is a resistor: apply mains voltage and it draws its rated power continuously, with no duty cycle, no start-up surge worth mentioning and no idle state. What the label does not tell you is how little of that becomes light.

How Much Electricity Does a Incandescent Light Bulb Use? — bill.ninja

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Vacuum Cleaner

DOE lists 1,000-1,440 W and DTE's chart puts a vacuum at 0.818 kWh. The wattage is high but runtime is trivial -- most households vacuum about an hour a week, roughly 0.15 hours a day averaged out -- so it lands near the bottom of the bill despite sounding powerful. Cordless stick vacuums draw far l

A corded upright or canister vacuum draws 1,000 to 1,440 W , which is DOE's listed range, with about 1,100 W typical. DTE's appliance chart puts a vacuum at 0.818 kWh per operating block. Unlike most high-wattage appliances, that draw is genuine and continuous while the machine runs — there is no thermostat cycling an element on and off, no compressor duty cycle. Squeeze the trigger and it pulls its rated power until you stop.

How Much Electricity Does a Vacuum Cleaner Use? — bill.ninja

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Electric Vehicle Charger (Level 2)

Level 2 equipment runs at 240 V from 16 A (3,800 W) up to 80 A (19,200 W); the most common home install is 32 A on a 40 A circuit, about 7,200 W. Crucially the hours are set by how far you drive, not by the charger's size -- a bigger charger does not use more energy, it just finishes sooner.

Level 2 equipment runs on a 240-volt circuit, and the draw depends entirely on how the circuit and the charger were specified. The span is wide: from 16 A (3,800 W) at the small end up to 80 A (19,200 W) at the largest residential installations. The most common home install is 32 A on a 40 A circuit, about 7,200 W , which is the figure used here. Now the point that makes this appliance unlike every other one on the site. The hours are set by how far you drive, not by the charger's size. A bigger charger does not use more energy; it just finishes sooner.

How Much Electricity Does a Electric Vehicle Charger (Level 2) Use? — bill.ninja

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Articles — guides (10)

How to Read Your Electric Bill

A line-by-line walkthrough of a residential electric bill: meter reads, kWh, supply, delivery, riders, taxes, and the one rate worth comparing.

The top of a residential electric bill carries the administrative details, and two of them matter more than they look. The first is the service address and account number — worth checking once a year, because a meter mapped to the wrong unit in a duplex or a small apartment building is not a rare error, and it can persist for years until somebody compares a bill to a floor plan. The second is the service period : the two dates that bracket the days you are being billed for. This is not the calendar month.

How to Read Your Electric Bill — bill.ninja

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Supply vs. Delivery Charges on Your Electric Bill

Why your electric bill splits into supply and delivery, which half you can shop, and why a low advertised rate saves far less than it appears to.

Open a residential electric bill in most of the country and the charges fall into two blocks. One is labelled supply , or generation, or energy charge, or basic service. The other is labelled delivery , or transmission and distribution, or delivery services. They are added together, taxed together, and paid with one payment, which is why so many people read them as one price. They are not one price.

Supply vs. Delivery Charges on Your Electric Bill — bill.ninja

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What Is a Time-of-Use Rate?

Time-of-use electricity pricing explained: peak and off-peak windows, seasonal shifts, who saves, who loses, and how to check before you switch.

A flat rate charges the same price per kilowatt-hour at three in the morning and at six in the evening. A time-of-use rate (TOU) does not: it divides the day into pricing periods and charges a different price in each. Run the dryer at midnight and it costs one amount. Run it at seven in the evening and it costs considerably more. The logic is that electricity genuinely costs more to supply at some hours than others. Power cannot be stored at scale on most grids, so supply must match demand instant by instant.

What Is a Time-of-Use Rate? — bill.ninja

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Why Is My Electric Bill So High?

A step-by-step diagnosis of a high electric bill: billing days, estimated reads, rate changes, weather, new loads, failing appliances and real errors.

Before you look at anything else, find the service period on the bill — the two dates the charges cover — and count the days. Then count the days on the bill before it. Utility billing cycles are not calendar months. They run from one meter read to the next, and a read can slip by several days because of a weekend, a holiday, a route change, or weather that kept a meter reader off the street. A 34-day cycle following a 27-day cycle contains 26 percent more consumption at identical habits.

Why Is My Electric Bill So High? — bill.ninja

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What Counts as a Utility Bill?

Which bills qualify as proof of address, where internet and mobile sit, what verifiers actually check, and what to do if nothing is in your name.

In the narrowest and oldest sense, a utility is a service delivered to a fixed property through a physical connection, usually by a provider operating under a public franchise or regulatory oversight. That gives a short list: electricity, natural gas, water, sewer, and refuse collection . Heating oil and propane sit alongside them in practice, delivered by truck rather than pipe.

What Counts as a Utility Bill? — bill.ninja

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How to Read Your Water Meter (and Find a Leak)

Find your water meter, read either dial type, convert cubic feet to CCF and gallons, and run the two-hour test that proves whether you have a leak.

Where the meter sits depends almost entirely on whether the ground freezes. In warm regions it is outdoors, at or near the property line, in a curb box — a buried chamber with a cast iron or plastic lid set flush with the ground, typically in the lawn strip between the pavement and the street, or in the front garden near the footpath. The lid is round or rectangular, roughly the size of a dinner plate, and usually cast with the word WATER.

How to Read Your Water Meter (and Find a Leak) — bill.ninja

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Budget Billing: Is It Worth It?

How budget billing works, how the monthly amount is set, why the true-up surprises people, who it genuinely helps, and the one real risk it creates.

Budget billing — also sold as levelized billing, average billing, equal payment plan or balanced billing, depending on the utility — charges you a fixed amount each month instead of the amount you actually used. In January, when an electrically heated house consumes far more than average, you pay the fixed amount and the utility carries the shortfall. In May, when the house needs almost nothing, you pay the same fixed amount and the surplus works the balance back down.

Budget Billing: Is It Worth It? — bill.ninja

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Deregulated vs. Regulated Electricity, Explained

How regulated utilities and retail choice markets differ, which 14 US jurisdictions let households pick a supplier, and what to do in each kind of market.

In most of the United States, one company does everything. It owns or contracts for the generation, owns the transmission lines, owns the poles and wires on your street, reads your meter, handles outages, and sends you a single bill. That arrangement is called vertical integration , and it exists for an unglamorous reason: stringing a second set of distribution wires down the same street so two companies could compete would waste far more than the competition could recover. A monopoly is the efficient answer to that problem.

Deregulated vs. Regulated Electricity, Explained — bill.ninja

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How to Split Bills With Roommates Fairly

Three fair ways to split utilities with roommates, prorating a mid-month move, whose name belongs on the account, and how to split a restaurant bill.

Every workable arrangement is a version of one of three rules. Each is fair in some households and unfair in others, and knowing which you are in is most of the work. 1. Even split — total divided by the number of people Its virtue is that it is unarguable: no formula to relitigate, no square footage to measure, no schedule to audit. Where bedrooms are broadly comparable and everyone works similar hours, an even split is not a compromise; it is the correct answer, and the cheapest to administer. 2.

How to Split Bills With Roommates Fairly — bill.ninja

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What Uses the Most Electricity in a Home?

A ranked, honest look at home electricity use: which loads dominate the bill, which are rounding errors, and why watts mislead where kilowatt-hours do not.

Almost every wrong intuition about home electricity comes from confusing two quantities. A watt is a rate — how fast a device consumes electricity while running. A kilowatt-hour is a quantity — a thousand watts drawn for one hour, and the unit your utility actually bills you for. The bridge between them is time, and time is what people leave out. Your bill is not a list of the most powerful things you own; it is the sum of power multiplied by hours, appliance by appliance, over the month.

What Uses the Most Electricity in a Home? — bill.ninja

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Concepts (13)

Kilowatt-hour

The unit of energy utilities bill by: one kilowatt of power drawn for one hour.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilowatt-hour

The unit of energy utilities bill by: one kilowatt of power drawn for one hour.

Guides — bill.ninja

Electricity market deregulation

The separation of electricity supply from delivery, allowing retail customers to choose their supplier while the incumbent utility continues to operate the wires.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_market

The separation of electricity supply from delivery, allowing retail customers to choose their supplier while the incumbent utility continues to operate the wires.

Guides — bill.ninja

U.S. Energy Information Administration

The statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the source of the state electricity rate and consumption figures used throughout this site.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Information_Administration

The statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the source of the state electricity rate and consumption figures used throughout this site.

Guides — bill.ninja

Public utility commission

The state body that reviews and sets the rates a regulated utility may charge.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_utilities_commission

The state body that reviews and sets the rates a regulated utility may charge.

Guides — bill.ninja

Time-of-use rate

A tariff that prices electricity differently by hour of day and season, charging more during system peak periods.

A tariff that prices electricity differently by hour of day and season, charging more during system peak periods.

Guides — bill.ninja

Demand response

Changing electricity consumption in response to price signals or utility programmes — the mechanism time-of-use and critical-peak tariffs exist to drive.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_response

Changing electricity consumption in response to price signals or utility programmes — the mechanism time-of-use and critical-peak tariffs exist to drive.

Guides — bill.ninja

Smart meter

An electricity meter that records consumption in short intervals and reports it to the utility, making time-of-use and demand tariffs possible.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter

An electricity meter that records consumption in short intervals and reports it to the utility, making time-of-use and demand tariffs possible.

Guides — bill.ninja

Electricity pricing

How the retail price of electricity is constructed from generation, transmission, distribution, and policy components.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing

How the retail price of electricity is constructed from generation, transmission, distribution, and policy components.

Guides — bill.ninja

Water metering

Measurement of household water consumption, usually in hundred cubic feet or thousands of gallons, and the basis for both water and sewer charges.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_metering

Measurement of household water consumption, usually in hundred cubic feet or thousands of gallons, and the basis for both water and sewer charges.

Guides — bill.ninja

Therm

The unit natural gas utilities bill by: 100,000 British thermal units.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therm

The unit natural gas utilities bill by: 100,000 British thermal units.

Guides — bill.ninja

Propane

A liquefied petroleum gas sold by the gallon and used for heating, cooking and water heating where natural gas service is unavailable.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane

A liquefied petroleum gas sold by the gallon and used for heating, cooking and water heating where natural gas service is unavailable.

Guides — bill.ninja

Energy Star

The U.S. federal energy-efficiency certification programme whose product criteria supply several of the appliance consumption figures used here.

sameAs

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Star

The U.S. federal energy-efficiency certification programme whose product criteria supply several of the appliance consumption figures used here.

Guides — bill.ninja

Residential Energy Consumption Survey

The EIA's periodic national survey of household energy use, which supplies the metered end-use totals the appliance runtimes here are calibrated against.

The EIA's periodic national survey of household energy use, which supplies the metered end-use totals the appliance runtimes here are calibrated against.

Guides — bill.ninja

Taxonomies (2)

Deregulated electricity states

The 14 US jurisdictions where residential customers choose their own electricity supplier while the incumbent utility continues to deliver it.

The 14 US jurisdictions where residential customers choose their own electricity supplier while the incumbent utility continues to deliver it.

Deregulated electricity states — bill.ninja

Regulated electricity states

The 37 US jurisdictions where residential customers buy both supply and delivery from a single utility at a rate set by the state regulator.

The 37 US jurisdictions where residential customers buy both supply and delivery from a single utility at a rate set by the state regulator.

Regulated electricity states — bill.ninja