EV vs Gas in Illinois: Which Is Cheaper in 2026?
A Illinois driver covering 11,900 miles a year pays about $939 to charge an EV versus $1,986 to fuel a 26 MPG petrol car. Electric saves about $1,048 a year — about 53% less.
- EV saves
- $1,048/yr
- on fuel alone
- Electric
- 7.9¢/mi
- $939/yr
- Gasoline
- 16.7¢/mi
- $1,986/yr
- Break-even gas
- $2.05
- per gallon
#35 of 51 states by annual fuel saving — worse than the national median of $1,157/yr. Best is Wyoming at $2,023/yr. See full rankings.
EV vs gas calculator — Illinois
Fuel cost only. Change anything to see the gap move.
EV is cheaper to fuel by
$1,048
per year · $5,238 over 5 years
Electric per year
$939
7.9¢ / mile
Gasoline per year
$1,986
16.7¢ / mile
The numbers behind it
| Average electricity rate | 19.06¢ / kWh |
|---|---|
| Average gas price | $4.34 / gal |
| Miles driven per year | 11,900 |
| EV efficiency assumed | 3.5 mi / kWh |
| Petrol car assumed | 26 MPG |
| Electricity needed | 3,778 kWh |
| Gasoline needed | 458 gal |
| EV fuel cost (80% home) | $939 |
| EV fuel cost (100% home) | $720 |
| Gas fuel cost | $1,986 |
| Cost per mile — electric | 7.9¢ |
| Cost per mile — gas | 16.7¢ |
| Annual difference | $1,048 |
| 5-year difference | $5,238 |
| Break-even gas price | $2.05 / gal |
Home charging is the whole ballgame
In Illinois a public fast charge costs roughly 2.5× the home rate. Charging entirely at home costs $720 a year here; leaning on public chargers for a fifth of your miles pushes that to $939. If you cannot charge where you park, the running-cost case weakens sharply — and in cheap-gas, expensive-electricity states it can disappear entirely.
Common questions
Is an EV cheaper than gas in Illinois?
On fuel alone, yes. At 19.06¢ per kWh and $4.34 a gallon, 11,900 miles costs about $939 in electricity versus $1,986 in gas — a difference of $1,048 a year, assuming 80% home charging.
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home in Illinois?
A full year of driving needs roughly 3,778 kWh from the wall. Charged entirely at home at 19.06¢, that is about $720 a year, or 6.1¢ per mile. Note you pay for about 10% more electricity than reaches the battery.
Does public fast charging cancel out the savings?
It can. Public DC fast charging runs around $0.48 per kWh — roughly 2.5× the home rate in Illinois. Charging entirely at home costs $720 a year here; at 80% home charging it rises to $939. Without home charging, an EV can genuinely cost more to fuel than a petrol car.
At what gas price do the two break even in Illinois?
About $2.05 a gallon. Below that, a 26 MPG petrol car is cheaper to fuel; above it, the EV pulls ahead. Illinois currently averages roughly $4.34.
Does this include the cost of buying the car?
No. This is fuel cost only. Purchase price, depreciation, insurance, maintenance and any tax credits are excluded — and they often matter more than fuel. Use this to size the running-cost gap, then weigh it against the price difference between the two cars.
How we calculate this
We charge you for electricity drawn from the wall, not delivered to the battery — about 10% is lost as heat, which most calculators quietly ignore. We also blend home and public charging rather than assuming every kWh comes from a cheap home tariff.
Fuel only. Purchase price, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, registration fees (several states levy an EV surcharge in place of fuel tax) and tax credits are all excluded.
Data vintage: Electricity: EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.B (residential, May 2026 YTD). Solar resource: PVGIS v5.3 (EU JRC), ERA5 2005-2023. Gasoline: AAA state averages. Natural gas: EIA residential by state. Heating degree days: NOAA CPC population-weighted normals. Residential consumption: EIA Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price Table 5.A, average monthly kWh per residential customer, 2024. Vehicle miles: FHWA Highway Statistics 2023. Retrieved 2026-08-03/04 and 2026-08-21. Install costs, net-metering status, time-of-use spreads and outage hours remain estimates.
How Illinois compares
| # | State | Annual fuel saving |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | $2,023/yr |
| 2 | Montana | $1,561/yr |
| 3 | New Mexico | $1,551/yr |
| 4 | Missouri | $1,548/yr |
| 5 | North Dakota | $1,504/yr |
| 6 | Utah | $1,495/yr |
| 7 | Idaho | $1,459/yr |
| 8 | Nevada | $1,457/yr |
| 9 | Mississippi | $1,398/yr |
| 10 | Oklahoma | $1,376/yr |
Computed from the same model as this page. Full national findings · how this is calculated · data sources