Paying utilities bills, including ones for electricity, is a responsibility that many Americans face \u2013 and some have difficulty covering \u2013 each month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nationwide, the amount of money that Americans had to pay for electricity in August averaged $185.59,\u00a0according to<\/a> a recently-released report from LendingTree. However, it found residents in some states faced heftier monthly bills than others.\u00a0<\/p>\n The five most-expensive states clocked average monthly electricity bills<\/a> whose costs ranged from 21.6% to 37.1% above the national average, it reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n ALMOST 4 IN 10 AMERICANS WORRY ABOUT PAYING BILLS IN NUMBERS SURPASSING GREAT RECESSION ERA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n LendingTree said its findings for monthly electricity bill costs were based on data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).<\/a><\/p>\n Residents in the following five states were on the hook for the largest average electricity bills in August, according to LendingTree\u2019s analysis:\u00a0<\/p>\n LendingTree found “usage matters,” reporting some states “may have high rates” for each kilowatt-hour used “but low average monthly bills (and vice versa).”<\/p>\n LendingTree\u2019s findings about electricity bill costs comes as it reported 23.4% of Americans experienced an inability to cover their entire energy bill or portions of it in the last year, based on Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.\u00a0<\/p>\n The share who felt that creeped up 1.4 percentage points year-over-year, it said.<\/p>\n “Even though inflation has moderated in recent months, life is still crazy-expensive<\/a>, and that can make it hard to pay your bills,” LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz said in the report. “Lots of people have found themselves needing to make difficult decisions to keep the lights on.”\u00a0<\/p>\n MAJORITY OF AMERICANS LACK ECONOMIC SECURITY, STUDY FINDS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n