BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana is among the top 10 states with residents struggling to afford electricity bills as costs rise nationwide.
A LendingTree study analyzed U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data to rank states with the highest percentage of Americans who cut back on and reduced necessary spending to pay for energy bills.
Nationally, Americans spent an average of $185.59 on bills in August 2024, a 2.6% increase from $180.82 in August the previous year. Data shows that 23.4% of residents have been unable to pay part or all of their bill during the same period.
The study found that 28.5% of Louisiana residents can’t afford their utility bills with the average bill costing $190.70, an 8.7% difference from $208.90 in 2023. Some residents in the Pelican State, 41.7%, went without or reduced basic expenses to pay for bills.
Study: Louisiana in top US states with the highest percentage of income spent on utility bills
Other southern states identified in the study as having the highest rates of cutting back on necessary expenses to pay for bills were Mississippi and Alabama.