Paying utilities bills, including ones for electricity, is a responsibility that many Americans face – and some have difficulty covering – each month.
Nationwide, the amount of money that Americans had to pay for electricity in August averaged $185.59, according to a recently-released report from LendingTree. However, it found residents in some states faced heftier monthly bills than others.
The five most-expensive states clocked average monthly electricity bills whose costs ranged from 21.6% to 37.1% above the national average, it reported.
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LendingTree said its findings for monthly electricity bill costs were based on data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Residents in the following five states were on the hook for the largest average electricity bills in August, according to LendingTree’s analysis:
LendingTree found "usage matters," reporting some states "may have high rates" for each kilowatt-hour used "but low average monthly bills (and vice versa)."
LendingTree’s findings about electricity bill costs comes as it reported 23.4% of Americans experienced an inability to cover their entire energy bill or portions of it in the last year, based on Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.
The share who felt that creeped up 1.4 percentage points year-over-year, it said.
"Even though inflation has moderated in recent months, life is still crazy-expensive, and that can make it hard to pay your bills," LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said in the report. "Lots of people have found themselves needing to make difficult decisions to keep the lights on."
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Overall inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index increased 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For electricity, prices posted a 0.4% drop month-over-month but remain up 3.1% from 12 months ago. Meanwhile, utility gas service prices rose 1% from October and 1.8% from November 2023, the CPI data showed.
Needing to cover utility bills prompted 34.3% of Americans to curb their spending on necessary things – or eliminate some altogether – in at least one instance in the prior year, LendingTree said.
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In September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported American households saw an average of $77,280 in household expenditures in 2023. That equated to about $6,440 per month.
