EV vs Gas: Cost Per Mile by State
What a mile actually costs — electric vs gas — in every state, on both charging bases. Gas side: AAA regular averages (9/7/26) ÷ 26 MPG. EV home: EIA residential electricity rates (June 2026) ÷ 3.5 mi/kWh. EV public: AAA’s daily public-charging average (9/7/26) ÷ the same 3.5 mi/kWh — a blend of every public charger level, not DC fast charging alone.
Nationally: gas ≈ 16.0¢/mi vs EV ≈ 5.2¢/mi charging at home and 12.0¢/mi on public chargers. Charging at home costs about 33% as much per mile as gas; charging in public, about 75%. Public charging currently runs 2.3× the average residential rate.
| # | State | Gas ¢/mi | EV home ¢/mi | EV public ¢/mi | Home saves | EV fee/yr | Break-even mi/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 21.2¢ | 4.3¢ | 11.1¢ | 17.0¢/mi | $225† | 1300 mi |
| 2 | Nevada | 19.1¢ | 3.7¢ | 11.9¢ | 15.4¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 3 | Oregon | 19.3¢ | 4.7¢ | 11.4¢ | 14.6¢/mi | $115 | 800 mi |
| 4 | Idaho | 17.8¢ | 4.1¢ | 12.1¢ | 13.7¢/mi | $140 | 1000 mi |
| 5 | Utah | 17.0¢ | 3.8¢ | 9.8¢ | 13.1¢/mi | $130† | 1000 mi |
| 6 | Arizona | 17.5¢ | 4.3¢ | 12.6¢ | 13.1¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 7 | California | 22.5¢ | 9.9¢ | 13.6¢ | 12.6¢/mi | $121† | 1000 mi |
| 8 | Montana | 16.9¢ | 4.3¢ | 12.0¢ | 12.6¢/mi | $130 | 1000 mi |
| 9 | Wyoming | 16.8¢ | 4.4¢ | 12.6¢ | 12.4¢/mi | $200 | 1600 mi |
| 10 | Alaska | 19.3¢ | 8.1¢ | 14.0¢ | 11.3¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 11 | New Mexico | 15.5¢ | 4.3¢ | 10.4¢ | 11.2¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 12 | North Dakota | 15.3¢ | 4.0¢ | 12.8¢ | 11.2¢/mi | $120 | 1100 mi |
| 13 | Colorado | 16.1¢ | 4.9¢ | 11.0¢ | 11.2¢/mi | $57† | 500 mi |
| 14 | Nebraska | 14.9¢ | 3.8¢ | 9.8¢ | 11.1¢/mi | $150 | 1400 mi |
| 15 | South Dakota | 15.4¢ | 4.4¢ | 10.0¢ | 11.0¢/mi | $50 | 500 mi |
| 16 | Illinois | 16.5¢ | 5.7¢ | 12.8¢ | 10.8¢/mi | $100 | 900 mi |
| 17 | Florida | 15.0¢ | 4.3¢ | 11.6¢ | 10.7¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 18 | West Virginia | 15.1¢ | 4.4¢ | 15.1¢ | 10.7¢/mi | $200 | 1900 mi |
| 19 | Kentucky | 14.7¢ | 4.1¢ | 11.8¢ | 10.7¢/mi | $120 | 1100 mi |
| 20 | Louisiana | 14.5¢ | 3.9¢ | 13.7¢ | 10.7¢/mi | $110 | 1000 mi |
| 21 | Tennessee | 14.7¢ | 4.0¢ | 12.2¢ | 10.7¢/mi | $200 | 1900 mi |
| 22 | North Carolina | 14.8¢ | 4.2¢ | 11.4¢ | 10.6¢/mi | $180 | 1700 mi |
| 23 | Delaware | 16.0¢ | 5.5¢ | 10.9¢ | 10.5¢/mi | $110† | 1000 mi |
| 24 | Arkansas | 14.5¢ | 4.0¢ | 12.6¢ | 10.5¢/mi | $200 | 1900 mi |
| 25 | Iowa | 14.9¢ | 4.6¢ | 9.6¢ | 10.4¢/mi | $130 | 1300 mi |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | 16.5¢ | 6.2¢ | 11.9¢ | 10.3¢/mi | $250† | 2400 mi |
| 27 | Virginia | 15.3¢ | 4.9¢ | 12.3¢ | 10.3¢/mi | $128† | 1200 mi |
| 28 | Georgia | 15.0¢ | 4.7¢ | 11.7¢ | 10.3¢/mi | $235† | 2300 mi |
| 29 | Minnesota | 15.3¢ | 5.0¢ | 10.2¢ | 10.3¢/mi | $75 | 700 mi |
| 30 | Oklahoma | 14.2¢ | 4.1¢ | 11.7¢ | 10.1¢/mi | $210† | 2100 mi |
| 31 | Mississippi | 14.3¢ | 4.3¢ | 12.1¢ | 10.1¢/mi | $150 | 1500 mi |
| 32 | Missouri | 14.7¢ | 4.6¢ | 9.2¢ | 10.0¢/mi | $90 | 900 mi |
| 33 | Kansas | 14.5¢ | 4.5¢ | 8.7¢ | 10.0¢/mi | $100 | 1000 mi |
| 34 | South Carolina | 14.4¢ | 4.4¢ | 11.9¢ | 10.0¢/mi | $60† | 600 mi |
| 35 | Alabama | 14.6¢ | 4.7¢ | 11.9¢ | 9.9¢/mi | $200 | 2000 mi |
| 36 | Connecticut | 16.7¢ | 6.9¢ | 11.4¢ | 9.7¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 37 | Ohio | 15.1¢ | 5.5¢ | 12.1¢ | 9.6¢/mi | $200 | 2100 mi |
| 38 | Texas | 14.1¢ | 4.6¢ | 12.1¢ | 9.6¢/mi | $200† | 2100 mi |
| 39 | Vermont | 16.5¢ | 7.0¢ | 10.3¢ | 9.5¢/mi | $89 | 900 mi |
| 40 | New Jersey | 16.4¢ | 7.1¢ | 12.9¢ | 9.3¢/mi | $270† | 2900 mi |
| 41 | District of Columbia | 16.2¢ | 7.0¢ | 11.6¢ | 9.2¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 42 | Maryland | 15.5¢ | 6.2¢ | 9.9¢ | 9.2¢/mi | $125 | 1400 mi |
| 43 | Wisconsin | 14.7¢ | 5.6¢ | 11.9¢ | 9.1¢/mi | $175 | 1900 mi |
| 44 | Michigan | 15.5¢ | 6.6¢ | 11.4¢ | 8.9¢/mi | $100† | 1100 mi |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 16.0¢ | 7.7¢ | 13.1¢ | 8.3¢/mi | $100 | 1200 mi |
| 46 | Indiana | 13.2¢ | 5.0¢ | 11.7¢ | 8.2¢/mi | $230† | 2800 mi |
| 47 | New York | 16.6¢ | 8.4¢ | 11.6¢ | 8.2¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 16.4¢ | 8.4¢ | 11.7¢ | 8.0¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 16.2¢ | 8.5¢ | 11.2¢ | 7.7¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 50 | Maine | 16.1¢ | 8.5¢ | 11.7¢ | 7.7¢/mi | — | 0 mi |
| 51 | Hawaii | 20.7¢ | 15.1¢ | 14.8¢ | 5.7¢/mi | $50† | 900 mi |
Sorted by home saving (gas ¢/mi − EV home ¢/mi), the everyday case for drivers who can plug in where they park. EV public: AAA’s daily blended public-charging average (9/7/26); “—” means AAA published no price for that state today. EV fee: annual state registration surcharge for battery EVs (NCSL/state statutes 2025, 2026 changes verified per state); † has state-specific details — hover the fee. Break-even: miles per year at which the per-mile saving has paid off the fee, rounded to the nearest 100 mi. “—” means the saving is negative there, so the fee never pays back at today’s prices.
How to read this
How is cost per mile calculated?
Gas: your state's AAA regular average divided by 26 MPG (a typical real-world fleet figure). EV home: your state's average residential electricity rate (EIA, monthly) divided by 3.5 miles per kWh (a typical EV). EV public: AAA's daily average public-charging price for your state, divided by the same 3.5 mi/kWh. Change either assumption proportionally for your own vehicle — the state-to-state comparison holds regardless.
Does the public column mean DC fast charging?
Not exactly. AAA publishes one blended average across all public charger levels — slow Level 1 and Level 2 units alongside DC fast chargers — and no per-level split exists publicly, so we report it as the public-charging average rather than a fast-charging price. DC fast charging on its own costs more than the blend shown here.
Which column applies to me?
Home if you can plug in where you park overnight — that's the everyday cost for those drivers, and it's what the ranking below uses. Public if you live in an apartment, street-park, or are pricing a road trip. Most drivers land somewhere between the two columns.
Why do the cheap-gas states change?
Gas prices and electricity rates have different geographies. The Northwest has expensive gas but cheap hydro power; parts of New England pay little more for gas than the South but far more for electricity. Comparing per mile reveals that reshuffle.
What's the EV fee column?
Most states charge EVs an annual registration surcharge to replace the gas-tax revenue they don't pay — currently $50 to $270 a year (NCSL/state statutes 2025, 2026 changes verified per state). The break-even column shows how many miles you'd have to drive in a year before the per-mile saving covers that fee: drive less than the break-even and the surcharge eats your fuel saving; drive more and everything past it is pure saving. States with no surcharge break even at mile zero. Several states index the fee annually, so treat it as approximate.