What it really costs to charge an electric car, at home or on the road
| Vehicle | Approx. Efficiency | Cost per Mile @ $0.17/kWh | 1,000 mi/mo at Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 3.6 – 4.0 | 4.3¢ – 4.7¢ | $43 – $47 |
| Tesla Model Y | 3.3 – 3.7 | 4.6¢ – 5.2¢ | $46 – $52 |
| Chevy Bolt / Equinox EV | 3.3 – 3.7 | 4.6¢ – 5.2¢ | $46 – $52 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 / Kia EV6 | 3.0 – 3.4 | 5.0¢ – 5.7¢ | $50 – $57 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 3.0 – 3.3 | 5.2¢ – 5.7¢ | $52 – $57 |
| VW ID.4 | 3.0 – 3.2 | 5.3¢ – 5.7¢ | $53 – $57 |
| Nissan Leaf | 3.0 – 3.4 | 5.0¢ – 5.7¢ | $50 – $57 |
| Ford F-150 Lightning | 2.0 – 2.4 | 7.1¢ – 8.5¢ | $71 – $85 |
| Rivian R1T / R1S | 2.1 – 2.5 | 6.8¢ – 8.1¢ | $68 – $81 |
Approximate EPA-rated combined figures; real-world results drop 10 to 25% in cold weather, at highway speed, or with heavy loads. The per-mile and monthly columns are computed at $0.17/kWh.
| State | Typical Residential Rate | Cost per Mile @ 3.5 mi/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 40¢ – 45¢ | 11.4¢ – 12.9¢ |
| California | 29¢ – 33¢ | 8.3¢ – 9.4¢ |
| Massachusetts / Connecticut | 28¢ – 32¢ | 8.0¢ – 9.1¢ |
| New York | 23¢ – 27¢ | 6.6¢ – 7.7¢ |
| Michigan | 19¢ – 21¢ | 5.4¢ – 6.0¢ |
| U.S. average | 16¢ – 18¢ | 4.6¢ – 5.1¢ |
| Texas / Florida | 14¢ – 17¢ | 4.0¢ – 4.9¢ |
| Georgia / North Carolina | 13¢ – 15¢ | 3.7¢ – 4.3¢ |
| Washington / Louisiana | 11¢ – 14¢ | 3.1¢ – 4.0¢ |
| Idaho / Utah / North Dakota | 9¢ – 12¢ | 2.6¢ – 3.4¢ |
Approximate recent residential rates based on EIA data; check your utility bill for your exact rate. Many utilities also offer off-peak EV rates of 5¢ to 12¢, which cut these numbers by half or more.
Charging cost is the product of two numbers: how much electricity the car uses (kWh) and what you pay for it ($/kWh). The car side is your mileage divided by efficiency in mi/kWh. The price side is your utility's rate at home, or the station's rate in public, blended by the share of charging you do at each.
kWh per month = miles ÷ mi/kWh. Monthly cost = kWh × price per kWh. For a mix, each share uses its own price: cost = miles × (home% ÷ efficiency × home rate + public% ÷ efficiency × public rate). Per-mile cost is just price ÷ efficiency, which makes the gas comparison easy: gas per mile = price per gallon ÷ MPG.
Enter your monthly miles and your car's mi/kWh (use the table above if you're not sure; 3.5 is a decent default for most non-truck EVs). Put your actual utility rate in the home field, from your bill or your utility's website. Adjust the public rate to match the networks you actually use, and set the gas price and MPG to the car you'd otherwise drive.
Take 1,000 miles a month in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 at 3.3 mi/kWh. That's 1000 ÷ 3.3 = 303 kWh. At a $0.15 home rate in Georgia, the month costs $45.45, or 4.5¢ a mile. A 32-mpg gas compact at $3.20 costs $100 a month for the same miles, so the EV saves about $655 a year charging at home.
Now the flip side. Charge that same car exclusively on DC fast chargers at $0.48/kWh and the month costs $145.45, or 14.5¢ a mile — 4.5¢ more per mile than the gas compact. That's the whole EV budget lesson in one calculation: home kWh are cheap, public kWh often aren't, and the percent-at-home slider does more for your bill than the car you pick.
A typical EV driven 1,000 miles a month uses about 286 kWh (at 3.5 mi/kWh). At the U.S. average home rate of roughly $0.17/kWh that's $49 a month, or about $583 a year. The same miles in a 30-mpg gas car at $3.20 a gallon cost about $107 a month.
At home, almost always. Home charging at $0.17/kWh works out to about 4.9 cents a mile, versus 10.7 cents a mile for a 30-mpg car at $3.20 a gallon. Public DC fast charging flips the math at some stations: $0.48/kWh costs 13.7 cents a mile, more than that gas car.
Divide your monthly miles by your efficiency in miles per kWh to get kWh used, then multiply by your electricity price per kWh. For a Tesla Model 3 at 3.9 mi/kWh driving 1,000 miles: 256 kWh × $0.17 = about $44 a month.
Most EVs average 2.5 to 4 mi/kWh. Compact and midsize EVs like the Model 3, Model Y, and Chevy Bolt run 3.4 to 4.0; heavier electric trucks like the F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T run closer to 2.0 to 2.5. Cold weather, highway speeds, and heat pump use can cut efficiency 10 to 25 percent.
Not the rate you pay per kWh, which is set by your utility, but Level 1 (120V) is so slow many owners end up topping up at public stations, where prices run 2 to 3 times the home rate. A Level 2 home charger keeps nearly all your kWh on the cheap home meter.