US average price for a kilowatt-hour of electricity: $0.196/kWh for September 2026 (the BLS average residential price, collected with the CPI and published monthly), +4.3% vs a year ago. Next BLS update: November 10, 2026, with the October 2026 CPI.
Retail electricity prices rose 4.3% over the past year to $0.196/kWh (September 2026), and the price is +36% versus five years ago, and 1% below the record high of $0.198/kWh set in June 2026. Alongside it, the EIA's residential average price is +4.9% year over year (18.31¢/kWh, July 2026) — the EIA's residential average is utility revenue divided by kilowatt-hours sold, all charges included, and publishes about three months after the month; neither is the tariff any one household pays.
| Region | Price | As of | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | $0.266/kWh | September 2026 | +4.7% |
| Midwest | $0.197/kWh | September 2026 | +9.4% |
| South | $0.163/kWh | September 2026 | +0.6% |
| West | $0.228/kWh | September 2026 | +5.6% |
This page charts the full history of the BLS price back to 2007; the regional averages the BLS publishes (Northeast, Midwest, South and West); and alongside, the EIA's residential average price and lower-48 natural gas in storage. The energy inflation page shows how electricity prices feed the CPI's energy index, and the full price history is downloadable as JSON and CSV from the series page.
The US average is $0.196/kWh for September 2026, the BLS average residential price, collected with the CPI and published monthly, +4.3% from a year earlier.
Retail electricity prices rose 4.3% over the past year to $0.196/kWh (September 2026), and the price is +36% versus five years ago, and 1% below the record high of $0.198/kWh set in June 2026. Alongside it, the EIA's residential average price is +4.9% year over year (18.31¢/kWh, July 2026) — the EIA's residential average is utility revenue divided by kilowatt-hours sold, all charges included, and publishes about three months after the month; neither is the tariff any one household pays.
BLS average prices for October 2026 publish with the CPI on November 10, 2026 at 8:30 AM Eastern. This page republishes every morning with whatever is newest.
BLS; EIA for its residential average price. Every series is charted with its full history on this page and listed with its source in the open data directory; the public-data series also download there.