A Look at the Average Summer Electric Bill Across America

Have you thought about how much your neighbor pays for their house’s electricity?

Have you ever wondered what the average electric bill for wherever you live compared to other cities or states? Don’t worry, as we’ve got it all figured out for you in this article.

image - A Look at the Average Summer Electric Bill Across America — A Look at the Average Summer Electric Bill Across America

The average monthly electric bill is usually affected by the following two factors:

1. Electricity Usage Amount

Compared to others in your neighborhood or community, a homeowner’s energy consumption could be relatively lower or higher, even if they live in a similar household or an apartment.

Generally, a regular household’s monthly electric usage is strongly associated with the climate where it resides and its size.

2. Average Electricity Price

The rate of electricity varies by region, state, ZIP code, or even from one homeowner to the next. If you believe what you’re paying for on average may be higher than that of other states, then there’s no harm in looking it up online.

How do You Calculate the Average Electric Bill?

Apart from the taxes or other expenses that you need to consider based on where you live, the formula for calculating the average electricity bill of your state or municipality is usually the following:

Average Kilowatt-hours Used * Average Cents Per Kilowatt-hour/100 = Average Electricity Bill

Kilowatt-hour is the unit of electric measurement in an hour when using appliances for lighting, cooling, or heating, and using the dryer, washer, as well as other items that run on electricity.

When viewing your electric bill, you might notice that kilowatt-hour is normally displayed in its SI unit form of kWh, and that electric rate is normally written as ¢ per kWh or cents per kWh.

Here’s the average electric bill by state:

State	August 2020 rate (cents/kWh)	Avg. monthly usage (kWh)	Avg. bill	Cost ranking
Alabama	12.76	1,136	144.95	48
Alaska	23.75	601	142.74	47
Arizona	12.37	1,033	127.78	42
Arkansas	10.51	1,028	108.04	20
California	20.77	554	115.07	29
Colorado	12.84	678	87.06	4
Connecticut	22.13	690	152.70	50
Delaware	12.15	912	110.81	23
Florida	11.61	1,089	126.43	39
Georgia	12.89	1,062	136.89	46
Hawaii	28.87	506	146.08	49
Idaho	10.39	1,000	103.90	13
Illinois	12.33	692	85.32	2
Indiana	12.32	928	114.33	28
Iowa	14.62	831	121.49	34
Kansas	12.98	861	111.76	25
Kentucky	10.67	1,052	112.25	26
Louisiana	9.41	1,187	111.70	24
Maine	16.82	546	91.84	5
Maryland	12.48	940	117.31	30
Massachusetts	21.68	583	126.39	38
Michigan	16.60	633	105.08	14
Minnesota	14.16	748	105.92	16
Mississippi	10.78	1,132	122.03	35
Missouri	12.40	994	123.26	36
Montana	11.94	865	103.28	12
Nebraska	11.94	957	114.27	27
Nevada	10.79	854	92.15	6
New Hampshire	18.28	599	109.50	22
New Jersey	16.48	654	107.78	19
New Mexico	13.97	615	85.92	3
New York	18.41	572	105.31	15
North Carolina	11.56	1,042	120.46	32
North Dakota	11.91	1,063	126.60	40
Ohio	12.06	841	101.42	9
Oklahoma	10.29	1,039	106.91	18
Oregon	11.28	969	109.30	21
Pennsylvania	13.25	805	106.66	17
Rhode Island	22.13	577	127.69	41
South Carolina	12.53	1,082	135.57	45
South Dakota	12.71	978	124.30	37
Tennessee	10.55	1,150	121.33	33
Texas	11.74	1,112	130.55	43
Utah	11.32	745	84.33	1
Vermont	19.17	538	103.13	11
Virginia	12.34	1,078	133.03	44
Washington	9.92	1,023	101.48	10
West Virginia	11.73	1,026	120.35	31
Wisconsin	14.72	660	97.15	7
Wyoming	11.72	854	100.09	8
U.S. average	13.31	867	115.40

Read this to learn about the average monthly electric bill for Phoenix, Arizona.

As we can see from the chart above, bills in certain states have increased from last year, with the highest percentage being that from Vermont Which has increased by 14.7% year-over-year.

This means that residents paid $13 more for their electric bills as of August 2020. As a matter of fact, over 273 states have experienced an increase in bills year-over-year.

How to Reduce These Elevating Bills?

The answer to this couldn’t be any more obvious than cutting back on the amount of electricity you use for an entire month.

Of course, we’re not going to the extent of taking cold showers or boiling in the melting temperatures of the summer. You can start by unplugging some of the appliances or devices in your home that don’t need to be used at that moment.

Some of those items could be laptops, television, or even gaming consoles that are known to draw in energy even if they’re not in use according to Lauren Greutman, an energy-savings expert.

Besides this, you can adjust the thermostat of your HVAC system, which according to the US Department of Energy, can help you save up on 10% of your energy bills. You can also cover your windows to prevent some of the cool or warm air from escaping your house, wash wisely and so much more.