Electricity bills rose 7.3% nationally; Ohio's jumped 19.4%
Summary
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly shows the national average residential electricity price rose from 17.55 cents per kilowatthour in April 2025 to 18.83 cents in April 2026 -- a 7.3% increase, or about 1.28 cents per kilowatthour. But the increase wasn't even: Ohio's residential rate rose 19.4%, the largest jump of any state, followed by the District of Columbia (19.2%), New Jersey (16.8%), Maryland (15.9%), and New Hampshire (15.1%) -- all more than double the national pace. Hawaii remained the most expensive state at 46.62 cents/kWh; North Dakota the cheapest at 12.35 cents/kWh.
Five states rose more than double the national rate
Behind Ohio, the District of Columbia rose 19.2%⧉ (21.32 to 25.41 cents/kWh), followed by New Jersey at 16.8% (20.15 to 23.53 cents), Maryland at 15.9% (19.05 to 22.07 cents), New Hampshire at 15.1% (23.66 to 27.24 cents), and New York at 14.6% (25.69 to 29.45 cents). All five rose more than double the 7.3% national average. EIA's own data notes describe these as preliminary estimates -- final figures could shift slightly -- but the gap between these states and the national trend is too wide to be explained by rounding.
Ohio went from below-average to above-average in a year
Ohio's jump is notable because of where it started: at 16.32 cents/kWh in April 2025, Ohio was below the national average⧉ of 17.55 cents. A year later, Ohio's 19.49 cents/kWh sits above the new national average of 18.83 cents. EIA's data does not explain why any particular state's rate moved the way it did -- this piece reports the change, not its cause.
View data as table
| Ohio, April 2025 | 16.3 |
|---|---|
| Ohio, April 2026 | 19.5 |
| U.S. average, April 2025 | 17.6 |
| U.S. average, April 2026 | 18.8 |
The widest gap in the country: 3.8x
At the extremes, Hawaii remained the most expensive state⧉ for residential electricity in April 2026, at 46.62 cents/kWh (up 9.8% from 42.44 cents in April 2025), while North Dakota remained the cheapest, at 12.35 cents/kWh (up 5.4% from 11.72 cents). That's a gap of 34.27 cents per kilowatthour between the two states -- Hawaii's rate is about 3.78 times North Dakota's.
View data as table
| U.S. average | 7.3% |
|---|---|
| New York | 14.6% |
| New Hampshire | 15.1% |
| Maryland | 15.9% |
| New Jersey | 16.8% |
| District of Columbia | 19.2% |
| Ohio | 19.4% |
The takeaway
- The national increase understates what many households actually saw. The 7.3% U.S. average blends states that rose in line with it and states that rose two to three times faster.
- Ohio led the country, and crossed the national average doing it. A 19.4% jump took Ohio from below the U.S. average residential rate to above it in a single year.
- Five states and D.C. rose more than double the national pace. Ohio, D.C., New Jersey, Maryland, and New Hampshire all posted increases north of 15%, against a 7.3% national figure.
All figures are from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, comparing April 2026 to April 2025, sourced from Form EIA-861M (formerly EIA-826) and read directly from EIA's own table page (fetched via curl with a standard browser User-Agent). EIA describes these figures as preliminary estimates based on a cutoff model sample; EIA's own caveat about year-over-year reclassification effects specifically names the commercial and industrial sectors as where this particularly arises, distinct from the residential figures used throughout this piece. This piece does not attribute a cause to any state's rate change -- EIA's table reports prices, not drivers.
Sources(1) ▾
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, April 2026 and 2025 (2026-06-25) — EIA's Electric Power Monthly report, Table 5.6.A, showing preliminary state-by-state average electricity prices for the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and all-sectors categories, comparing April 2026 to April 2025. Sourced from Form EIA-861M (formerly EIA-826), the Monthly Electric Power Industry Report. Read directly from EIA's own table page (fetched via curl with a standard browser User-Agent), not a secondary summary. EIA's own notes describe these as preliminary estimates based on a cutoff model sample. eia.gov · original document
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly⧉ shows the national average residential electricity price rose from 17.55 cents per kilowatthour in April 2025 to 18.83 cents in April 2026 -- a 7.3% increase in one year. But that national figure masks sharp regional differences: Ohio's residential rate rose 19.4%, more than two and a half times the national pace, the largest increase of any state in EIA's table.