What’s the Average Electricity Bill for a 2 Person Household in 2024?
Electricity bills have increased substantially in recent years due to rising utility electricity costs and extreme weather events that require more consumption for heating and cooling. It’s only natural to wonder if your recent bill is on par with your peers.
Although the average electricity bill varies from household to household based on consumption habits and utility rates, it’s nice to have a baseline for similar homes in your area. So, we crunched the latest consumption and pricing data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) to find the average electricity bill for various household sizes in each region of the US.
If you are unhappy with your electricity costs, connect with solar.com Energy Advisor to explore your options for lowering them.
Jump to a section:
- Average bill for two-person households
- Average bill for four-person households
- How much electricity does the average person use per month?
Let’s dive right in with a look at the average bill for a two-person household.
What’s the average electricity bill for a 2 person household?
The average electricity bill for a two-person household in the US is $150 per month, based on average monthly consumption of 887 kWh per month utility rate of 16.92 cents per kWh, per the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
However, this figure varies based on the region in which the home is located.
For example, the average monthly bill for two-person households ranges from $121 in the Midwest to $158 in the Northeast – a difference of over $500 per year. This is due to variances in both consumption and utility rates.
How much electricity does a 2-person household use?
The average two-person household uses 887 kWh per month in the US, according to the EIA. However, this figure varies from region to region based largely on climate conditions and the prevalence of gas versus electric appliances.
For example, electricity consumption is typically lower in the West and Northeast where climate conditions are more moderate and greater in the South and Midwest where humid summers require near-nonstop AC use.
| Region | Monthly consumption (kWh) | Price per kWh* | Average Electricity Bill |
| US | 887 | $0.169 | $150 |
| Northeast | 661 | $0.239 | $158 |
| Midwest | 825 | $0.147 | $121 |
| South | 1104 | $0.141 | $156 |
| West | 740 | $0.178 | $132 |
*Prices as of September 2023 per EIA.
There is also substantial variability in utility rates within each region. For example, in the West, electricity prices vary from nearly 11 cents per kWh in Washington to nearly 30 cents per kWh in California. So, to get a more accurate sense of the average electricity bill for a two-person household in your state, multiply consumption by the average utility rate listed in the map below.
Related reading: Why is my electricity bill so high?
What’s the average electricity bill for a 4-person household?
The average electricity bill for a 4-person household is $184 per month in the US. However, this figure ranges from $148 in the Midwest to $217 in the Northeast based on regional differences in electricity consumption and utility rates.
It’s worth noting that adding more people to a household does not necessarily mean a drastic rise in electricity costs. In fact, nationwide there’s only a $32 difference between the average bill for two-person households and four-person households, although that difference varies in each region.
| Region | Average bill for 2-person household | Average bill for 4-person household | Difference |
| US | $150 | $184 | $34 |
| Northeast | $158 | $217 | $59 |
| Midwest | $121 | $148 | $27 |
| South | $156 | $197 | $40 |
| West | $132 | $153 | $21 |
This minimal increase in electricity costs is due to the fact that around 50% of electricity consumption is tied to space heating, space cooling, water heating, and refrigeration. With the exception of water heating, none of these increase substantially when you add more people to your household (it’s not like you need to use another air conditioner for each member you add to your household).
How much electricity does the average person use per month?
The average person in the US, living alone, uses 599 kWh of electricity per month at an average cost of $101 per month. However, your average monthly electricity consumption depends largely on how many people you live with.
In general, people who live alone consume and spend more on electricity than people living in multi-member households because they are unable to share usage for essential systems like air conditioning, space heating, water heating, and refrigeration.
In fact, people who live in households with four or more members use half the electricity of people in single-member households, as shown in the graph below.
Even though the average electric bill for a 1 person household is 32% higher than the average bill for a two-person household, the consumption per person drops by over 150 kWh per person.
Lower your electricity costs with solar
The average electricity bill varies greatly based on a number of factors, including household size, utility rates, and climate conditions. In general, electricity bills have increased rapidly in recent years due to rising rates and extreme weather events.
If you are unhappy with your electricity costs, connect with an Energy Advisor to see how much you can save with home solar.
