The Most and Least Energy Efficient States in 2015

To identify the most energy-efficient states, WalletHub analyzed data based on two key dimensions: home-energy efficiency and car-energy efficiency

December 26, 2019 04:05 AM

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.

Energy Sustainability