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Cost to run an electric car in Illinois (July 2026 rates)
At 19.22¢ per kilowatt-hour — Illinois's average residential price in July 2026 — running an electric car costs $730 a year. That is 5% more than the national average of $696. Illinois's residential rate is up 11.6% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $654 to $730 a year.
- Per day
- $2.00
- Per month
- $60.86
- Per year
- $730
Assumption: 3,800 kWh a year. 12,000 miles a year at roughly 3.5 miles per kWh, plus about 10% charging losses, on home Level 2 charging. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.
How Illinois compares
Illinois pays 19.22¢/kWh, the 17th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $34.58 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same electric car costs $483 a year in Louisiana and $1,824 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $1,341 a year.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | 18.48¢ | $58.52 | $702 |
| Wisconsin | 19.06¢ | $60.36 | $724 |
| Illinois | 19.22¢ | $60.86 | $730 |
| Ohio | 19.45¢ | $61.59 | $739 |
| Maryland | 21.41¢ | $67.80 | $814 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an electric car.
What else costs about the same in Illinois
Cutting the number down
- Charging on an off-peak or EV rate plan is usually the single largest lever, and it costs nothing but a schedule setting.
- Charging losses are real: the meter sees noticeably more than the battery receives, especially in cold weather.
- Cost per mile, not cost per charge, is the number that compares cleanly against a tank of gasoline.
Questions
- How much does an electric car cost per month in Illinois?
- About $60.86 a month, assuming 3,800 kWh a year at 19.22¢/kWh.
- How many kilowatt-hours does an electric car use?
- Roughly 3,800 kWh a year under these assumptions.
- Is that expensive compared with other states?
- Illinois has the 17th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $696 a year.