10 States Where Owning an EV is a Financial Nightmare (2026)
The Best and Worst States to Own an Electric Vehicle: You Won't Believe What We Found
You might think California and New York are the best places to own an electric car. Think again.
When most people think about electric vehicles (EVs), they picture sunny California or eco-friendly New York. But when we actually crunched the numbers for all 50 states plus Washington D.C., the results were shocking.
Some states that talk the most about going green actually make owning an EV really expensive. And some states you'd think hate electric cars? They're surprisingly affordable for EV owners.
We looked at three important factors:
Home charging costs - What you'll pay to charge at home
Public charging availability - Can you find chargers on road trips?
Registration fees - How much extra the DMV charges EV owners.
The good news? EVs still save most people money compared to gas cars. But depending on where you live, those savings can be huge or pretty small.
Today, we're counting down the 10 worst states for EV ownership. Some of these might really surprise you.
Want to see how your state ranks? Check out our 👉 full data spreadsheet here 👈 to find your state and see what makes sense for you.
Why Home Charging Costs Matter Most
The main reason people love EVs is simple: no more expensive gas station visits. Instead of paying $80 to fill up, you might pay just $15 to charge at home. But that only works if your electricity is cheap.
States like Idaho, Nevada, and Nebraska have super cheap electricity. But the Northeast? That's a different story.
The 10 States with the Highest Home Charging Costs
10. New Hampshire - 24.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Their motto is "Live Free or Die," but you'll definitely pay more for electricity. Add in cold New England winters, and your charging bill climbs even faster.
9. New Jersey - 25 cents per kilowatt hour. New Jersey used to be great for EVs with cheap charging and good incentives. Not anymore. Electricity rates keep rising like tolls during rush hour
8. New York - 26.6 cents per kilowatt hour. Whether you're in Buffalo or Brooklyn, everything is expensive. Your home charging bill is no exception
7. Alaska - 27.7 cents per kilowatt hour. Beautiful but brutal. Cold weather plus high electricity costs means your EV battery works overtime just to stay warm, and your bill shows it.
Now we enter what we call the "Northeast Power Corridor of Doom" - where states compete to charge you the most for charging your car.
6. Maine - 28.25 cents per kilowatt hour
5. Rhode Island - 29.11 cents per kilowatt hour
4. Connecticut - 30.29 cents per kilowatt hour
3. Massachusetts - 30.63 cents per kilowatt hour
If you live in Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island, you're paying some of the highest electricity rates in America - around 29 to 31 cents per kilowatt hour. For example, a full charge for an F-150 Lightning in Massachusetts costs about $40. In Idaho? Just $15. Same truck, same battery, but nearly double the cost.
2. California - 31.5 cents per kilowatt hourCalifornia is the home of Tesla, but charging at home has become expensive. Between rising rates and weird time-of-use pricing that forces you to charge at midnight, your utility bill isn't pretty
1. Hawaii - 42.5 cents per kilowatt hourHawaii wins (or loses?) by a landslide. Since they have to ship in most of their energy and still burn petroleum for 75% of their electricity, power costs are insane.
Charging an electric F-150 in Hawaii costs about $55. But here's the twist: filling up the gas version costs about $115. Even with the highest electricity prices in America, EVs still save you money in Hawaii because everything is expensive there.
Finding Chargers: The Great Road Trip Challenge
Nobody worries about range driving to the grocery store. But what about Thanksgiving, when you're driving three hours through the countryside to grandma's house?
In some parts of America, the charging map looks like someone forgot to finish drawing it. If you buy a non-Tesla EV in these states, you're not an early adopter - you're a pioneer. And pioneers historically had terrible survival rates.
The 10 Worst States for Charging Infrastructure
(Measured by charging ports per 10,000 vehicles)
- Wisconsin - 3.2 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Wisconsin has more cheese shops than chargers. Head too far north and your EV becomes a very expensive ice fishing shelter.
9. Nebraska - 3.1 ports per 10,000 vehicles. In Nebraska, you'll see corn, then more corn, then even more corn. Chargers? Those are rare collectibles. If you find one, mark it on a map like buried treasure.
8. Alabama - 2.9 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Alabama builds tons of cars, but finding a charger feels like looking for Wi-Fi in a forest. Birmingham and Huntsville are okay, but leave the city and you're on your own.
7. Indiana - 2.9 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Indiana calls itself "The Crossroads of America," but the chargers didn't get the memo. You'll pass 10 distribution centers before finding anything besides a lonely charger hiding behind a Cracker Barrel.
The next few states are some of the coldest, which makes things worse. When it's 10 degrees below zero, your battery range can drop by 30%. That's exactly when you need more chargers, not fewer.
6. Alaska - 2.8 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Alaska is gorgeous, but EVs here operate on frontier rules. Long roads, freezing temperatures, and chargers as common as palm trees.
5. North Dakota - 2.7 ports per 10,000 vehicles. North Dakota's charger map looks unfinished. You've got Fargo, Bismarck, and then tumbleweeds. Road trip here? Bring snacks, patience, and maybe a 200-foot extension cord.
4. Idaho - 2.7 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Idaho is awesome - mountains, lakes, all of it. But chargers are rarer than Bigfoot. Boise tries, but leave town and it's just you, the trees, and a battery gauge dropping like a rock.
3. Kentucky - 2.4 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Kentucky's charging network is so thin you could drive for an hour and only find horses and bourbon. Great for distilleries, not great for electrons.
2. Louisiana - 2.0 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Louisiana's chargers are so scattered you'd think they're hiding. Leave New Orleans and you're suddenly in a scavenger hunt where the prize is simply getting home.
1. Mississippi - 1.7 ports per 10,000 vehicles. Mississippi has almost zero charging infrastructure. Driving an EV here is like an episode of Survivor: Highway Edition. Bring a generator or at least a good audiobook for when you're parked rethinking your decisions.
The 10 Highest EV Registration Fees
States realized that EV drivers don't pay gas taxes, and they want their cut. That's fair - we all use the same roads and hit the same potholes.
But some states got a little... aggressive with their EV registration fees.
- Georgia - $240/year. Georgia's way of saying "Bless your heart, now hand over your wallet.
9. Indiana - $251/year. A firm Midwestern handshake that somehow leaves you missing money.
8. Wyoming - $252/year. Big hats, bigger horizons, and a fee that lassos your wallet at high noon.
7. West Virginia - $252/year. Apparently "Take Me Home, Country Roads" now comes with a $252 toll
6. North Carolina - $253/year. They hand you the bill real politely. "Here you go, sir. That'll be $253. Would you like some coleslaw with that?"
5. Maryland - $260/year. Everything's seasoned with a little extra there. Even the EV fees have Old Bay sprinkled on them
4. Pennsylvania - $298/year. If you've ever driven the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you knew this was coming. They practically tax the air between exits.
3. New Jersey - $330/year. Pure Jersey attitude: "Oh, you drive electric? That's adorable. Yeah, go ahead and slide me that $330, tough guy.
2. Arkansas - $417/year. That's some serious razorback energy right there
1. Texas - $451/year. Everything's bigger in Texas - the boots, the steaks, the pickup trucks, and apparently the EV registration bill. $400 upfront and $200 every year after.
The Final Rankings: Overall Worst States for EV Ownership
Now let's blend everything together: expensive electricity, charging deserts, and those creative registration fees. Which states are truly the worst for owning an EV?
Our scoring weighted things by what actually hits your wallet hardest:
- 50% home charging costs (because 80-90% of charging happens at home)
- 20% infrastructure (no chargers = road trip nightmare)
- 30% registration fees (because ouch)
The 10 Worst States Overall
- Connecticut - Score: 53.7/100. Beautiful scenery and electricity prices that make you double-check your bill.
9. New Hampshire - Score: 53/100. Your EV is always wearing a winter jacket here. Cold weather plus just-okay chargers make every trip a gamble.
8. Arkansas - Score: 50.8/100. Amazing for home charging, but the moment you leave your driveway, chargers get scarce fast.
7. Pennsylvania - Score: 48.9/100. The slow-burn of EV costs. Nothing is outrageous, but nothing is easy either. It adds up quietly, like potholes on the Schuylkill Expressway.
6. California - Score: 45.6/100. Chargers everywhere, but the bill feels like you just bought avocado toast and kombucha at a farmers market. Great convenience, organic prices
5. Texas - Score: 45.4/100. Great roads and great weather, then they hand you fees bigger than the state itself. Everything really is bigger in Texas, including the electric bill.
4. Alaska - Score: 45/100. Absolutely breathtaking, and so is watching your range disappear in the cold. Every trip needs planning and prayer.
3. Rhode Island - Score: 40.6/100. The state is tiny, but that doesn't help your charging budget. High costs in a small package - like buying snacks at the airport.
2. New Jersey - Score: 39.4/100. EV charging is like everything else in Jersey: better than you'd expect, but more expensive than you'd like. It's not personal, it's just business.
1. Hawaii - Score: 24.7/100. Paradise until you plug in. Electricity costs reflect island reality - everything shipped in, including your kilowatt hours. Home charging works, it just costs as much as your monthly shaved ice budget. Worth it for the views, though.
\What Does This Mean for You?
The takeaway is simple: if you live in states like Arizona, Nevada, or Washington D.C., go ahead and get an EV. You'll save money from day one. But if you're in one of these bottom 10 states, you need to be smarter:
In Texas, that annual fee means you want to drive a lot of miles to make it worth it.
In Massachusetts, high electricity prices mean comparing suppliers or going solar can make or break your savings.
In Mississippi, home charging isn't optional - the public network just isn't reliable enough yet.
The EV transition is happening, but it's happening unevenly across America.
Want to see how your state ranks? Check out our full data spreadsheet here to find your state and see what makes sense for you. Don't rely on a salesman's pitch - run the math yourself. 😊