Most and Least Energy Efficient States: Where Does Your State Rank? 

The average cost of electricity in 2022 will was projected to be 8% higher than it was in 2021, according to estimates by the U.S. Energy Information Association (EIA).¹ On top of that, the EIA expected the annual demand for energy to increase by 2.7% in the U.S. in 2022, thanks in part to a hotter-than-usual summer.²

Consumers are feeling the pinch as the cost of energy skyrockets and demand remains strong, so it comes as no surprise that more consumers and local governments are wondering how they can conserve energy to keep heating and cooling costs low and mitigate the effects of climate change. 

Of course, individuals can take steps to increase the energy efficiency of their homes by upgrading appliances, lights and other home systems (like HVACs) to energy-efficient models. However, the weight remains on state governments to implement crucial energy-centric policies like renewable energy generation targets, public benefits programs, cleaner transportation plans and more. 

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit research organization, has measured and ranked energy efficiency in each state. The ranking is based on a selection of holistic factors that consider the policies, initiatives and advancements toward energy conservation in each state.

The purpose of the ACEEE’s Energy Efficiency State Scorecard is to highlight where states are succeeding and where they have room for improvement. The head author of the 2022 report, Sagarika Subramanium, explained: “What we really hope is that states can use this report to their benefit. It’s really a gap analysis for states to see where they can improve. We’re hoping that this report will be really useful in highlighting best practices and maybe nudging some states in the right direction.” 

How does your state stack up? Below, you can see how each state excels and where there’s room to improve, newly updated for 2022.

Note: States with the same rank indicate a tie.

Energy Efficiency Rankings by State

The ACEEE has researched the unique policies, initiatives and advancements in energy efficiency for each state to determine a nationwide ranking system. 

Key Takeaways

• Top states like California, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont established energy efficiency policies to help dampen the impact of high energy costs.
• No state earned a perfect 50-point score, indicating that there is room for improvement in every state.
• California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado, Virginia and Nevada earned the highest energy efficiency scores in their respective regions, the same leaders as in 2020, the last time the report was produced.
• Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Kansas, South Carolina and Wyoming ranked the lowest, each earning fewer than 4 points out of the possible 50.
• South Carolina dropped the most in rankings between 2020 and 2022, falling from 40th place to 49th place. 

For a complete breakdown of each state’s score within each category evaluated, read the full ACEE report here.

About the Scoring 

The ACEEE ranks states on their energy efficiency efforts and tracks new policies and initiatives that aim to minimize energy use in each state. 

For the newly released 2022 energy efficiency scorecard, the ACEEE increased its focus on equity-centered policies that assist in easing the energy burden on low-income and underserved households and communities. Equity-focused actions now make up 20% of the total available points.

In fact, the ACEEE added 16 new equity-centric metrics to its methodology in 2022. Sagarika Subramanium, the head author, highlighted the importance of equity for states, saying “it’s not enough for states to be leading in energy efficiency policies. They have to do so equitably, and the way we can promote that is by increasing that focus in the report.”

The ACEEE analysis of each state is broken down into six categories. Each state is assigned a rating for each category, with a cumulative maximum score of 50. The six categories are as follows: 

Visit the ACEEE website to view the full report and read an in-depth explanation of each state’s energy-efficient initiatives and advancements. The ACEE has developed a one-page evaluation of each state’s strong and weak points and suggestions for improvement.