Stable Insights: EV Charging Pricing Trends

Overview

Stable Auto has played a pivotal role in evaluating and siting over 16,000 EV charging stations throughout the United States. Through this experience, it’s evident that the pricing strategies of EV charging stations significantly influences both the economic sustainability of stations and the satisfaction of EV drivers.

With the anticipated growth in EV ownership, the demand for public charging facilities is set to rise sharply, partly due to limitations of home charging solutions. To prepare for this growth, it’s important that EV charging station owners and operators adopt strategic pricing that not only ensures the viability of the EV charging industry, but also meets the diverse needs of consumers.

In an effort to shed light on the current state of pricing within the DC fast charging (DCFC) landscape, Stable Auto conducted a comprehensive analysis of the average costs associated with EV charging across the nation, drawing on data from thousands of Level 3 (L3) charging stations under its purview.

National average charging prices by month

The average estimated $/kWh price of charging at public Level 3 (DCFC) and Level 2 (AC) at stations tracked by Stable Auto

Highlights

Unlike gas stations, pricing at EV chargers remained remarkably steady throughout 2024 with DCFC and L2 prices increasing 2¢ and 1¢ respectively between January and December
L2 chargers were on average 43% cheaper than L3 chargers over the course of 2024 with that discount holding relatively steady even as prices at both increased slightly

Using this data

Average DCFC charging prices by state (Q4 '24)

The average estimated $/kWh cost for Level 3 (DCFC) charged by stations tracked by Stable Auto

Last updated Feb 7, 2025

Highlights (Q4 '24)

Most EV drivers charge their vehicles at home, but those using public DCFCs encounter significantly different prices depending on where they plug in.
Comparing prices from Q2'24 to Q4'24, the average price remained relatively flat, increasing slightly from $0.43 to $0.45 per kWh.
While gas prices can vary significantly by state, charging prices tend to be more consistent across the country, with 31 states averaging between $0.40 and $0.50 per kWh.
However, the majority of the Midwest and several states in the South and Southeast experienced lower average charging costs.
On a state-by-state basis, average prices increased in 26 states and decreased in 22 states, with just 2 states experiencing changes greater than 10% in either direction. We're seeing a catch-up trend continue with states that previously had prices <$0.40 / kWh increasing prices 6.5% on average between Q2 and Q4 while states that were previously >$0.50 decreasing prices 0.4% on average.

Using this data

State-by-state view

Last updated Feb 7, 2025