Rhode Island · Affordability
Residential Electricity Price in Rhode Island
Average retail electricity price paid by residential customers, in cents per kilowatt-hour.
29.5¢/kWh in 2025
#47 of 50 · Bottom tier (lower is better)
Rhode Island is worse than the 50-state median (15.3¢/kWh). That's a gap of 14.1¢/kWh.
View interactive chart & trend → See full 50-state ranking →
1970 – 2025 · Rhode Island only · interactive chart with US median overlay →
About residential electricity price
What this measures: Average retail electricity price paid by residential customers, in cents per kilowatt-hour.
Why it matters: Electricity is a fixed monthly cost most households cannot easily reduce, so price differences directly affect what families have left for other spending.
Watch out: Series methodology changed before 1990. Within-state changes after 2000 are clean; older comparisons should be read carefully.
Recent trend
| Year | Rhode Island | US median |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 18.6¢/kWh | 12.0¢/kWh |
| 2017 | 18.3¢/kWh | 12.3¢/kWh |
| 2018 | 20.6¢/kWh | 12.2¢/kWh |
| 2019 | 21.7¢/kWh | 12.4¢/kWh |
| 2020 | 22.0¢/kWh | 12.3¢/kWh |
| 2021 | 22.3¢/kWh | 12.6¢/kWh |
| 2022 | 23.2¢/kWh | 13.8¢/kWh |
| 2023 | 27.0¢/kWh | 14.3¢/kWh |
| 2024 | 28.6¢/kWh | 14.8¢/kWh |
| 2025 | 29.5¢/kWh | 15.3¢/kWh |
Rhode Island vs. neighboring states
Same metric (residential electricity price), latest year with full state coverage. Click any name for that state's full report.
| State | Residential Electricity Price | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 29.4¢/kWh | #46 of 50 |
| Massachusetts | 30.5¢/kWh | #48 of 50 |
How Rhode Island compares (2025)
Top 5 best
| #1 | North Dakota | 11.8¢/kWh |
| #2 | Idaho | 11.8¢/kWh |
| #3 | Nebraska | 12.3¢/kWh |
| #4 | Louisiana | 12.6¢/kWh |
| #5 | Arkansas | 12.8¢/kWh |
Bottom 5
| #46 | Connecticut | 29.4¢/kWh |
| #47 | Rhode Island | 29.5¢/kWh |
| #48 | Massachusetts | 30.5¢/kWh |
| #49 | California | 32.5¢/kWh |
| #50 | Hawaiʻi | 40.6¢/kWh |
Source and methodology
Source: EIA · Direction: lower is better · Unit: ¢/kWh
Download raw CSV (all 50 states, all years)