Electricity rates in Iowa
The average home in Iowa pays about 14¢ per kWh — 24% below the US average of 18.4¢. Here's the real trend, how it ranks, and what that rate means for your bills.
*A home using the US-average ~10.5k kWh/year at Iowa's rate. Your bill depends on your own usage — find your true rate here.
Iowa electricity price trend
Average residential rate, monthly, May 2023 – Apr 2026. Down 3% over the period.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly · range 11.78–15.58¢/kWh
How Iowa compares
At 14¢/kWh, Iowa has the 37th-highest residential electricity price of the 50 states and DC — 24% below the 18.4¢ US average. That's among the cheaper power in the country, which is good news for your monthly bill but changes the maths on things like solar and batteries. For context, the cheapest power in this data is Idaho at 12.3¢, and the most expensive is Hawaii at 41.1¢.
Over the period in the chart above, Iowa's average rate has fallen about 3%, bucking the national trend of rising prices.
What your rate means for the big decisions
Your electricity price is the single number that drives whether solar, an EV, or electric heating saves you money. At Iowa's 14¢/kWh:
- Rooftop solar pays back in about 14.4 years for a typical home here — cheap power lengthens the payback, so run your own numbers before committing. See the full breakdown on the Iowa solar payback page, including local utilities, net metering and incentives.
- Charging an EV at home costs about 5.8¢ per mile here, versus roughly 12.2¢/mile for a typical petrol car — see the Iowa EV charging breakdown.
- Cooling and heating swing with this rate too — check what running your AC costs in Iowa, or whether a heat pump beats gas at 14¢/kWh.
How to pay less
Whatever your state's rate, the cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you don't buy. Our guide to cutting your electricity bill ranks every fix by the dollars it actually saves — and the three that don't move the needle.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly — state average residential price. National average and rankings computed across all 50 states + DC. See our methodology. Figures are averages for guidance, not a quote for your home.