# How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV at Home?

Not the install, the electric bill. Real math from your state's electricity rate and your car's EPA efficiency, plus what it saves against gas.

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- Markdown: [https://homecharging.guide/guides/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-an-ev-at-home.md](https://homecharging.guide/guides/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-an-ev-at-home.md)
- Published: 2026-08-02
- Updated: 2026-08-02
- Author: Anna Persson

## Quick answer

Charging at home runs most drivers about $40 to $70 a month, and the number is just two inputs multiplied together: your electricity rate and your car's efficiency. The U.S. average residential rate is about 18.4 cents per kWh (EIA, May 2026), and an efficient EV like a Tesla Model 3 uses about 24 kWh per 100 miles (EPA), which works out to roughly 4.4 cents a mile, about $50 a month at the average American's driving. Your own utility rate matters more than which EV you buy: EIA data shows residential rates vary roughly 3 to 4 times between the cheapest and most expensive states, so check your own bill before trusting a national average. Either way it beats gas: at about $4.10 a gallon and 27.2 mpg for the average new car, gasoline runs about 15 cents a mile, two to three times what home EV charging costs.

Most home charging cost estimates hand you a single number, $30 to $60 a month, and move on. That number is not wrong, exactly, it is just an average of two things that vary a lot: what you pay per kilowatt-hour, and how efficient your car is. Put your own numbers in and the answer can be half that or nearly double it.

This is a different question from [what it costs to install a charger](/guides/real-cost-of-installing-an-ev-charger), which is a one-time job in the $500 to $4,000 range, or our [charger installation cost calculator](/tools/ev-charging-cost-calculator) if you have not priced that part yet. This page is the ongoing cost, the number that shows up on the electric bill every month for as long as you own the car.

## Quick Answer: The Math Behind the Number

Home charging cost is your electricity rate times your car's efficiency times your miles driven. That is the whole formula.

| Input | Where it comes from | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity rate | Your utility bill, in cents per kWh | Roughly 3 to 4x spread between the cheapest and most expensive states (EIA, May 2026) |
| Car efficiency | The EPA rating on the window sticker, in kWh per 100 miles | 24 to 33 kWh/100 mi for common EVs |
| Miles driven | Your own driving, or the U.S. average of roughly 13,000 to 13,500 miles a year | Varies |

Multiply rate by efficiency and you get cost per 100 miles. Divide by 100 for cost per mile. Multiply by your monthly miles and you get your real number.

## Step 1: Your Electricity Rate

The U.S. average residential electricity rate was about 18.4 cents per kWh as of May 2026 data, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the federal agency that tracks retail power prices, and it has been climbing most of the year. That average hides a wide range by state: EIA's state-level tables consistently show roughly a 3 to 4 times spread between the cheapest and most expensive states, with hydro-heavy Pacific Northwest and northern-plains states running well under the national average and Hawaii and several Northeast and West Coast states running well above it.

State rates also change monthly and shift with utility rate cases, so rather than repeat a snapshot table that goes stale fast, check [EIA's own state electricity data](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/) or your latest utility bill for your exact current rate. It is the single biggest lever in this whole calculation, bigger than which EV you drive. [Rebates and utility programs](/guides/ev-charger-rebates-by-state) can offset some of this, and some utilities offer a cheaper overnight rate specifically for EV charging, which the [smart vs dumb charger guide](/guides/smart-vs-dumb-ev-charger) covers, since taking advantage of it usually requires a connected charger and a time-of-use plan.

## Step 2: Your Car's Efficiency

Every EV carries an EPA combined efficiency rating in kWh per 100 miles, the electric equivalent of MPG, and it is on the window sticker and at fueleconomy.gov. Efficiency varies more between EVs than most buyers expect:

| Vehicle (2026 model year) | EPA combined efficiency | Cost per 100 mi at the U.S. average rate (about 18.4 cents/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD | 24 kWh/100 mi | $4.43 |
| Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD | 31 kWh/100 mi | $5.72 |
| Nissan Leaf | 33 kWh/100 mi | $6.09 |

A smaller, more aerodynamic sedan can cost 25 to 30 percent less to run than a heavier crossover, at the exact same electricity rate. That gap is worth checking before you assume every EV charges for about the same money.

## Step 3: Your Miles

The average U.S. driver logs roughly 13,000 to 13,500 miles a year, per Federal Highway Administration data, or a little over 1,100 miles a month. Your own number matters more than the average, so use your actual commute and errands if you know it.

## Putting It Together: Real Monthly Numbers

At the U.S. average electricity rate and roughly 1,125 miles a month:

| Vehicle | Cost per mile | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD | 4.4 cents | About $50 |
| Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD | 5.7 cents | About $64 |
| Nissan Leaf | 6.1 cents | About $68 |

Change the electricity rate and the picture shifts by a lot. Run the same Model 3 on a cheap-power-state rate around 12 cents/kWh and the monthly cost drops to around $33. Run it on a high-power-state rate around 33 cents/kWh and it climbs to around $90. Same car, same driving, roughly a $60 swing based on where you live and what your utility charges. Pull your own rate from your utility bill or [EIA's state electricity data](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/) and run the math for your actual number.

The EPA publishes its own annual fuel cost estimate for each vehicle at fueleconomy.gov, assuming 15,000 miles a year and current fuel prices. For the Equinox EV that estimate is about $700 a year, in the same range as the math above once you account for the higher mileage assumption.

## Home Charging vs. Gas: The Real Comparison

Regular gasoline averaged $4.10 a gallon nationally as of late July 2026 (EIA). The average new gas vehicle sold gets 27.2 mpg (EPA Automotive Trends Report). That works out to about 15.1 cents a mile at the pump.

| | Cost per mile | Cost per 1,000 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Average new gas car | 15.1 cents | $151 |
| Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD (home charging) | 4.4 cents | $44 |
| Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD (home charging) | 5.7 cents | $57 |
| Nissan Leaf (home charging) | 6.1 cents | $61 |

Home charging runs 60 to 70 percent cheaper per mile than gas for these three EVs at the U.S. average electricity rate. That gap shrinks in a high electricity-rate state and widens in a low-rate one, but even at a high-rate-state price around 33 cents/kWh, the Model 3 still costs about 8 cents a mile, roughly half of gas.

## What This Number Does Not Include

This is the electricity to charge the car, nothing else. It does not include the [one-time install cost](/guides/real-cost-of-installing-an-ev-charger) for the charger and the circuit, and it assumes home charging, not the higher per-kWh rates typical at public DC fast chargers. If you are still deciding whether you need a dedicated Level 2 charger at all, [do I need Level 2 charging](/guides/do-i-need-level-2-charging) covers how much range different charging speeds add per hour, which is the other half of sizing this whole project correctly.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How much does it cost to charge an EV at home per month?

For most drivers, about $40 to $70 a month, using the U.S. average electricity rate (about 18.4 cents/kWh as of May 2026, per EIA) and average annual mileage (roughly 13,000 to 13,500 miles). The real number for you depends on your own utility rate and your car's EPA efficiency rating, both of which vary enough to move the answer by 50 percent or more in either direction.

### Is it cheaper to charge an EV at home than to buy gas?

Yes, in almost every U.S. state. At the national average electricity rate, home charging runs roughly 4 to 6 cents a mile for common EVs, compared with about 15 cents a mile for the average new gas car at $4.10 a gallon. Even in a high electricity-rate state like California, home charging is still typically cheaper per mile than gas.

### Does the electricity rate really matter that much?

Yes. EIA's state-level data consistently shows roughly a 3 to 4 times spread in residential rates between the cheapest and most expensive states. The same car can cost 3 to 4 times more to charge in a high-rate state than a low-rate one, which is a bigger swing than the difference between an efficient and an inefficient EV. Check [EIA's state electricity data](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/) for your own state's current rate.

### Does charging overnight save money?

Often, if your utility offers a time-of-use rate with a cheaper overnight period and your charger can schedule around it. The size of the savings depends entirely on your utility's specific rate plan, so check your own utility's time-of-use option rather than assuming a fixed discount. The [smart vs dumb charger guide](/guides/smart-vs-dumb-ev-charger) covers when a connected, schedulable charger is worth paying for to capture this.

### How do I find my car's exact electricity use?

Check the EPA efficiency label on the window sticker, or look up your specific year, make, and model at fueleconomy.gov, which lists the combined kWh per 100 miles rating and an estimated annual fuel cost for a stated mileage assumption.

## Sources

- [EIA: Electric Power Monthly, average price of electricity to ultimate customers by state](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a)
- [EIA: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update](https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/)
- [fueleconomy.gov: 2026 Tesla Model 3 fuel economy comparison](https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2026_Tesla_Model_3.shtml)
- [fueleconomy.gov: 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD](https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=49953)
- [fueleconomy.gov: 2026 Nissan LEAF](https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2026_Nissan_LEAF.shtml)
- [EPA: Automotive Trends Report highlights](https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report)
- [FHWA: Highway Statistics, policy information](https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2023/ps1.cfm)