Hawaii Tops U.S. Utility Costs at 83.5% Above Average as Idaho Runs 26.6% Below
Updated
Updated · Visual Capitalist · Sep 9
Hawaii Tops U.S. Utility Costs at 83.5% Above Average as Idaho Runs 26.6% Below
2 articles · Updated · Visual Capitalist · Sep 9
Summary
Hawaii’s utility cost index reached 183.5 in Q1 2026, the highest in the U.S., putting household utility costs 83.5% above the national average; Alaska ranked second at 148.4 and Massachusetts third at 143.9.
Three-quarters of Hawaii’s electricity comes from imported petroleum, a fuel mix that drives the nation’s highest average power prices and helps explain why its utility index is 2.5 times Idaho’s.
New England placed all six states in the top 10 most expensive rankings, led by Massachusetts, because limited natural-gas pipeline capacity forces the region to rely on costlier imported LNG and heating oil.
Idaho posted the cheapest utilities at 73.4, or 26.6% below average, with New Mexico, Montana and Nevada also among the lowest-cost states thanks in part to lower-cost power sources such as hydropower.
Texas stood out as a cost anomaly: its overall cost of living is 9.3% below the U.S. average, yet utilities run 4% above average, partly because Winter Storm Uri costs are still being repaid through bill surcharges.