What Is a Normal Electric Bill in California?

The question “is my bill normal?” is genuinely hard to answer without context, because California electricity costs vary more than people expect: by utility, by climate zone, by whether you have gas service, and by season. A $280 PG&E bill in August might be completely normal for a 2,000 sq ft Sacramento home with central AC. The same $280 in February for a small apartment in San Jose is a signal that something is wrong.

Here’s what the numbers actually look like.

Average Bills by Utility

The three major California investor-owned utilities have meaningfully different rate structures:

Utility	Average Monthly Bill (Gas + Electric Home)	Average Monthly Bill (All-Electric Home)
PG&E	$130–$200	$290–$400
SCE	$110–$175	$260–$360
SDG&E	$160–$240	$340–$480
SMUD (Sacramento)	$80–$140	$190–$270
LADWP (LA city)	$70–$120	$160–$240

SDG&E is an outlier. San Diego has the highest residential electricity rates in the continental US, period. A bill that would be embarrassingly high in Phoenix is normal in San Diego. If you’re on SDG&E and paying $400/month in summer, that is unfortunately within the expected range for a mid-sized home. You can compare the exact per-kWh prices behind these averages in the US electricity rate database, and see what your biggest appliances cost in the appliance running-cost calculator.

The “Gas + Electric” column is for homes with a gas furnace, water heater, and range. The electricity bill is relatively low because those major loads run on gas. All-electric homes, increasingly common as heat pump adoption grows, use 2-3x more electricity.

Average Bills by Home Size

Home Size	Mild Climate (Bay Area, Coastal LA)	Hot Interior (Sacramento, Fresno, Inland Empire)
Studio / 1BR apartment	$60–$110/mo	$90–$160/mo
2BR apartment / small house	$100–$170/mo	$150–$250/mo
3BR house, 1,500–2,000 sq ft	$160–$280/mo	$250–$420/mo
4BR+ house, 2,500+ sq ft	$260–$420/mo	$380–$650/mo

These assume gas service for heating and cooking. EV charging adds 30–70 kWh/week (roughly $30–$110/month depending on utility and rate plan). A home battery and solar will reduce these numbers substantially after payback.

Seasonal Variation Is Larger Than People Expect

California households can easily see a 3–4× difference between their lowest and highest monthly bills during the year. Central Valley homes with gas heat and central AC are the extreme case:

• November–February: $60–$120 (gas heats, mild days need no cooling)
• June–September: $300–$600+ (daily AC runs for 6–10 hours in 100°F+ heat)

Coastal California (Bay Area, San Diego, coastal LA) has a more compressed range because the climate is milder, but summer bills still run 40–80% above winter.

This matters for benchmarking: never compare your August bill to your March bill and conclude something is broken. Compare August to the previous August.

When a Bill Is Worth Investigating

These are the situations where I’d look more closely:

• A 3BR+ home with gas service paying $250+/month in winter: gas handles the big loads, and $250 in cold months suggests an inefficient HVAC, an appliance failure, or a wrong rate plan
• Any bill that’s 40% higher than the same month last year with no obvious explanation (new EV, more time at home, added appliance)
• Consistent usage above 1,000 kWh/month for a gas-service apartment
• SDG&E customers above $400/month year-round. At that level, the rate plan choice and a potential solar install become urgent financial decisions

The One Number That Matters More Than the Dollar Amount

Your bill in dollars is a function of two things: how much electricity you used, and how much each kWh cost. Both can be the problem.

If your kWh usage looks reasonable but your dollar amount is high, you’re probably on the wrong rate plan, paying peak rates for usage that could be off-peak, or paying Tier 2 tiered rates that a TOU plan would price more cheaply.