Energy Burden Across States

Using the dashboard data, Sierra Club conducted energy burden analyses for states, households at different income levels, and race and ethnic groups.

Average energy burden for the 50 states and DC ranged from 1.5% to 4.3%. This includes households at all income levels. New England states like Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire topped the list of states with the highest energy burden. New England’s reliance on fuel oil contributes to high energy costs. Fuel oil is expensive, subject to price volatility, and must be delivered to the region. Maine, in particular, has had large increases to residential electricity prices in recent years. Other top energy burden states like Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, and Oklahoma are some of the states with lowest median household income.

All Households Average State Energy Burden

When only considering low-income households (80% Area Median Income and below), there are much higher burdens. The energy burden per state ranges from 4% to nearly 11%. The majority of states exceed the 6% high energy burden threshold. The top ten states do not change much, but the differences in average energy burden are staggering. Their average energy burdens are greater than 8%. The top two states, Maine and Vermont, reach a severe energy burden, above 10%. Energy costs for lower-income households are often exacerbated by poor housing stock, a lack of access to efficiency programs and incentives, and barriers to more affordable energy technologies like solar.

Disproportionate Impacts on Communities of Color

Black and Native Americans are overrepresented among high energy burden census tracts across the United States. Black Americans make up 11.9% of the population across all census tracts, but account for 42.7% of residents in high energy burden census tracts. Similarly, Native Americans make up 0.5% of the overall population, yet account for 3.7% of residents in these communities. Compared with their share of the overall population, Black and Native Americans are represented in high energy burden communities at rates more than 3.5 times and 7 times higher, respectively.

Overrepresented Groups in High Energy Burden Census Tracts

The drastic overrepresentation of both groups aligns with previous findings. A recent study showed that, even when accounting for income, majority Black census tracts face significantly higher average energy burden. It pointed to housing conditions, such as average building age, and homeownership rates as major factors that overburden Black households. The DOE reported that on average, Tribal households face an energy burden that is 28% higher than the average for all US households.

Low-Income Households Are Spending Way More on Energy Bills For Every Dollar Earned

Energy bills don’t exist in a vacuum. The affordability crisis stems from nearly every household expenditure you can think of going up like housing, transportation, healthcare, groceries, child care, energy. While wage growth has stagnated and Trump’s tariffs cost families $1,200 each in 2025. For low-income households, the pain is compounded by deep cuts to key public benefits programs.

The energy burden data tells a story of stark contrast. Low-income households are spending substantially higher portions of their money on energy bills. The national average energy burden across all income levels in the US is 2.5%. This means on average, households spend about $2.50 for every $100 of income on household energy costs. This changes dramatically for low-income households. The Energy Burden Dashboard uses two common low-income measures: 80% of the Area Median Income (80% AMI) and below, and 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (150% FPL) and below. AMI is more region specific. FPL, which is the same for most households across the US, is often lower than median/middle incomes used in AMI. For households at 80% AMI and below, the national average energy burden was 6.5%, translating to $6.50 spent on household energy costs per every $100 earned. This nearly doubles for households at and below 150% FPL to 12.7% energy burden, or $12.70 spent on energy costs per every $100 earned. 

Families are already stretched thin. Now, with surging electricity and home gas prices, low-income households are spending even more of their income on high energy bills, leaving even less to cover other necessities.
 

Solutions

The Trump administration has exacerbated the energy affordability crisis by cancelling lower-cost clean energy projects, subsidizing failing coal plants, gutting efficiency standards for appliances, and cutting key assistance programs.

The solutions already exist. What’s needed is the will to act to alleviate the oppressive energy burden too many households are shouldering. Solutions include:

• Move toward solar energy, energy efficiency, and community power, which are far less costly than polluting fossil fuel plants.
• Implement appliance standards, weatherization rebates and efficiency tax credits to put thousands of dollars back into families’ pockets.
• Stop the rate hikes that fund bailouts for dirty coal plants that should have been long gone.
• End the attacks on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) – and expand it instead.
• Require data centers and hyper-scalers to pay their own way and invest in clean energy instead of passing the costs of dirty fossil power plants onto ratepayers.
• Activate states to enact efficiency standards, clean air and water protections, new rebate and tax credit programs, and policies that lead to fair rates for consumers.

Data Notes

Dashboard Features

• Energy Burden (broken down into All Energy Costs, Electricity Costs, Gas Costs, or Other Household Fuels)
• Energy Burden for Different Household Income Levels
• Race and Ethnic Group Demographics
• Redlining
• Health (Asthma, High Blood Pressure, Cancer, Recent Checkup, Lack Insurance, or Mental Distress)
• Rental Share
• Median Income

Community Filters

• Minimum Energy Burden for Census Tracts
• Predominant Racial and Ethnic Groups for Census Tracts 
• States
• Metropolitan Statistical Areas
• Counties
• Cities (Approximate)
• Congressional Districts (Approximate)