Utility Prices by State 2024

What this chart shows. The price level of household utilities, meaning electricity, gas, water and sewerage, in each state and the District of Columbia in 2024, against a national average of 100. Hawaii is by far the highest at 190.2, followed by California at 158.9 and Massachusetts at 152.1. Idaho is the lowest at 70.4, ahead of Louisiana at 71.5 and Tennessee at 72.1, so utility prices in Hawaii are 2.7 times those in Idaho.

How the data is collected. Utility spending comes from the American Community Survey, which asks households what they pay for electricity, gas, water and sewerage. Since 2022, BEA has taken the price levels for electricity and gas from the Energy Information Administration's annual state tables instead of the survey, and it weights each utility by what households in the state spend on it.

Background. New England stands out: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maine are all among the six most expensive. Hawaii's utility level is far higher than its overall price level of 110.0, while Texas, at 87.5, has utility prices below the national average.

Limits. A price level is not a bill: a state with cheap electricity can still have high utility bills if homes use more air conditioning or heating. Fuels such as heating oil and propane, important in parts of New England, are not part of this measure, and the index is an average for the whole state.