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.