Trend
Northern New England homes use more electricity than a decade ago. California and the Northwest use less.
The average US household used 870 kWh a month in the year ending June 2026, 0.9% less than ten years earlier. That flat national line hides a split: usage rose in 22 states and fell in 29, with four of the six New England states rising and every Western state but Arizona falling.
Why now: Electrification is supposed to push household electricity use up, and efficiency and rooftop solar are supposed to push it down. Ten years of state data show both happening at once, in different places.
Two trailing 12-month averages, shown as endpoints. Lines connect the comparison dates; they do not show the intervening years. Recent data may be preliminary.
View chart data
| Period | US average | Massachusetts | District of Columbia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2016 | 878 | 579 | 778 |
| Jun 2026 | 870 | 604 | 633 |
Source: EIA Form EIA-861M. Dataset and checksums.
Where usage fell most
| State | kWh/month 2016 | kWh/month 2026 | Change | Bill 2016 | Bill 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 778 | 633 | −18.5% | $101 | $152 |
| California | 560 | 487 | −13.0% | $96 | $160 |
| Oregon | 911 | 853 | −6.3% | $97 | $132 |
| Idaho | 959 | 899 | −6.2% | $95 | $112 |
| Nevada | 927 | 877 | −5.5% | $112 | $117 |
| South Carolina | 1,115 | 1,057 | −5.2% | $141 | $164 |
The District of Columbia and California lead the declines. Both already used far less than the national average a decade ago, and both fell further. California's 487 kWh a month is now the lowest of any state; note that rooftop solar reduces what a household buys from the grid without reducing what it uses, and this data measures purchases.
Where usage rose most
| State | kWh/month 2016 | kWh/month 2026 | Change | Bill 2016 | Bill 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 541 | 595 | +10.0% | $93 | $141 |
| New Hampshire | 596 | 645 | +8.3% | $107 | $169 |
| Pennsylvania | 808 | 845 | +4.7% | $113 | $173 |
| Delaware | 905 | 943 | +4.3% | $123 | $166 |
| Kentucky | 1,071 | 1,116 | +4.3% | $111 | $155 |
| Massachusetts | 579 | 604 | +4.2% | $110 | $183 |
Three of the top five are in New England. Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts all started from low usage and rose; Connecticut rose slightly, while Maine and Rhode Island were flat to down. This is the pattern you would expect from heat pumps replacing oil and propane furnaces, which moves heating onto the electricity bill. The data cannot confirm that cause, but it is consistent with it and with the region's heat pump rebate programs.
Why the national number hides this
Nationally, use per household went from 878 to 870 kWh a month. Rising use in parts of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic offset falling use in the West and the big Sun Belt states, so the average moved by less than one percent. Bills, meanwhile, rose everywhere, because price rose everywhere. The last two columns of each table show that a state can use less and still pay much more.
Full table
| State | kWh/month 2016 | kWh/month 2026 | Change | Bill 2016 | Bill 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 778 | 633 | −18.5% | $101 | $152 |
| California | 560 | 487 | −13.0% | $96 | $160 |
| Oregon | 911 | 853 | −6.3% | $97 | $132 |
| Idaho | 959 | 899 | −6.2% | $95 | $112 |
| Nevada | 927 | 877 | −5.5% | $112 | $117 |
| South Carolina | 1,115 | 1,057 | −5.2% | $141 | $164 |
| Colorado | 697 | 668 | −4.2% | $83 | $110 |
| Texas | 1,140 | 1,095 | −4.0% | $128 | $174 |
| Alabama | 1,173 | 1,127 | −3.9% | $138 | $185 |
| North Carolina | 1,068 | 1,033 | −3.3% | $120 | $151 |
| Wyoming | 836 | 810 | −3.1% | $92 | $114 |
| Louisiana | 1,230 | 1,198 | −2.6% | $114 | $156 |
| Minnesota | 757 | 737 | −2.6% | $94 | $119 |
| Washington | 957 | 933 | −2.4% | $90 | $131 |
| Florida | 1,120 | 1,093 | −2.4% | $126 | $168 |
| Rhode Island | 577 | 564 | −2.2% | $110 | $164 |
| Georgia | 1,094 | 1,071 | −2.2% | $126 | $161 |
| Michigan | 643 | 629 | −2.1% | $96 | $131 |
| Oklahoma | 1,064 | 1,046 | −1.8% | $108 | $142 |
| Virginia | 1,074 | 1,057 | −1.6% | $123 | $172 |
| Kansas | 881 | 870 | −1.3% | $112 | $130 |
| Arkansas | 1,062 | 1,048 | −1.3% | $105 | $139 |
| Mississippi | 1,175 | 1,159 | −1.3% | $128 | $170 |
| Wisconsin | 667 | 660 | −1.0% | $94 | $123 |
| Maine | 542 | 538 | −0.8% | $84 | $156 |
| Hawaii | 517 | 514 | −0.7% | $144 | $220 |
| Alaska | 591 | 587 | −0.7% | $119 | $157 |
| Nebraska | 961 | 956 | −0.5% | $103 | $122 |
| Illinois | 708 | 705 | −0.3% | $90 | $131 |
| Iowa | 849 | 849 | +0.0% | $100 | $119 |
| Arizona | 1,045 | 1,046 | +0.1% | $127 | $161 |
| Maryland | 946 | 951 | +0.5% | $135 | $197 |
| New Jersey | 668 | 672 | +0.6% | $105 | $160 |
| South Dakota | 972 | 981 | +0.9% | $110 | $138 |
| Utah | 754 | 762 | +1.1% | $83 | $102 |
| New Mexico | 637 | 644 | +1.1% | $77 | $98 |
| Indiana | 931 | 942 | +1.1% | $108 | $159 |
| Montana | 814 | 823 | +1.2% | $88 | $113 |
| Connecticut | 697 | 707 | +1.4% | $141 | $201 |
| Tennessee | 1,187 | 1,204 | +1.4% | $122 | $163 |
| West Virginia | 1,047 | 1,064 | +1.7% | $116 | $164 |
| New York | 580 | 592 | +2.0% | $103 | $165 |
| North Dakota | 1,039 | 1,064 | +2.4% | $103 | $131 |
| Ohio | 844 | 873 | +3.5% | $108 | $157 |
| Missouri | 1,005 | 1,045 | +4.0% | $114 | $145 |
| Massachusetts | 579 | 604 | +4.2% | $110 | $183 |
| Kentucky | 1,071 | 1,116 | +4.3% | $111 | $155 |
| Delaware | 905 | 943 | +4.3% | $123 | $166 |
| Pennsylvania | 808 | 845 | +4.7% | $113 | $173 |
| New Hampshire | 596 | 645 | +8.3% | $107 | $169 |
| Vermont | 541 | 595 | +10.0% | $93 | $141 |
| US average | 878 | 870 | −0.9% | $111 | $156 |
What this data does not tell you
- Purchases, not consumption. EIA counts electricity sold by utilities. A home with solar panels buys less without necessarily using less, so states with high rooftop solar adoption will show declines that overstate efficiency gains.
- Averages across all accounts. Apartments, seasonal homes and all-electric houses are averaged together. Customer counts also grew, especially in Texas and Florida, and new homes differ from old ones.
- Weather. The two twelve-month windows had different weather. A single hot summer or mild winter moves a state's figure by a few percent.
- Cause. Heat pumps, efficiency, solar and demographics all plausibly contribute. This data does not separate them.
Methodology and sources
Usage is twelve months of residential sales divided by the average residential customer count, divided by twelve, for the windows ending June 2016 and June 2026. Bill is the same calculation on revenue. Nominal dollars.
Dataset version eia861m-2026-08-26-e43e8601b730ec7e. Download the snapshot manifest and file checksums. The data month is separate from the release date and from the retrieval date. How we verify.
Related
Drafted with AI assistance from FrugalWatt's data pipeline. Figures use the cited U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861M monthly retail sales (sales_revenue.xlsx) snapshot; no interviews were conducted and no professional review is claimed. Editorial policy · Subscribe via RSS.