Utility Cost Calculator: Average Utilities Per Month

Pick your state and home type, say how you heat and cool, and get a monthly and annual estimate for electricity, natural gas, water and sewer, trash and internet — with the average electric bill in your state for comparison.

The calculator starts from what households in your state actually use — the Energy Information Administration’s 2024 average monthly kilowatt-hours — and scales it for the size of your home, how many people live there, whether heat comes from electricity or gas, and how hard the air conditioner works. That kWh figure is priced at your state’s August 2026 residential rate, the latest published. Gas, water and sewer, trash and internet start at national averages that you can overwrite with the numbers on your own bills or a landlord’s estimate.

How much are utilities per month?

A typical U.S. household pays about $388 a month for utilities in a 1,500 sq ft house with gas heat: roughly $133 of electricity (the EIA’s 2024 national average bill was $142 for 863 kWh), $80 of natural gas averaged over the year, $75 of water and sewer, $25 of trash and $75 of internet. A one-bedroom apartment runs about $297; a 2,500 sq ft house with four people, $480. Your state moves the electric line by ±40%: the tables below show why.

Average electric bill by state

The electric bill is the line that varies most. In 2024 it ran from $212 a month in Hawaii and $200 in Connecticut down to $93 in New Mexico and $95 in Utah. Two different things drive it. Southern states use the most electricity — Louisiana (1,202 kWh a month), Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama — because of air conditioning and electric heat, at cheap rates. New England, California and Hawaii use half as much but pay two to three times the price per kilowatt-hour. Texas lands high on the list on volume alone: 1,096 kWh at a middling 14.9¢.

Prices are still climbing. The U.S. average residential rate was 18.16¢ per kWh in August 2026, up 3.4% from August 2025, with the steepest jumps in Hawaii (+22%), Maine and New Hampshire. The calculator uses the August 2026 price, so its electric line already runs above the 2024 bill column.

Read the table as a ranking of climates and fuel mixes rather than of utility companies. A Maine household pays 32.1¢ per kWh but uses so little that its bill lands mid-table; a Louisiana household at 12.9¢ runs the AC six months a year. If you are moving, multiply your current kWh by the new state’s price for a first estimate, then adjust for the climate with the AC setting in the tool. The relocation calculator does this alongside housing and taxes.

What drives the electric bill

Heating and cooling are the largest loads in nearly every home — together roughly a third of residential electricity nationally, and over half in an all-electric house in a cold or hot climate. Water heating is next. The share table below is the EIA’s national breakdown; use it to see which changes would actually move your bill.

Worked example: a 2,500 sq ft house in Texas, four people, gas heat, heavy AC

Texas averages 1,096 kWh a month. Scale it: × 1.30 for the size, × 1.16 for four occupants, × 0.85 for gas heat, × 1.15 for heavy AC = 1,616 kWh. At 15.9¢ that is $257 of electricity; add $104 of gas (the $80 base × 1.30), $75 water, $25 trash and $75 internet for $536 a month, about $6,432 a year. A July bill can run $100 above that average and a March bill as far below.

Worked example: a one-bedroom apartment in New York, one person

571 kWh × 0.60 × 0.92 × 0.85 = 268 kWh, at 28.6¢ = $77; gas $48, water and trash often in the rent (set them to zero in the tool if so), internet $75 — about $300 a month with everything paid separately, or around $200 when water and trash are included.

Average gas bill, water bill and the rest

Natural gas. A gas-heated home uses about 60–70 thousand cubic feet a year; at the 2025–2026 residential price of roughly $14–16 per thousand cubic feet that is $900–$1,000 a year, or $75–85 a month averaged out — the calculator’s $80 default for a 1,500 sq ft house. The seasonal swing is the point to budget for: a January bill of $180–250 in the Midwest or Northeast against $20–30 in July when only the water heater and stove run. All-electric homes have no gas bill but a 15–25% higher electric one; oil and propane homes pay $120–200 a month averaged, mostly in winter deliveries.

Water and sewer. A family of four using 100 gallons per person per day pays about $70–80 a month for combined water and sewer service in the typical U.S. city, from under $40 in Memphis or Salt Lake City to $150+ in Seattle, San Francisco or San Diego (Circle of Blue’s annual 30-city survey). A single person in an apartment uses a third of that, and many apartment leases bundle water and trash into rent. Sewer charges often equal or exceed the water charge itself.

Trash is $15–40 a month where it is billed separately (many cities fund it from property tax, so it shows up nowhere). Internet averages $70–90 for a cable or fiber plan at 300–500 Mbps; add $40–60 for a streaming-TV bundle. Renters who cannot change the heating system should spend their effort on the two lines they control: the thermostat and the internet plan.

How to cut utility bills

In order of payback:

1. Thermostat schedule: 7–10°F setback for 8 hours a day cuts heating and cooling 5–10%, worth $100–200 a year on an average home. Free.
2. Air sealing and attic insulation: $300–$2,500, typically 10–15% off heating and cooling; pays back in 2–5 years in cold or hot climates.
3. Heat-pump water heater: uses a third of the electricity of a resistance tank, saving $250–400 a year on an electric water heater; $1,500–$2,500 installed. (The federal 25C credit for efficiency upgrades ended for installations after 2025, so count on utility rebates only.)
4. Switch electricity plans where retail choice exists (Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and others): the gap between the best fixed-rate plan and a default rate is often 2–4¢ per kWh, or $20–40 a month on 1,000 kWh.
5. LED lighting and smart power strips: small now that most homes have converted; $30–60 a year.
6. Rooftop solar: still cuts bills in high-price states, but the 30% federal residential credit (25D) ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, which lengthened paybacks by three to four years; run the solar panel calculator with your actual kWh.

For a home with a struggling air conditioner, right-sizing a replacement matters more than efficiency ratings: an oversized unit short-cycles and dehumidifies badly. The AC and BTU calculator sizes it from square feet and climate.

Estimating utilities for a new place before you sign

Three ways, best first. Ask the utility. Most electric and gas companies will tell you the average bill at an address for the last 12 months if you call with the address; some states (Texas, Illinois, New York) require landlords to disclose it on request. Ask the landlord or seller for 12 months of bills — a single month is useless because of the seasonal swing. Estimate with the tool above, then add 10% if the house is pre-1980 with original windows, the water heater is electric, or the AC is more than 15 years old.

Then put the number next to the rent or mortgage. On a $1,500 rent, $250 of utilities is a 17% add-on that the rent affordability calculator should see; on a purchase, $300 a month of utilities is the equivalent of about $48,000 of mortgage at 6.25%, which is worth knowing when you compare an old house with a new one.