Source: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). 2024. “Median and Upper-Quartile Energy Burden for Low-Income Households by Metropolitan Region” Energy Burden Research. Available at: https://www.aceee.org/energy-burden
For many low-income households, the cost of keeping the lights on or heating their homes consumes a far larger share of income than it does for wealthier families. This imbalance, referred to as energy burden, creates difficult trade-offs between paying utility bills and affording other essentials like food, rent, or healthcare. ACEEE’s analysis highlights the significant disparity in energy burden—the percentage of household income spent on energy costs—faced by low-income households across United States metropolitan areas. Cities like Baltimore, Boston, Rochester and New York exhibit particularly high median energy burdens, with median levels around 10-14 percent and the upper quartile of households spending over 20 percent of their income on energy. This burden limits household stability, widens existing inequalities and leaves vulnerable families less able to adapt to rising energy costs. Energy affordability is not, however, a uniform challenge nationwide. Low-income households in cities such as Denver, Portland, and Seattle have considerably lower median energy burdens. Factors contributing to the differences in energy burden can include variations in housing stock efficiency, local climate conditions, and the structure of utility rates. Alleviating energy burden disparities faced by vulnerable populations in urban centers requires effective and targeted policies and programs.
