What an electric car actually costs to run, state by state
Every EV's energy use in kWh per 100 miles, its estimated usable battery size, and what charging it at home costs where you live — worked out from EPA and U.S. Energy Information Administration data, not from press releases.
Where you plug in matters more than what you drive
A typical electric car (35.48 kWh per 100 miles) driven 12,000 miles a year costs $558 to charge in Nevada and $2,245 in Hawaii — a 4.0× difference. The gap between the most and least efficient cars on sale is smaller than the gap between the cheapest and dearest states.
Rates are also moving fast: Hawaii +28.7%, Idaho +19.1%, Washington +15% over the past twelve months. See all 51 states →
The electric cars people ask about most
Ranked by U.S. search interest in the model name over the past five years, not by sales. Annual cost assumes 12,000 miles at the national average electricity price.
| Electric car | kWh/100mi | Battery (est.) | Range | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y | 25.15 | 80.8 kWh | 357 mi | $586 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 24.6 | 80.4 kWh | 363 mi | $573 |
| Kia EV6 | 28.81 | 80.4 kWh | 310 mi | $671 |
| Cadillac LYRIQ | 36.64 | 107.5 kWh | 326 mi | $854 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 29.31 | 64.6 kWh | 245 mi | $683 |
| Rivian R1S | 39.65 | 96.3 kWh | 270 mi | $924 |
| Polestar 2 | 29.31 | 84.4 kWh | 320 mi | $683 |
| Kia EV9 | 37.87 | 103.6 kWh | 304 mi | $883 |
| Ford Mustang Mach | 31.5 | 73.7 kWh | 260 mi | $734 |
| Rivian R1T | 38.74 | 146.4 kWh | 420 mi | $903 |
The most efficient electric cars you can buy
| Electric car | kWh/100mi | mi/kWh | Battery (est.) | Range | Per year (U.S. avg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Air Pure | 23.09 | 4.33 | 87.3 kWh | 420 mi | $538 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 24.07 | 4.15 | 78.2 kWh | 361 mi | $561 |
| Tesla Model 3 Standard | 24.25 | 4.12 | 70.1 kWh | 321 mi | $565 |
| Tesla Model Y Standard | 24.42 | 4.09 | 70.5 kWh | 321 mi | $569 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 24.6 | 4.06 | 80.4 kWh | 363 mi | $573 |
| Lucid Air Touring | 25.15 | 3.98 | 97.6 kWh | 431 mi | $586 |
| Tesla Model Y | 25.15 | 3.98 | 80.8 kWh | 357 mi | $586 |
| Toyota bZ | 25.73 | 3.89 | 72.7 kWh | 314 mi | $600 |
…and the thirstiest
| Electric car | kWh/100mi | Battery (est.) | Range | Per year (U.S. avg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMC Hummer EV SUV 2M20 | 66.09 | 180.2 kWh | 303 mi | $1,540 |
| Bugatti Rimac Nevera R | 66.09 | 103.5 kWh | 174 mi | $1,540 |
| GMC Hummer EV SUV 3X | 64.82 | 182 kWh | 312 mi | $1,511 |
| GMC Hummer EV Pickup 3X | 64.82 | 182 kWh | 312 mi | $1,511 |
| GMC Hummer EV Pickup 2M20 | 64.82 | 181.4 kWh | 311 mi | $1,511 |
What is actually in here
Two public data sets, joined and worked out. The EPA publishes an efficiency rating and a range figure for every electric car sold in the United States; the Energy Information Administration publishes what a kilowatt-hour costs in every state. Neither publishes the number a driver actually wants — what this specific car costs to run where I live — so this site computes it, for 223 cars across 1048 EPA-rated configurations and all 51 states.
Two figures here are derived rather than quoted, and the method is stated on every page: energy use per 100 miles, converted from the EPA's MPGe rating, and usable battery capacity, worked back from EPA range and corrected for charging losses. The battery figure is an estimate and is labelled as one — manufacturers do not publish usable capacity consistently, and EPA does not publish it at all.
Everything refreshes as the sources do: gasoline prices weekly, electricity prices monthly, EPA vehicle data as new model years land. The footer states the vintage of each.
Sources: U.S. EPA fuel economy data (model years 2024–2027) and U.S. Energy Information Administration Electric Power Monthly table 5.6.A (May 2026). Energy use per 100 miles and usable battery size are calculated — the method is stated in full on every car's page. Browse all 223 cars →