Key findings
- $12.41
- To run a hospital in Hawaii, per m² per month
- 6.0×
- Between the dearest and cheapest state
- 51
- States and jurisdictions covered
The same building in North Dakota costs $2.07.
48.05 cents per kWh in Hawaii against 8.02 in North Dakota.
National and census-division aggregates are excluded, because an aggregate is not a place.
At a glance
Top 12 of 51
The twelve dearest states, showing what the same electricity price costs to run two very different buildings. Both bars are dollars per square metre per month.
On the map
51 of 51 shown
Commercial electricity price by state. The darker the tile, the dearer the power.
Scale8.0248.05Every tile carries its own figure, so the map reads without the colour.
What the figures show
A kilowatt hour is not the number anybody budgets in (link to this section)
EIA publishes the price of commercial electricity in every state and it is a perfectly good number, but nobody runs a building in cents per kilowatt hour. The derived columns convert it into the unit a facility manager actually uses: dollars per square metre per month, by building type.
In Hawaii, the dearest at 48.05 cents, that is $6.21 per square metre per month for a hotel and $12.41 for a hospital. In North Dakota at 8.02 cents, the same hotel is $1.04.
6.0 times separates the dearest state from the cheapest. Across a portfolio in both, that is not a rounding difference.
Building type matters more than the state does (link to this section)
The spread between states is 6.0 times. The spread between building types inside a single state is wider: a restaurant kitchen uses about 7.6 times the electricity per square metre of a warehouse, because one is refrigerating and cooking and the other is mostly keeping the rain off.
That is worth saying because energy strategy usually starts with geography. These figures suggest it should start with what the building does, and whether that intensity is falling is measurable. A cold state full of warehouses and a warm state full of kitchens are not the same problem, whatever their tariffs look like.
Where the derived number comes from, and what it assumes (link to this section)
The per-square-metre figures are the state price multiplied by the CBECS electricity intensity for that building activity, converted from square feet. CBECS surveyed 5.9 million US commercial buildings, so the intensity is a national average rather than a measurement of any particular building.
That average takes no account of climate, building age, insulation or operating hours. A 1970s hotel running its plant around the clock is not the average, and neither is a new build on a heat pump. It is a benchmark for comparing places, not a quotation for a site.
What this is useful for, and what it is not (link to this section)
This is the published average price. A large site on a negotiated supply contract will not pay it, and in deregulated markets the gap between the published average and a real contract can be wide.
It is also only electricity. Gas, water and waste are separate bills, and in a building with gas heating or gas drying the electricity line understates the energy cost considerably — which fuel is relatively dearer where is the companion question.
Energy strategy usually starts with geography. These figures suggest it should start with what the building actually does.
How we worked this out
Commercial-sector retail electricity price is taken directly from the EIA API for the most recent month published, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. National and census-division aggregates are excluded.
The US commercial average for the same month is 14.19 cents per kWh.
The cost per square metre is derived: CBECS 2018 electricity intensity for each building type (kWh per square foot per year) is converted to square metres, multiplied by that state’s price, and divided by twelve.
The intensity figure is a national survey average and does not account for climate, building age or operating hours. It is a benchmark, not a quotation.
The numbers
51 rows · as at 2026-06
51 rows
| Region | US cents per kWh | Lodging ($/m²/month) | Inpatient Health ($/m²/month) | Office ($/m²/month) | Food Service ($/m²/month) | Retail ($/m²/month) | Warehouse ($/m²/month) | Education ($/m²/month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 48.05 | $6.21 | $12.41 | $5.86 | $18.88 | $5.90 | $2.50 | $4.05 |
| California | 27.33 | $3.53 | $7.06 | $3.33 | $10.74 | $3.36 | $1.42 | $2.30 |
| Massachusetts | 24.52 | $3.17 | $6.33 | $2.99 | $9.63 | $3.01 | $1.28 | $2.07 |
| New York | 23.56 | $3.04 | $6.09 | $2.87 | $9.26 | $2.90 | $1.23 | $1.99 |
| Alaska | 23.42 | $3.03 | $6.05 | $2.86 | $9.20 | $2.88 | $1.22 | $1.97 |
| District of Columbia | 23.38 | $3.02 | $6.04 | $2.85 | $9.19 | $2.87 | $1.22 | $1.97 |
| Rhode Island | 22.70 | $2.93 | $5.86 | $2.77 | $8.92 | $2.79 | $1.18 | $1.91 |
| Maine | 22.24 | $2.87 | $5.75 | $2.71 | $8.74 | $2.73 | $1.16 | $1.88 |
| New Hampshire | 21.22 | $2.74 | $5.48 | $2.59 | $8.34 | $2.61 | $1.10 | $1.79 |
| Vermont | 21.22 | $2.74 | $5.48 | $2.59 | $8.34 | $2.61 | $1.10 | $1.79 |
| Connecticut | 19.62 | $2.53 | $5.07 | $2.39 | $7.71 | $2.41 | $1.02 | $1.65 |
| New Jersey | 18.47 | $2.39 | $4.77 | $2.25 | $7.26 | $2.27 | $0.96 | $1.56 |
| Maryland | 16.84 | $2.18 | $4.35 | $2.05 | $6.62 | $2.07 | $0.88 | $1.42 |
| Michigan | 16.63 | $2.15 | $4.30 | $2.03 | $6.53 | $2.04 | $0.87 | $1.40 |
| Alabama | 14.67 | $1.89 | $3.79 | $1.79 | $5.76 | $1.80 | $0.76 | $1.24 |
| Illinois | 14.53 | $1.88 | $3.75 | $1.77 | $5.71 | $1.79 | $0.76 | $1.23 |
| Delaware | 14.40 | $1.86 | $3.72 | $1.76 | $5.66 | $1.77 | $0.75 | $1.21 |
| Colorado | 14.19 | $1.83 | $3.67 | $1.73 | $5.58 | $1.74 | $0.74 | $1.20 |
| Indiana | 14.15 | $1.83 | $3.66 | $1.73 | $5.56 | $1.74 | $0.74 | $1.19 |
| Wisconsin | 14.05 | $1.81 | $3.63 | $1.71 | $5.52 | $1.73 | $0.73 | $1.18 |
| Tennessee | 13.94 | $1.80 | $3.60 | $1.70 | $5.48 | $1.71 | $0.73 | $1.18 |
| Mississippi | 13.83 | $1.79 | $3.57 | $1.69 | $5.43 | $1.70 | $0.72 | $1.17 |
| Ohio | 13.77 | $1.78 | $3.56 | $1.68 | $5.41 | $1.69 | $0.72 | $1.16 |
| Minnesota | 13.68 | $1.77 | $3.53 | $1.67 | $5.37 | $1.68 | $0.71 | $1.15 |
| Montana | 13.48 | $1.74 | $3.48 | $1.64 | $5.30 | $1.66 | $0.70 | $1.14 |
| Pennsylvania | 13.33 | $1.72 | $3.44 | $1.63 | $5.24 | $1.64 | $0.69 | $1.12 |
| Iowa | 12.79 | $1.65 | $3.30 | $1.56 | $5.02 | $1.57 | $0.67 | $1.08 |
| Missouri | 12.71 | $1.64 | $3.28 | $1.55 | $4.99 | $1.56 | $0.66 | $1.07 |
| Arizona | 12.47 | $1.61 | $3.22 | $1.52 | $4.90 | $1.53 | $0.65 | $1.05 |
| Kentucky | 12.40 | $1.60 | $3.20 | $1.51 | $4.87 | $1.52 | $0.65 | $1.05 |
| Kansas | 12.27 | $1.58 | $3.17 | $1.50 | $4.82 | $1.51 | $0.64 | $1.03 |
| Georgia | 11.91 | $1.54 | $3.08 | $1.45 | $4.68 | $1.46 | $0.62 | $1.00 |
| Washington | 11.77 | $1.52 | $3.04 | $1.44 | $4.62 | $1.45 | $0.61 | $0.99 |
| Louisiana | 11.64 | $1.50 | $3.01 | $1.42 | $4.57 | $1.43 | $0.61 | $0.98 |
| South Carolina | 11.62 | $1.50 | $3.00 | $1.42 | $4.57 | $1.43 | $0.60 | $0.98 |
| Arkansas | 11.54 | $1.49 | $2.98 | $1.41 | $4.53 | $1.42 | $0.60 | $0.97 |
| Florida | 11.47 | $1.48 | $2.96 | $1.40 | $4.51 | $1.41 | $0.60 | $0.97 |
| South Dakota | 11.35 | $1.47 | $2.93 | $1.38 | $4.46 | $1.39 | $0.59 | $0.96 |
| West Virginia | 11.09 | $1.43 | $2.86 | $1.35 | $4.36 | $1.36 | $0.58 | $0.94 |
| Utah | 10.99 | $1.42 | $2.84 | $1.34 | $4.32 | $1.35 | $0.57 | $0.93 |
| Virginia | 10.99 | $1.42 | $2.84 | $1.34 | $4.32 | $1.35 | $0.57 | $0.93 |
| New Mexico | 10.82 | $1.40 | $2.80 | $1.32 | $4.25 | $1.33 | $0.56 | $0.91 |
| Oregon | 10.59 | $1.37 | $2.74 | $1.29 | $4.16 | $1.30 | $0.55 | $0.89 |
| North Carolina | 10.51 | $1.36 | $2.72 | $1.28 | $4.13 | $1.29 | $0.55 | $0.89 |
| Wyoming | 10.01 | $1.29 | $2.59 | $1.22 | $3.93 | $1.23 | $0.52 | $0.84 |
| Idaho | 9.92 | $1.28 | $2.56 | $1.21 | $3.90 | $1.22 | $0.52 | $0.84 |
| Oklahoma | 9.90 | $1.28 | $2.56 | $1.21 | $3.89 | $1.22 | $0.52 | $0.83 |
| Nevada | 9.83 | $1.27 | $2.54 | $1.20 | $3.86 | $1.21 | $0.51 | $0.83 |
| Nebraska | 8.82 | $1.14 | $2.28 | $1.08 | $3.47 | $1.08 | $0.46 | $0.74 |
| Texas | 8.66 | $1.12 | $2.24 | $1.06 | $3.40 | $1.06 | $0.45 | $0.73 |
| North Dakota | 8.02 | $1.04 | $2.07 | $0.98 | $3.15 | $0.99 | $0.42 | $0.68 |
What to take away
Electricity costs 6.0 times more in Hawaii than in North Dakota, but the bigger lever is the building: the same tariff produces very different bills depending on whether the floorspace is a kitchen or a warehouse. Compare on cost per square metre, not on cents per kilowatt hour.
Where it came from
- US Energy Information Administration — Electricity retail sales
US federal government — public domain · published monthly
- EIA Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) 2018
US federal government — public domain · published approximately every six years
When this page changes next
EIA publishes commercial electricity prices monthly, about two months after the period ends, so this page changes roughly every month. The CBECS intensity figures behind the derived columns update only every six years or so. The pipeline checks every week.
Last checked
This page is free to use and free to quote. If you cite it, please link back so readers can check the figures and the method for themselves.
Cite this page
Free to quote, with or without permission. A link back means your readers can check the figures and the method for themselves. The chart can be embedded straight into your own page, and it carries the attribution with it.
Claire Densmore, "What commercial electricity costs, by US state", APXXO, 2026. https://apxxo.com/en-ae/data/commercial-electricity-cost/
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Paying more than this?
These are benchmarks, not quotations. If you operate buildings across several sites and want to know what your estate should actually cost to run, tell us what you have.