State ranking · 2024

The cheapest states for electricity

Every state ranked from the lowest average residential rate, with the in-state generation that keeps each grid affordable.

11.51¢/kWh
Cheapest · North Dakota
16.48¢/kWh
US average
15+
States below average

Residential electricity is one of the most geographically uneven prices in the American economy. The cheapest states deliver a kilowatt-hour for less than a third of what households pay in Hawaii, and the reasons are almost entirely structural rather than political. A state lands near the top of this ranking when it sits on generation capacity that was built long ago, is cheap to run, and is regulated under a cost-of-service tariff that passes those low costs through to customers. The table below ranks the fifteen lowest-cost states using the most recent annual EIA Form 861 release, and every figure links to that state's full profile.

The 15 cheapest states for residential electricity (2024)

Average price, cents per kWh, lower is cheaper.

¢/kWh
Source EIA Form 861 — Electric Power Monthly As of 2024

What every cheap-electricity state has in common

Three families of advantage explain almost the entire list. The first is legacy hydropower. The federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers give Washington and Idaho enormous blocks of zero-fuel electricity whose construction bonds were retired decades ago, so the marginal cost of another kilowatt-hour is close to the cost of spinning a turbine. The second is domestic fossil fuel produced inside the state. Louisiana burns Gulf-coast natural gas that never has to travel far, and the Plains states sit on lignite coal and, increasingly, some of the cheapest onshore wind in the world. The third is ownership structure: Nebraska is served entirely by nonprofit public power districts that have no shareholder dividend to fund, which shaves a persistent margin off every bill.

Why the cheapest states barely move

A striking feature of this ranking is how tightly the leaders cluster. The difference between first place and tenth is often well under a cent per kilowatt-hour, which is why the exact order reshuffles from year to year even though the same dozen states reliably occupy the top. That stability is itself a signal. States with paid-down hydro, coal, and nuclear capacity are insulated from the fuel-price swings that whipsaw gas-dependent grids, so their rates drift slowly rather than spiking. Households weighing a move, a heat-pump retrofit, or an electric vehicle should read the trend on a state's profile page alongside this snapshot, because a low rate that is rising fast can end up costing more over a decade than a moderate rate that holds flat.

What a low rate does not tell you

Cheap electricity is not the same as a clean or resilient grid. Several of the lowest-cost states still lean on coal, which keeps rates down today but carries regulatory and environmental risk that can surface in future rate cases. Others depend on a single fuel or a single river system, so a drought or a pipeline constraint can erode the advantage quickly. The most durable low-cost grids pair an old, paid-for backbone with a growing share of wind and solar that adds capacity without adding fuel cost. To see how each state on this list actually generates its power, open its profile and compare the rate against the generation mix and the multi-year price history before drawing conclusions.

Rank State Avg residential rate Why it stays low
1 North Dakota 11.51¢/kWh Driven by local lignite coal plus fast-growing wind.
2 Idaho 11.52¢/kWh Driven by Snake River hydropower.
3 Nebraska 11.53¢/kWh Driven by nonprofit public power districts.
4 Louisiana 11.73¢/kWh Driven by cheap Gulf-coast natural gas.
5 Washington 11.90¢/kWh Driven by Columbia River hydropower.
6 Utah 12.22¢/kWh Driven by low-cost coal and gas.
7 Oklahoma 12.24¢/kWh Driven by domestic gas plus wind.
8 Arkansas 12.32¢/kWh Driven by a natural gas and nuclear mix.
9 Tennessee 12.42¢/kWh Driven by TVA hydro and nuclear.
10 Wyoming 12.47¢/kWh Driven by a coal-heavy grid and small population.
11 Montana 12.66¢/kWh Driven by a hydro and coal mix.
12 Kentucky 12.79¢/kWh Driven by coal-heavy generation and low taxes.
13 South Dakota 12.86¢/kWh Driven by hydro and wind.
14 Missouri 12.91¢/kWh Driven by regulated coal and nuclear.
15 Mississippi 13.39¢/kWh Driven by a low-cost regional generation mix.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the cheapest electricity?

North Dakota currently has the lowest average residential rate at 11.51¢/kWh, narrowly ahead of a tight cluster of low-cost states. The gap between the cheapest states is only a fraction of a cent, so year-to-year shuffling near the top is normal.

Why are these states so cheap?

The cheapest states almost always have abundant in-state generation that was built decades ago and is now fully paid down, federal hydropower in the Pacific Northwest, domestic natural gas along the Gulf Coast, or low-cost coal and wind across the Plains. Because the capital cost of that capacity is already recovered, the rate mostly reflects fuel and operating cost rather than new construction.

Will my actual bill match the state average?

Not exactly. EIA reports a single state average, but your utility, rate schedule, and time-of-use plan all move your effective rate. Rural cooperatives and municipal utilities often differ from the dominant investor-owned utility in the same state. Treat the ranking as a benchmark, not a quote.