EV Charge California is where EV charging hurts most outside Hawaii: 33.61¢ per kWh on average, so a Tesla Model Y runs about $92 per 1,000 miles ($0.092 a mile) on home power. It still beats gas comfortably, because a 30-mpg car burns around $203 over the same distance here.
Updated October 18, 2026 · Electricity: EIA July 2026 · Gas: EIA week of October 12, 2026 · How we calculate
What California drivers pay to charge at home
| Vehicle (EPA efficiency) | Per 1,000 miles | Per year (12,000 mi) |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD (27.5 kWh/100 mi) | $92 | $1,109 |
| Chevrolet Equinox EV AWD (32.6 kWh/100 mi) | $110 | $1,316 |
| Ford F-150 Lightning 4WD ER1 (47.9 kWh/100 mi) | $161 | $1,932 |
| Gas car, 30 mpg | $203 | $2,442 |
What’s going on with electricity prices in California
California is the strange case: electricity here is the second most expensive in the country, yet it is also where switching from gas saves the most money of any state covered on this site. The reason is simple. Gas in California averaged $6.10 a gallon the week of October 12, 2026, about $1.77 more than the national average, so the gas side of the comparison is brutal.
The 33.61¢ average also hides how Californians actually pay. PG&E, Southern California Edison and SDG&E all offer time-of-use plans built for EV owners, and the overnight rate on those plans is usually well below the average. If you charge after midnight on one of them, treat the numbers on this page as a worst case.
California vs. its neighbors
| State | Price per kWh | Per 1,000 miles (Model Y) | vs. California |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 33.61¢ | $92 | — |
| Nevada | 12.77¢ | $35 | -62% |
| Arizona | 15.38¢ | $42 | -54% |
| Oregon | 15.97¢ | $44 | -52% |
Drive an hour into Nevada and the same kWh costs 12.77¢ instead of 33.61¢. Every one of California’s neighbors is far cheaper; even Oregon, the priciest of the three, charges about half as much.
How to pay less to charge in California
California’s big three investor-owned utilities (PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric) all sell residential rate plans built around time of use, and each has at least one plan aimed at EV owners. Overnight hours are typically the cheapest on those plans. With the state average this high, the plan you’re on can matter more than the car you drive.
PG&E, SCE and SDG&E publish their EV and time-of-use plans on their own sites, and they revise them often. Take the off-peak price from your plan and drop it into the calculator; if you’re new to these plans, start with how time-of-use rates work.