Charging the median electric car at home in Kentucky costs about $50 a month at 14.26 cents per kilowatt-hour — the 8th cheapest of 51 states. Cheap power is the whole argument for an electric car in Kentucky: the same miles burn $170 of petrol, so the meter saves $120 a month and $1,436 a year, and the state has one public fast-charging plug for every 45 electric cars registered in it.
What electricity costs in Kentucky
Electricity is cheap in Kentucky, and that is most of the story of what an electric car costs to run here. The EIA published residential average for Kentucky is 14.26 cents per kWh (June 2026), against a US average of 18.34. That puts Kentucky at 8th of 51 states and DC, cheapest first — the cheaper half of the country. Put the Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD on that rate — the middle car of the 36 rated here, at 31.1 kWh per 100 miles — and it costs $4.43 per 100 miles, $50 a month, $599 a year.
The line where home charging stops beating petrol sits around 48 cents per kWh, at $4.07 a gallon and 27 mpg. Kentucky is below that line by 34.21 cents, so the saving holds at the state-average rate before any overnight tariff is applied. The state average is already low enough that a time-of-use plan changes the answer by a few dollars rather than reversing it; the running-cost calculator will show you the few dollars.
Every EPA-rated car, charged at home in Kentucky
Efficiency is worth more in Kentucky than in most states: $67 a month separates the Lucid Air Pure RWD from the GMC Hummer EV Pickup 3X, and every car in the table still beats the $170 the petrol car burns through.
| Car | EPA kWh / 100 mi | Per 100 miles | Per month | Per year | Saved vs petrol / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucid Air Pure RWD | 23.1 | $3.29 | $37 | $445 | $133 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 6 Long Range RWD | 26.0 | $3.71 | $42 | $501 | $128 |
| Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD | 26.4 | $3.76 | $42 | $508 | $127 |
| Lexus RZ 350e FWD | 26.6 | $3.79 | $43 | $512 | $127 |
| Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD | 27.5 | $3.92 | $44 | $529 | $125 |
| Nissan Leaf 75 kWh | 27.8 | $3.96 | $45 | $535 | $125 |
| Subaru Solterra AWD | 28.0 | $3.99 | $45 | $539 | $125 |
| Toyota bZ4X AWD 73.1 kWh | 28.0 | $3.99 | $45 | $539 | $125 |
| BMW i4 eDrive40 | 28.5 | $4.06 | $46 | $549 | $124 |
| Kia EV3 Long Range FWD | 29.0 | $4.14 | $47 | $558 | $123 |
| Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range | 29.2 | $4.16 | $47 | $562 | $123 |
| Audi Q4 45 e-tron | 29.4 | $4.19 | $47 | $566 | $122 |
| Kia EV6 84 kWh RWD | 29.6 | $4.22 | $47 | $570 | $122 |
| Polestar 2 Single Motor | 29.6 | $4.22 | $47 | $570 | $122 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 Pro | 29.8 | $4.25 | $48 | $574 | $122 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 84 kWh RWD | 30.0 | $4.28 | $48 | $578 | $121 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E Extended Range RWD | 30.7 | $4.38 | $49 | $591 | $120 |
| Mercedes-Benz CLA 250+ with EQ Technology | 31.0 | $4.42 | $50 | $597 | $120 |
| Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD | 31.1 | $4.43 | $50 | $599 | $120 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E Standard Range RWD | 31.4 | $4.48 | $50 | $604 | $119 |
| Cadillac Optiq RWD | 32.1 | $4.58 | $51 | $618 | $118 |
| Chevrolet Blazer EV FWD | 32.3 | $4.61 | $52 | $622 | $118 |
| Honda Prologue FWD | 32.5 | $4.63 | $52 | $626 | $117 |
| Genesis GV60 AWD | 33.6 | $4.79 | $54 | $647 | $116 |
| Nissan Ariya e-4ORCE 87 kWh | 36.6 | $5.22 | $59 | $705 | $111 |
| Cadillac Lyriq RWD | 36.8 | $5.25 | $59 | $708 | $111 |
| Acura ZDX RWD | 36.9 | $5.26 | $59 | $710 | $110 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 9 RWD | 37.0 | $5.28 | $59 | $712 | $110 |
| Porsche Taycan (rear-wheel drive) | 37.1 | $5.29 | $60 | $714 | $110 |
| Rivian R1S Dual Motor, Max pack | 39.9 | $5.69 | $64 | $768 | $106 |
| Kia EV9 99.8 kWh AWD | 40.0 | $5.70 | $64 | $770 | $105 |
| Tesla Cybertruck Long Range | 40.9 | $5.83 | $66 | $787 | $104 |
| Rivian R1T Dual Motor, Large pack | 42.9 | $6.12 | $69 | $826 | $101 |
| Ford F-150 Lightning Extended Range | 47.9 | $6.83 | $77 | $922 | $93 |
| Chevrolet Silverado EV Max Range | 49.5 | $7.06 | $79 | $953 | $90 |
| GMC Hummer EV Pickup 3X | 65.1 | $9.28 | $104 | $1,253 | $65 |
| A 27 mpg petrol car at $4.07 a gallon | — | $15.07 | $170 | $2,035 | — |
The kWh figures are EPA combined ratings measured at the wall, so charger and cable losses are already inside them. Working from battery size instead would have shaved about a tenth off every number above — small money at 14.26 cents, but the same tenth that decides the close rows. Four cars have no US rating and appear in kilometres on the national page.
Public fast charging in Kentucky
Kentucky has 114 public DC fast-charging sites with 460 plugs in the federal AFDC station locator (2026-09-16), for 20,700 battery-electric cars registered in the state at the end of 2025.
There are 45 registered EVs for every public fast-charging plug in Kentucky, a little below the 55 of the typical state — 17th of 51 states, fewest cars per plug first. Plug supply is roughly keeping pace with the cars here.
27% of the sites in Kentucky have a single plug and the state averages 4.0 plugs per site — enough that a busy stop usually has another bay, not enough to count on it off the interstate.
Tesla is the largest network in Kentucky with 46% of the plugs (210 of 460), the rest split among the other operators — enough competition that price and reliability are not one company decision.
Which plug fits in Kentucky
Neither plug has Kentucky to itself: 83% of sites carry CCS1 and 39% carry the Tesla NACS connector. Most drivers will meet both on a long route, which is the position the rest of the country is moving towards as manufacturers switch to NACS.
| Connector | Sites in Kentucky | Share of sites | Cars that use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCS1 (J1772 Combo) | 95 | 83% | Almost every non-Tesla EV sold in the US |
| NACS / J3400 (Tesla) | 45 | 39% | Teslas, and other cars with an adapter where the site allows it |
| CHAdeMO | 20 | 18% | Older Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi only |
20 sites keep a CHAdeMO plug (18%). Useful if you drive an older Leaf in Kentucky; irrelevant to everything else on this page, and the count falls every year as sites are refitted.
Public fast charging does not follow the residential rate. At a typical network price of $0.48 per kWh the median car costs $14.93 per 100 miles — 3.4 times what the same miles cost at home in Kentucky, and still under the $15.07 the petrol car spends on them. Anyone charging mostly in public in Kentucky should read the home column as optimistic by a factor of 3.4 — that multiple, not the state, is what decides whether the sums work. How long each car takes on a fast charger is on its charging page.
Kentucky against its neighbours
Tennessee is cheaper than Kentucky; Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri, Illinois are dearer. Same car in every row, so the columns are comparable: Kentucky is cheaper than 6 of the 7 states it touches.
| State | Cents / kWh | Rank | Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD / month | Fast plugs | EVs per plug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 14.07 | 5th | $49 | 1,024 | 54 |
| Kentucky | 14.26 | 8th | $50 | 460 | 45 |
| West Virginia | 15.45 | 20th | $54 | 217 | 23 |
| Missouri | 16.22 | 25th | $57 | 893 | 49 |
| Virginia | 17.22 | 30th | $60 | 1,826 | 74 |
| Indiana | 17.51 | 31st | $61 | 1,012 | 47 |
| Ohio | 19.19 | 33rd | $67 | 1,535 | 61 |
| Illinois | 19.89 | 36th | $70 | 2,891 | 57 |
How long the charge itself takes does not change with the state, only what it costs: the Kia EV6 charging time, Kia EV9 charging time and Volkswagen ID.4 charging time are 17, 22 and 28 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent wherever you plug in, and each of those pages runs the same cost arithmetic as this one at the national average rate rather than Kentucky’s.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to charge an electric car in Kentucky?
$4.43 per 100 miles at home, $50 a month over 1,125 miles, at Kentucky’s 14.26-cent rate. Across the database the answer runs from $37 for the Lucid Air Pure RWD to $104 for the GMC Hummer EV Pickup 3X — a narrow spread, because the rate is low.
Is it cheaper to charge an EV than to buy petrol in Kentucky?
Yes. At 14.26 cents per kWh the median car costs $50 a month against $170 of petrol for a 27 mpg car at $4.07 a gallon — $120 a month in favour of Kentucky, $1,436 a year.
How many fast chargers are there in Kentucky?
114 public DC fast-charging sites and 460 plugs in the AFDC locator as of 2026-09-16, for 20,700 registered EVs — 45 cars per plug. Level 2 chargers are not counted here; only DC fast.
Can a non-Tesla use a Tesla charger in Kentucky?
Where the site is open to other brands, yes, with the right adapter. 45 of the 114 fast-charging sites in Kentucky carry the NACS plug (39%) and 95 carry CCS1 (83%), so a CCS car still has the larger of the two networks to fall back on. The plug on each car is listed on its model page.
Which electric car is cheapest to charge in Kentucky?
The Lucid Air Pure RWD, at 23.1 kWh per 100 miles: $3.29 per 100 miles and $37 a month in Kentucky. Picking it over the GMC Hummer EV Pickup 3X is worth $67 a month here, which is as much as the Kentucky rate ever makes efficiency worth; the full efficiency order is the same in every state.
Sources for the Kentucky figures
Electricity price 14.26 cents/kWh: EIA Electric Power Monthly table 5.6.A, June 2026. Sites, plugs and connectors for Kentucky: AFDC station locator, public DC fast only, 2026-09-16. A site counts once per connector it carries, so those rows sum above the site total. Registered EVs in Kentucky: AFDC registration counts, 2025, battery-electric only. Energy per 100 miles: EPA combined ratings, credited on each car’s page. Mileage, petrol price and the public DC rate are the standing assumptions on the methodology page.