If you live in Louisiana, you likely use more than twice as much electricity as the average New Yorker does each month. And if you live in Arkansas, you likely pay about half as much as than someone in Vermont does for a unit of electrical power.
The maps below, created using data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, show how electricity consumption and costs vary across state lines. The data measures the price and monthly per capita usage of electricity, which is produced by converting fuels like coal, natural gas, or renewable resources into usable electric power.
Lifestyle habits affect how much power we're using. In the South, people consume a lot more electricty due to the hot and humid climate. More progressive, energy-efficient states tend to be in the West and Northeast where the climate is generally cooler and less humid. (Story continues below map.)
The cost of electricity is affected by a wide range of factors -- local infrastructure, climate, availability of natural gas, labor costs, transmission capacity, among others. For example, electricity is relatively more expensive in Hawaii because the isolated state has to import petroleum and coal to make electricity.
(Hat tip: Nerdwallet)