WalletHub
Energy is expensive. It’s one of the biggest household expenses for American consumers, who, on average, spend nearly $2,000 a year on energy bills. About half of that pays just for heating and cooling.
But energy has much broader implications on the national economy and the environment. According to a McKinsey & Company report, an estimated $520 billion initial investment on energy efficiency measures could save the economy more than $1.2 trillion in the future and potentially reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons — “the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks off the roads.”
In order to bring awareness to the impact of energy on our wallets and encourage Americans to conserve more, WalletHub measured the efficiency of car- and home-energy consumption in 48 U.S. states. Due to data limitations, Alaska and Hawaii were excluded from the analysis.
To identify the most energy-efficient states, WalletHub analyzed data for 48 states based on two key dimensions, including “home-energy efficiency” and “car-energy efficiency.” They obtained the former by calculating the ratio between the total residential energy consumption and annual degree days. For the latter, they divided the annual vehicle miles driven by gallons of gasoline consumed. Each dimension was weighted proportionally to reflect national consumption patterns.
Overall Rank | State | Total Score | ‘Home-Energy Efficiency’ Rank | ‘Car-Energy Efficiency’ Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York | 93.36 | 4 | 4 |
2 | Vermont | 89.71 | 5 | 7 |
3 | Minnesota | 86.63 | 2 | 15 |
4 | Wisconsin | 85.06 | 7 | 8 |
5 | Utah | 84.91 | 1 | 26 |
6 | Rhode Island | 78.90 | 11 | 10 |
7 | Colorado | 77.07 | 8 | 22 |
8 | California | 76.91 | 21 | 5 |
9 | Connecticut | 72.75 | 20 | 11 |
10 | Nevada | 71.42 | 16 | 20 |
11 | Massachusetts | 71.06 | 15 | 21 |
12 | New Hampshire | 70.81 | 6 | 36 |
13 | New Mexico | 70.27 | 18 | 24 |
14 | Maine | 69.77 | 3 | 42 |
15 | Michigan | 69.26 | 19 | 25 |
16 | Illinois | 67.23 | 22 | 28 |
17 | Idaho | 66.08 | 17 | 33 |
18 | Delaware | 65.76 | 31 | 6 |
19 | Arizona | 64.66 | 27 | 12 |
20 | Montana | 63.31 | 9 | 39 |
21 | Indiana | 61.56 | 33 | 9 |
22 | Ohio | 61.34 | 28 | 18 |
23 | Florida | 60.18 | 37 | 1 |
24 | Oregon | 59.29 | 26 | 31 |
25 | North Carolina | 58.57 | 39 | 2 |
26 | Washington | 58.05 | 29 | 30 |
27 | Kansas | 57.37 | 30 | 29 |
28 | New Jersey | 55.87 | 23 | 38 |
29 | Maryland | 55.13 | 32 | 27 |
30 | South Dakota | 52.62 | 12 | 45 |
31 | Pennsylvania | 51.85 | 24 | 40 |
32 | Missouri | 51.22 | 34 | 23 |
33 | Iowa | 50.69 | 14 | 46 |
34 | Nebraska | 50.48 | 25 | 41 |
35 | Alabama | 48.10 | 46 | 3 |
36 | Wyoming | 47.34 | 10 | 47 |
37 | Oklahoma | 46.18 | 38 | 19 |
38 | Mississippi | 44.18 | 42 | 14 |
39 | Virginia | 43.21 | 36 | 34 |
40 | Georgia | 42.44 | 45 | 13 |
41 | West Virginia | 42.13 | 43 | 16 |
42 | North Dakota | 41.64 | 13 | 48 |
43 | Tennessee | 40.79 | 44 | 17 |
44 | Arkansas | 38.29 | 41 | 32 |
45 | Kentucky | 36.44 | 40 | 35 |
46 | Texas | 32.43 | 35 | 44 |
47 | Louisiana | 23.57 | 48 | 37 |
48 | South Carolina | 14.67 | 47 | 43 |
N/A* | Alaska | |||
N/A* | Hawaii |
*Due to data limitations, Alaska and Hawaii were excluded from the analysis.
Source: WalletHub
Read the full report and methodology here.