How much is electricity in an apartment per month?
An apartment in a building with five or more units used about 508 kWh a month in the EIA's latest survey of U.S. homes (RECS 2020); one in a smaller building (2–4 units) 555 kWh. At the 2025 average residential price of 17.2¢ per kWh that is about $87 a month, roughly half of a detached house (1,034 kWh, $178).
Apartments use less because they are smaller and share walls, floors and ceilings with neighbors, so they lose less heat and gain less in summer. The biggest differences between apartments come from how they are heated: one with electric baseboard heat or a heat pump uses far more in winter than one with gas or building-supplied heat, and in the South air conditioning drives summer bills.
By region
| Region | Apartment, 5+ units | Apartment, 2–4 units | Detached house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 388 | 471 | 848 |
| Midwest | 461 | 531 | 933 |
| South | 672 | 757 | 1,263 |
| West | 424 | 470 | 857 |
| United States | 508 | 555 | 1,034 |
kWh per month (yearly average ÷ 12). Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Tables CE2.1–CE2.5.
Estimated apartment electric bill by state
The survey does not publish apartments by state. This estimate takes each state's average home usage (EIA-861, 2025) and scales it by the ratio between apartments (5+ units) and all homes in the state's census region, then prices it at the state's average residential rate.
| State | Est. kWh / month | ¢/kWh | Est. bill / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 304 | 40.4 | $123 |
| Connecticut | 408 | 29.3 | $120 |
| Maryland | 569 | 19.5 | $111 |
| Alabama | 691 | 16.1 | $111 |
| Massachusetts | 346 | 30.4 | $105 |
| Texas | 670 | 15.4 | $103 |
| Florida | 665 | 15.2 | $101 |
| Mississippi | 714 | 14.0 | $100 |
| West Virginia | 647 | 15.4 | $100 |
| Virginia | 644 | 15.3 | $98 |
| South Carolina | 643 | 15.1 | $97 |
| Rhode Island | 326 | 29.5 | $96 |
| Georgia | 650 | 14.7 | $96 |
| Delaware | 555 | 17.1 | $95 |
| Tennessee | 712 | 13.2 | $94 |
| Pennsylvania | 487 | 19.3 | $94 |
| Arizona | 609 | 15.3 | $93 |
| Louisiana | 739 | 12.5 | $93 |
| California | 292 | 31.4 | $92 |
| New Hampshire | 371 | 24.5 | $91 |
| New York | 340 | 26.4 | $90 |
| North Carolina | 630 | 14.0 | $88 |
| New Jersey | 389 | 22.5 | $87 |
| Alaska | 333 | 26.1 | $87 |
| Kentucky | 660 | 13.1 | $87 |
| Maine | 309 | 27.7 | $86 |
| Oklahoma | 642 | 13.2 | $85 |
| Indiana | 531 | 16.0 | $85 |
| District of Columbia | 385 | 21.9 | $84 |
| Ohio | 494 | 16.9 | $84 |
| Arkansas | 649 | 12.9 | $84 |
| Oregon | 512 | 15.5 | $79 |
| Vermont | 343 | 22.8 | $78 |
| Missouri | 587 | 13.3 | $78 |
| South Dakota | 557 | 13.3 | $74 |
| Washington | 558 | 13.2 | $74 |
| Michigan | 359 | 20.0 | $72 |
| Illinois | 405 | 17.7 | $72 |
| Kansas | 496 | 14.4 | $72 |
| North Dakota | 605 | 11.8 | $72 |
| Wisconsin | 377 | 18.1 | $68 |
| Nevada | 513 | 13.3 | $68 |
| Minnesota | 420 | 15.8 | $67 |
| Iowa | 487 | 13.6 | $66 |
| Nebraska | 550 | 12.1 | $66 |
| Wyoming | 493 | 13.4 | $66 |
| Montana | 504 | 13.0 | $65 |
| Idaho | 551 | 11.8 | $65 |
| Colorado | 389 | 15.7 | $61 |
| Utah | 450 | 13.0 | $59 |
| New Mexico | 377 | 14.8 | $56 |
Estimate; your building, heating type and habits matter more than the state. Enter your own kWh in the electric bill calculator.
By size of home
| Square feet | kWh / month | Cost / month at 17.2¢ |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,000 | 567 | $98 |
| 1,000 to 1,499 | 784 | $135 |
| 1,500 to 1,999 | 917 | $158 |
| 2,000 to 2,499 | 1,014 | $175 |
| 2,500 to 2,999 | 1,086 | $187 |
| 3,000 or more | 1,291 | $222 |
All types of homes, U.S. (RECS 2020, Table CE2.1).
Renters vs owners
Renters used 645 kWh a month on average, owners 996. In apartments the difference almost disappears: rented apartments 521 kWh, owned apartments 529 kWh. If electricity is included in your rent, the landlord pays the bill, but the cost is part of the rent.
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