How much electricity does an American home use?
In 2022, the average annual amount of electricity sold to (purchased by) a U.S. residential electric-utility customer was 10,791 kilowatthours (kWh), an average of about 899 kWh per month. Louisiana had the highest annual electricity purchases per residential customer at 14,774 kWh and Hawaii had the lowest at 6,178 kWh per residential customer
Electricity purchases may not represent the total electricity consumption for some residential electricity customers. A growing number of U.S. households have solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on their property and most of the systems are grid-connected net metered PV systems. Net-metered PV systems effectively reduce electricity purchases. In states where there are many residential net-metered PV systems, the amount of household electricity consumption may be a lot higher than household electricity purchases. The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) accounts for household-level electricity end use, which includes electricity sales and consumption from on-site PV systems. The 2020 RECS, for example, estimates that in 2020, annual electricity consumption per household in Hawaii—where there are a relatively high number of residential net-metered PV systems—was 7,976 kWh and in Louisiana—where there are relatively few residential PV systems—it was 14,779 kWh. According to the Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price report (with data for 2020), total annual electricity purchases per residential electricity customer were 6,446 kWh in Hawaii and 14,407 kWh in Louisiana.
Learn more:
Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price (see Table 5.a)
Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2020 (detailed data on U.S. residential energy consumption in 2020)
Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) 2020 State data (state-level data on U.S. residential energy consumption in 2020)
Electricity Explained: Use of Electricity
Electricity Explained: Electricity use in homes
Last updated: January 8, 2024, to correct a typo for U.S. average monthly consumption.
Other FAQs about Electricity
- What is the outlook for home heating fuel prices this winter?
- How much does it cost to generate electricity with different types of power plants?
- Does EIA publish electric utility rate, tariff, and demand charge data?
- How many power plants are in the United States?
- How much carbon dioxide is produced per kilowatthour of U.S. electricity generation?
- How much of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are associated with electricity generation?
- How much of U.S. energy production and consumption comes from renewable energy sources?
- How many electric vehicles (EV) and EV charging stations are in the United States?
- How is electricity used in U.S. homes?
- How much electricity does an American home use?
- How much electricity is used for lighting in the United States?
- Does EIA publish data on peak or hourly electricity generation, demand, and prices?
- What is the difference between electricity generation capacity and electricity generation?
- How much electricity does a power plant generate?
- How much electricity is lost in electricity transmission and distribution in the United States?
- What is the efficiency of different types of power plants?
- How many smart meters are installed in the United States, and who has them?
- How many nuclear power plants are in the United States, and where are they located?
- How old are U.S. nuclear power plants, and when was the newest one built?
- What is U.S. electricity generation by energy source?
- How much energy does the world consume by each energy end-use sector?
- Does EIA publish energy consumption and price data for cities, counties, or by zip code?
- How much does it cost to build different types of power plants in the United States?
- Does EIA publish electricity sales and price data by state and by utility?
- How much of world energy production and consumption is from renewable energy?
- Does EIA publish the location of electric power plants and transmission lines?
- Can electric utility customers choose their electricity supplier?
- How much coal, natural gas, or petroleum is used to generate a kilowatthour of electricity?
- Does EIA have data on each power plant in the United States?
- What types and amounts of energy are produced in each state?
- Does EIA have county-level energy production data?
- Does EIA have data on costs for electricity transmission and distribution?
- Does EIA have forecasts or projections for energy production, consumption, and prices for individual states?
- How much electricity is used for air conditioning in the United States?
- Does EIA have information on unplanned disruptions or outages of U.S. energy infrastructure?