Ranked: Where It Costs the Most to Stay Cool in America

Ranked: Where It Costs the Most to Stay Cool in America

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Keeping cool is becoming significantly more expensive for American households.

Rising electricity prices and hotter summers are pushing cooling costs higher, with projected household electricity bills varying by more than twofold across the country.

This visualization ranks projected summer electricity bills in every U.S. state using estimates from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), based on Energy Information Administration electricity prices and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration temperature forecasts.

Summer Electricity Costs by State

Projected summer electricity bills range from $488 to $1,060 across the country:

Rank	State or District	Estimated Average Electric Bill Jun–Sep 2026
1	Arizona	$1,060
2	Connecticut	$994
3	Texas	$936
4	Florida	$935
5	New Jersey	$915
6	Alabama	$911
7	Georgia	$891
8	Maryland	$886
9	Massachusetts	$882
10	South Carolina	$839
11	Mississippi	$834
12	Louisiana	$833
13	California	$828
14	Missouri	$803
15	Virginia	$798
16	Delaware	$789
17	Oklahoma	$786
18	Tennessee	$779
19	New York	$777
20	Rhode Island	$772
21	Indiana	$769
22	Pennsylvania	$749
23	Ohio	$745
24	District of Columbia	$725
25	North Carolina	$723
26	West Virginia	$718
27	Arkansas	$716
28	New Hampshire	$710
29	Kentucky	$708
30	Nevada	$705
31	Illinois	$687
32	Kansas	$687
33	Michigan	$655
34	Maine	$610
35	Utah	$609
36	Iowa	$601
37	Colorado	$592
38	Nebraska	$587
39	New Mexico	$584
40	Wisconsin	$580
41	Vermont	$579
42	South Dakota	$578
43	Oregon	$572
44	Minnesota	$556
45	Idaho	$512
46	Montana	$500
47	Wyoming	$491
48	North Dakota	$488
49	Washington	$488
—	Alaska	n/a
—	Hawaii	n/a
—	U.S. Average	$792

Arizona tops the ranking due to its hotter temperatures. But Connecticut ranks a close second, at $994, despite far milder summers, making it one of the most notable outliers in the ranking.

Why Connecticut Costs Almost as Much as Arizona

Summer electricity bills depend on two factors: how much cooling households need and how much electricity costs where they live.

Arizona, Texas, and Florida rank among the most expensive states because air conditioners run for much of the summer. Connecticut, meanwhile, reaches nearly the same cost despite milder temperatures, showing how local electricity markets can be just as important as cooling demand.

At the other end of the ranking, Washington and North Dakota are projected to spend just $488 between June and September. Lower cooling demand and electricity costs help keep their summer bills less than half of Arizona’s total.

Why Summer Electricity Bills Keep Rising

Higher bills reflect both rising electricity prices and greater cooling demand.

Utilities are facing growing infrastructure costs, while hotter summers are increasing air conditioning use. Together, those trends are making cooling a larger share of household budgets.

The Growing Cost of Staying Cool

For many households, summer electricity bills are becoming a larger affordability challenge.

Today, roughly one in six U.S. households is behind on utility bills, with total utility debt projected to reach $23 billion this year. As heat waves become more frequent and electricity prices remain elevated, where Americans live increasingly shapes the cost of staying cool.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the annual cost of living in every state.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/where-it-costs-the-most-to-stay-cool-in-america/