Home › Electricity rates › New Jersey
Electricity Rates in New Jersey (NJ)
Residential electricity in New Jersey averages 24.61¢ per kWh as of August 2026 — 35.5% above the US average of 18.17¢. That ranks New Jersey #42 of the 50 states and DC, cheapest to most expensive.
- Average rate
- 24.61¢per kWh, August 2026
- Average electric bill
- $16012-month average, 674 kWh/month
- Year over year
- -0.4% vs August 2025
- National rank
- #42of 51, cheapest first
Five-year price trend
Monthly residential retail price, cents per kWh. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, retail sales of electricity. Last updated August 2026.
Rates by sector in New Jersey
| Sector | Price (¢/kWh) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Residential | 24.61 | Homes and apartments |
| Commercial | 18.71 | Offices, shops, schools |
| Industrial | 16.24 | Factories and heavy manufacturing |
Residential customers in New Jersey pay about 32% more per kWh than commercial customers. That gap is normal: delivering power to many small homes costs more per unit than serving a few large sites.
What is the average electric bill in New Jersey?
About $160 a month. That is the twelve months to August 2026, calculated the way EIA calculates it: total residential revenue divided by the number of residential customers. A New Jersey household uses an average of 674 kWh a month — 23% less than the national average of 875 kWh, at an average rate over those twelve months of 23.74¢ per kWh.
Usage matters as much as price here, which is why a cheap state can still have a high bill. At the national average of 875 kWh a month, that same twelve-month rate would produce a bill of about $208. That second figure is the one to use when comparing states, because it holds usage constant and lets the rate alone show through.
Against your own usage, at 23.74¢ per kWh — the twelve-month rate, the same basis as the bill above:
| Monthly usage | Estimated cost | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 400 kWh | $94.96 | Small apartment |
| 700 kWh | $166.18 | Two-bedroom home |
| 1,000 kWh | $237.40 | Family home |
| 1,500 kWh | $356.10 | Large or all-electric home |
| 2,000 kWh | $474.80 | Large home with electric heat |
States with similar rates
| State | ¢/kWh | vs New Jersey |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 22.99 | -1.62¢ |
| Vermont | 23.84 | -0.77¢ |
| Connecticut | 24.51 | -0.10¢ |
| District of Columbia | 25.98 | +1.37¢ |
| New Hampshire | 27.64 | +3.03¢ |
| Rhode Island | 28.18 | +3.57¢ |
New Jersey compared with the rest of the Northeast
Of the 9 jurisdictions in the Northeast, 3 are cheaper than New Jersey. Regional comparisons tend to be fairer than national ones: states in the same region share climate, heating fuels and often the same wholesale power market.
| Northeast | ¢/kWh | vs New Jersey |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 21.77 | -2.84¢ |
| Vermont | 23.84 | -0.77¢ |
| Connecticut | 24.51 | -0.10¢ |
| New Hampshire | 27.64 | +3.03¢ |
| Rhode Island | 28.18 | +3.57¢ |
| New York | 28.65 | +4.04¢ |
| Massachusetts | 30.48 | +5.87¢ |
| Maine | 32.11 | +7.50¢ |
Common questions
What is the average electricity rate in New Jersey (NJ)?
24.61 cents per kWh for residential customers as of August 2026. This is a state-wide average across every utility in New Jersey, so your own rate will differ depending on your provider and rate plan.
Is electricity expensive in New Jersey?
Yes, by national standards. New Jersey’s rate is 35.5% above the national average of 18.17¢ per kWh, ranking #42 of the 50 states and DC from cheapest to most expensive. The bill depends on usage as much as the rate, though — see the average bill above.
Why is my bill different from the figures on this page?
Delivery, capacity riders and the fixed monthly customer charge are already inside these numbers — EIA divides total utility revenue by total sales, so everything the utility collects is spread across every kWh. What the state-wide average cannot capture is your own situation. Using well below New Jersey’s average raises your effective rate, because the fixed charge is divided over fewer kilowatt-hours; tiered rate plans charge more per kWh above a usage threshold; rates vary between utilities within the state; and state or local sales taxes are generally not counted as utility revenue, so they are added on top.
How often is this page updated?
The EIA publishes retail electricity data monthly, on roughly a two-month lag, and revises recent months as utilities report. This page re-reads that feed every day, so it reflects the newest published figure for New Jersey — currently August 2026.
Can I choose a cheaper electricity supplier in New Jersey?
Yes. New Jersey has a deregulated retail market, so you can switch the supply portion of your bill to a competing retailer while your existing utility continues to handle delivery and billing. Only the supply charge changes; delivery is not something you can shop for. How deregulation affects what you actually pay →
Estimate your own cost
Electricity guides
- Does Cold Weather Increase EV Charging Costs?
- How Much Does It Cost to Run an Electric Water Heater?
- How Much Does a Space Heater Cost to Run?
- Why Cheap Electricity Doesn't Mean a Cheap Bill
- What Uses the Most Electricity in a Home?
- Which US States Have Deregulated Electricity?
Download the data
Every month this page draws on, as a CSV — residential, commercial and industrial, from January 2001 to August 2026, with price, revenue, sales and customer counts in each row. Free to use and republish; it is US government data. If you publish anything based on it, please credit KilowattHQ with a link to this page.