Home Utility Cost Estimator

What actually moves the electricity line

This estimator's table lists electricity at $80–$120 for a small home, $120–$180 medium, and $180–$280 large, with climate, AC usage, and EV charging named as the main swing factors. That electricity spread sits against a real national anchor: the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports the annual average retail residential electricity price for 2025 at 17.30 cents per kWh — an annual average, not a single month's snapshot. That figure lets you check your own bill's unit price against a national baseline: multiply your bill's listed kWh usage by 17.30 cents and compare it to what you were actually charged. A rate well above that isn't necessarily wrong — many states run higher, and some run lower — but it's a starting point for asking why.

State-level spread is large. EIA's state-by-state price table (all-sector average, not residential-only) puts Hawaii at 35.72 cents per kWh, the highest in the country, against North Dakota at 8.20 cents, the lowest — more than a 4x difference for the identical kilowatt-hour. That gap alone explains why this estimator's regional table shows the Northeast and Southeast at the high end of the electric range and the Mountain region at the low end: it isn't just usage that differs by region, the price per unit does too.

Natural gas, and why the unit matters

This estimator's natural gas line runs $40–$70 for a small home up to $120–$200 for a large one, driven mainly by heating climate and whether the home has a gas stove or dryer. The EIA reports the 2025 annual average U.S. residential natural gas price at $15.34 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) — and that unit matters: EIA publishes residential gas prices per Mcf, not per therm or per hundred cubic feet (CCF), and converting between them isn't a simple multiplication because the true conversion depends on the gas's heat content. If your utility bill is denominated in therms, treat the EIA figure as a per-Mcf reference point rather than converting it yourself.

The regional pattern for gas runs opposite to electricity in several markets. This estimator's own regional table shows the Southeast and Southwest at $25–$60 a month for gas — mild winters mean the furnace runs rarely — while the Northeast and Midwest run $90–$180, reflecting sustained cold-season heating demand. A household that moves from Atlanta to Chicago should expect its gas line to roughly triple even if its electric line barely changes, because the two utilities respond to different halves of the climate.

Turning the monthly table into an annual figure

What the savings tips actually claim — and what they don't

This page's savings tips list attic insulation as worth $200–$600 a year and a smart thermostat as worth $100–$200 a year. Those figures are specific dollar estimates, and they're worth reading alongside — not instead of — the percentage-based claims EPA's ENERGY STAR program publishes on the same topic, which are more precisely scoped. On air sealing and insulation specifically, ENERGY STAR states that "EPA estimates that homeowners can save an average of 15% on heating and cooling costs (or an average of 11% on total energy costs) by air sealing their homes and adding insulation in attics, floors over crawl spaces and basements." That is a different framing from a separate claim on the same ENERGY STAR page — "you can maximize your comfort and save up to 10% on your annual energy bills" — and the two percentages should not be used interchangeably: one is heating-and-cooling costs specifically, the other is total energy costs, and the third is a general "up to" ceiling.

Applied to this estimator's own medium-home gas-plus-electric line — roughly $190–$390 a month between the two ($120–$180 electric plus $70–$120 gas, using the table above — the low end of the 15% heating-and-cooling-cost figure would represent meaningful annual savings, but this page does not compute that dollar figure directly, because doing so would require assuming what share of your specific bill is heating-and-cooling load versus base electrical use, which this estimator's table does not break out.

What this estimate excludes

This is a running-cost estimate, not a full cost of ownership. It does not include mortgage or rent, property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, or a cell phone plan even though the table lists a home-phone/cable line for households that retain one (most have cut it, per the table's own note). It also does not include one-time costs like a central air installation or furnace replacement — those are capital costs that change what shows up on the monthly utility bill going forward, not a recurring utility line themselves.

How to use this table against your own statements

Start by finding your home in the right size band, then add up the individual utility rows rather than relying on the single blended total — a home that runs above the electric range but below the gas range (common in a hot, gas-scarce climate) can still land inside the combined total while telling a very different story than a home that overshoots evenly across every line. Once you have three months of actual bills, replace this table's ranges with your own numbers; the table is a benchmark for a new home purchase or a total-cost-of-ownership comparison, not a substitute for your utility provider's statement.

Reading your own bill against these estimates

Any estimate on this page is a starting point that your own utility bills will beat for accuracy within a single billing cycle. The useful move is to compare rather than to substitute.

Pull twelve months rather than one. Utilities are seasonal in opposite directions — electricity peaks with cooling, gas with heating — and a single month tells you about the weather more than about the house. Twelve months also captures the standing charges that do not vary with usage and that a per-unit estimate can miss entirely.

Then separate the two questions the bill answers: what you used, and what you paid per unit. Only the first is under your control through insulation, sealing and equipment. If your usage is ordinary and the bill is still high, the answer is in the rate rather than the house, and no amount of weatherproofing addresses it.