How much does it cost to charge an EV? Home vs public vs gas (2026)
Home charging costs 5–6 cents per mile at the US average residential rate of 18.8¢/kWh — about $694 a year for 13,500 miles versus roughly $2,154 in gasoline. Public DC fast charging runs two to three times home cost. Full state-by-state and per-charge math.
In 50 words: At the US average residential rate of 18.8¢/kWh, home charging costs about 5–6 cents per mile — roughly $694 a year at 13,500 miles, against about $2,154 for a 30-mpg gas car. A 60 kWh charge averages $11. Public DC fast charging costs two to three times as much.
The honest answer to "what does it cost to charge an EV" is that it depends far more on where you plug in than on which car you drive. The same vehicle can cost 4 cents a mile on an off-peak home rate in North Dakota and 20 cents a mile on a highway DC fast charger in California. That spread — not the sticker price of the car — is what actually determines whether an EV saves you money.
Here is the arithmetic, with the 2026 numbers.
Table of contents
- The baseline: what electricity costs
- Cost per mile, cost per charge
- Home vs public vs gas
- Where your state lands
- Cutting the number further
- FAQ
- What to watch next
1. The baseline: what electricity costs
US residential electricity averaged 18.8 cents per kWh as of April 2026 — but the national average is nearly useless on its own. The real range runs from about 12¢/kWh in North Dakota to over 45¢/kWh in Hawaii, a nearly four-fold spread that flips the entire economics of driving electric.
Three rate structures matter:
- Flat residential rate — you pay the same regardless of hour. Simple, and what the national average describes.
- Time-of-use (TOU) — cheaper overnight, expensive late afternoon. This is where EV owners win: many utilities offer super-off-peak windows at 8–12¢/kWh precisely because they want your load at 1 a.m.
- Dedicated EV rate — a separate schedule or submeter for vehicle charging, often the cheapest option available, though it may require a second meter.
If your utility offers TOU or an EV rate and you are still on a flat schedule, that call is worth more than any efficiency trick in this article.
2. Cost per mile, cost per charge
Modern EVs consume roughly 25–35 kWh per 100 miles (a compact sedan at the low end, a full-size truck at the high end). At the 18.8¢ national average:
| Efficiency | Cost per mile | Cost per 1,000 miles |
|---|---|---|
| 25 kWh/100 mi (efficient sedan) | 4.7¢ | $47 |
| 30 kWh/100 mi (typical crossover) | 5.6¢ | $56 |
| 35 kWh/100 mi (large SUV/truck) | 6.6¢ | $66 |
Per full charge, a 60 kWh battery costs about $11 at the US average rate; an 80 kWh pack about $15; a 130 kWh truck pack about $24 — before accounting for the fact that you almost never charge from empty.
Annualized for the average American's 13,489 miles a year, home charging costs roughly $694.
3. Home vs public vs gas
| Charging source | Typical 2026 rate | Cost per mile (30 kWh/100 mi) |
|---|---|---|
| Home, off-peak/EV rate | 8–12¢/kWh | 2.4–3.6¢ |
| Home, average residential | 18.8¢/kWh | 5.6¢ |
| Public Level 2 | 20–35¢/kWh | 6–10.5¢ |
| DC fast charging | 35–60¢/kWh | 10.5–18¢ |
| Gasoline, 30 mpg at $3.80/gal | — | ~12.7¢ |
The headline comparison: $694 a year charging at home versus roughly $2,154 in gasoline for the same 13,500 miles in a 30-mpg car. That is a $1,460 annual difference — enough to pay off a $1,700 charger installation inside the first fourteen months.
But notice the row that breaks the story: an EV driven exclusively on DC fast chargers costs roughly the same per mile as a gasoline car, sometimes more. The savings live in the home charger, which is exactly why the install is the highest-return purchase an EV owner makes — and why apartment dwellers face a genuinely different calculation, covered in our apartment and condo charging playbook.
4. Where your state lands
Approximate home charging cost per 1,000 miles at 30 kWh/100 mi:
| State group | Residential rate | Cost/1,000 mi | vs 30-mpg gas |
|---|---|---|---|
| ND, UT, NE, WY (~11–13¢) | Low | $33–$39 | Saves ~70% |
| TX, GA, MO, TN (~14–16¢) | Below average | $42–$48 | Saves ~62% |
| National average (18.8¢) | — | $56 | Saves ~56% |
| NY, MA, NH (~25–30¢) | High | $75–$90 | Saves ~30% |
| CA (~30–35¢ flat) | High | $90–$105 | Saves ~20% |
| HI (45¢+) | Highest | $135+ | Roughly breakeven |
Two caveats worth stating plainly. California's flat residential rates look brutal, but its TOU EV schedules are aggressive enough that a disciplined overnight charger can land near the national average. And Hawaii's electricity is expensive because it burns imported oil to make it — which is also why rooftop solar plus an EV is a stronger pairing there than almost anywhere else, a case we work through in solar plus EV charging.
5. Cutting the number further
- Move to a TOU or EV rate and schedule charging in the super-off-peak window. Every modern charger and every EV supports scheduled charging; this is a one-evening setup for a permanent 30–50% cut.
- Charge to 80%, not 100%, for daily use. The last 20% is the slowest and hardest on the pack.
- Precondition while plugged in. Heating or cooling the cabin on grid power instead of battery power costs you nothing in range.
- Avoid DC fast charging as routine. It is a road-trip tool, not a daily habit — the cost per mile roughly triples and it accelerates pack degradation.
- Pair with rooftop solar if you have it. Self-consumed solar electricity displaces retail-rate power at whatever your utility charges, which in high-rate states is the best return available.
6. FAQ
How much does it cost to charge an electric car at home?
About $11 for a 60 kWh battery at the US average of 18.8¢/kWh, or roughly 5–6 cents per mile. For a typical driver at 13,500 miles a year, that is about $694 annually.
Is charging an EV cheaper than gas?
Yes, substantially, when charging at home: roughly 5–6 cents per mile versus about 12.7 cents for a 30-mpg car at $3.80/gallon. The advantage narrows or disappears if you rely on DC fast charging or live in a very high electricity-rate market.
How much does DC fast charging cost?
Typically 35–60 cents per kWh in 2026 — two to three times home charging, working out to 10–18 cents per mile. Some networks charge by the minute instead, which penalizes slower-charging vehicles.
Does charging an EV raise my electric bill a lot?
For 1,000 miles a month, expect roughly $50–$65 added at average rates — often less than the gasoline it replaces by half or more. On an EV or TOU rate it can drop under $35.
What is the cheapest way to charge an EV?
Home charging on a time-of-use or dedicated EV rate during the overnight super-off-peak window, ideally supplemented by rooftop solar during the day.
7. What to watch next
Three variables move this math over the next year. Electricity rates are rising across most US utilities on transmission and capacity costs, which slowly erodes the per-mile advantage — though gasoline is hardly stable either. Managed-charging programs are spreading: utilities increasingly pay EV owners to let them shift charging timing, effectively lowering the rate further for anyone willing to hand over scheduling. And DC fast charging prices are the one to watch closely — with the federal 30C infrastructure credit now expired, network operators lost a subsidy that was holding session prices down, and pass-through is likely.
This analysis was researched and drafted with AI assistance and edited by a named member of the Earth Energy Log editorial team. Rates are national and state averages as of mid-2026; your actual cost depends on your utility tariff, rate schedule and vehicle efficiency. See our editorial standards and AI disclosure. Related reading: EV charger installation cost, solar + EV charging, best home EV chargers. Explore EV charging and the United States hub.