EV charging cost per mile

The cost of driving an EV is not the price on the charger; it is the price divided by how far the car goes. A cheap charger for a thirsty car can cost more per mile than an expensive one for an efficient car. Two numbers settle it: dollars per kWh and miles per kWh — and the lab below is the whole guide in one place.

Median public tariff

$0.35

Iowa state median

$0.28

Arkansas state median

$0.46

Typical cost per mile

$0.100

Work out your own

The car sets the efficiency, the post sets the price, and the year turns it into a number you can compare with anything else you spend on transport. Every modelled car's figure is the catalogue efficiency, so it is a fair comparison between cars rather than a promise for a particular route. The two presets are the directory's own medians: a J1772 post at $0.35 per kWh, a CCS1 post at $0.49. The all-station median of $0.35 matches the Level 2 figure because Level 2 posts outnumber fast ones in the directory.

The formula

To get miles per kWh from a car's consumption, invert it: a car using 15 kWh per 100 miles returns 100 ÷ 15 = 6.7 miles per kWh. A car using 20 kWh per 100 miles returns 5. The EPA range divided by usable battery capacity gives a similar figure, though the test cycle and the usable buffer change it.

How much does 100 miles cost?

The grid below is the formula run at a range of prices and efficiencies, so you can find your own corner of it without moving a slider. The three efficiency rows are real figures from the catalogue: a large van, a typical car, an efficient one.

What a year of driving costs

12,000 miles at the $0.35 median tariff, for three cars of different appetites:

Spread the three numbers over 12,000 miles and the gap between an efficient car and a large one is $545 a year. Driving the same car at ViaLynk's median ($0.30) instead of Blink's ($0.49) is worth $651 — so the car and the network are levers of about the same size.

Where is public charging cheapest?

The national median hides a wide spread. These are the five cheapest and five dearest state medians among states with at least ten priced stations. A state with a thin sample still has its own page but is not ranked here: its median comes off too few stations to compare with another state's, even when the number looks low.

Which EVs are cheapest per mile?

The five most efficient models still listed for the 2027 US model year, cheapest per mile first. The efficiency figure is the catalogue's WLTP number for the European trim, converted to miles per kWh — a fair comparison between cars, not an EPA figure; the US range is on each model page. The most efficient of them costs about $0.080 a mile at the median tariff.Cars that have left the US market are still on their own pages, but not ranked here. Every model in the directory carries its range, battery and efficiency.

What changes the number

• Efficiency. Speed, temperature, tyres, load and heating all move miles per kWh. A winter trip can use noticeably more energy than the same trip in spring.
• The price you pay. Home electricity, a public Level 2 site and a DC fast charger can be three different prices for the same kWh — the Level 2 vs DC fast guide has the medians for each.
• Fees. Session fees, idle fees, parking and membership discounts sit on top of the per-kWh figure and are not in the national median.
• Where you charge. The state tables are public tariffs; your home rate is a different market entirely.

Can you spot the cheaper mile?

Five pairs. Both cards carry the two numbers that matter, so the answer is a division — the trap is assuming the cheaper kilowatt-hour always wins.

The whole page in four lines

1. 1Cost per mile = price per kWh ÷ miles per kWh.
2. 2A cheap post on a thirsty car can beat a dear post on an efficient one — divide before you assume.
3. 3The public tariff is not your home rate; fees sit on top of both.
4. 4Twelve thousand miles turns a per-mile figure into the number that shows up on a bill.