The typical U.S. household spends more than $2,000 a year on energy bills, according to the federal government’s Energy Star program. But residents in different states can see widely different energy costs—regardless of weather and seasons.
So the realtor.com data team set out to find the cities where people are spending the most and least on energy bills, examining energy burdens, or the percentage of income people spend on energy bills.
Looking at the energy burdens of 50 of the largest cities across the country, the Department of Labor notes that Americans spend about 3-4 percent of their income on energy, which includes gas and electricity. Anything above 6 percent is considered a high-energy burden, while anything above 10 percent is considered a severe energy burden.
With those guideposts in place, San Francisco comes out in the top spot of cities with the smallest energy burdens. Noting that while many San Franciscans have high-income jobs, so they naturally spend a smaller percentage of their paychecks on utilities, the city has also been actively working to retrofit homes to reduce carbon emissions with its Zero Net Energy Homes Project.
The program includes air sealing, roof insulation and replacing the HVAC and furnace, which can reduce energy use and costs overall.
New York, Seattle, Denver and Portland round out the top five cities with the small energy burdens.
Looking at the worst offenders, Detroit, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Memphis and Birmingham had the largest energy burdens, ranging 7.2-6.4 percent. For Detroit in particular, about a quarter of residents pay up to 30 percent of their paycheck on utilities, according to research from the University of Michigan.
To see more of the list, click here.