Data desk · Home Energy Economics
The numbers behind going solar
Compare monthly state and District of Columbia electricity-price benchmarks from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electricity retail sales — average price by state, then use documented household, tariff, production, quote, and source-date inputs. Published averages provide context; they are not household calculator defaults.
Solar Energy Wiki
The rate concept behind the data
Latest data snapshot
May 2026 electricity rates at a glance
Start with the national average, then compare your jurisdiction. These public-data rates do not determine a household's tariff, solar production, price, savings, or payback.
per kWh, residential, May 2026
national average change
50 states plus the District of Columbia
U.S. Energy Information Administration
Datasets
- Residential Electricity Price Index — 51 jurisdictions, monthly trend
- Grid Reliability Index — how long the power stays off in 51 jurisdictions, with and without storms
- Solar Savings Index — 107 utility territories with modelled rooftop offset
- Methodology — source, metric definition, lag, and refresh cadence
Continue with documented household inputs
What we measure: Average residential retail price of electricity published by the EIA for each reporting jurisdiction, in cents per kilowatt-hour — a state- or DC-wide monthly average, not a personalized utility tariff or the rate any single household pays. EIA publishes jurisdiction-level retail-price data on a lag of roughly two to three months; the latest period shown reflects that lag.