2014’S MOST AND LEAST ENERGY EFFICIENT STATES

Energy constitutes one of the biggest expenses for consumers. The average American household spends more than $2,200 a year on energy bills, almost half of which goes to heating and cooling expenses.

For the entire country, energy plays a key role as well. Besides having an impact on our environment, it is essential to our national security and prosperity. And its economic implications are great. A McKinsey & Company report estimated that a $520 billion initial investment on energy efficiency measures could save the economy more than $1.2 trillion. In addition, annual greenhouse gas emissions could potentially be reduced by 1.1 gigatons — “the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks off the roads.”

In light of National Energy Awareness Month, WalletHub measured the energy efficiency of cars and homes in each of 48 states. We did so in order to encourage consumers to improve their own energy efficiency practices. To the right, you can find the results of our study.



Key Stats

  • Utah is 2 times more efficient than Louisiana when it comes to home-related energy efficiency (adjusted for the weather).

  • Florida is 2 times more efficient than North Dakota when it comes to car-related energy efficiency.

Overall Rank

State

Home-Related Energy Efficiency

Car-Related Energy Efficiency

1

Vermont

2

4

2

New York

6

6

3

Wisconsin

8

11

4

California

14

5

5

Rhode Island

11

9

6

Minnesota

4

18

7

Colorado

7

20

8

Utah

1

28

9

Maine

3

32

10

Michigan

20

13

11

Nevada

12

23

12

Connecticut

23

12

13

Massachusetts

16

21

14

New Hampshire

5

36

T-15

Delaware

31

8

T-15

Idaho

13

30

17

Florida

37

1

18

New Mexico

17

26

19

Indiana

33

7

20

Arizona

28

14

21

Montana

9

39

22

North Carolina

41

2

23

Ohio

29

17

24

Kansas

32

15

25

Maryland

30

19

26

Illinois

22

29

27

Oregon

21

33

28

Washington

26

27

T-29

Alabama

46

3

T-29

Wyoming

10

47

31

South Dakota

15

46

32

Georgia

45

10

33

Iowa

19

45

34

Oklahoma

38

22

35

New Jersey

24

40

36

Tennessee

44

16

37

North Dakota

18

48

38

Mississippi

39

24

39

Pennsylvania

25

42

40

Nebraska

27

41

41

Missouri

36

31

42

West Virginia

42

25

43

Virginia

35

35

44

Arkansas

40

34

45

Texas

34

44

46

Kentucky

43

37

47

Louisiana

48

38

48

South Carolina

47

43

N/A*

Alaska

 

 

N/A*

Hawaii

 

 

N/A*

District of Columbia

 

 

*Due to data limitations, Alaska, Hawaii and the District of Columbia were excluded from our analysis.

 

 



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