Credit Panel Analysis Finds Monthly Utility Bills Reach Record Highs, With 10 States Seeing Bills Jump Over 20% Under Trump; Average Overdue Utility Balance Climbs to Over $800, a 8.2% Increase

July 21, 2026 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new analysis of consumer credit data by The Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers reveals that the nation’s utility debt crisis has worsened during President Trump’s first year back in office—with energy bills climbing to record highs, overdue balances mounting, and financial strain now spreading up the income ladder into middle-income households. The crisis is fueled by poorly regulated utility monopolies, the explosion of AI data centers, and the ongoing war in Iran as well as other Trump administration policies that have driven Americans’ utility bills higher.

The report finds that the average monthly utility bill reached $280 in early 2026, a 12% jump since the end of 2024. Average costs rose by more than 20% in ten states, with Montana (52%) and New Hampshire (31%) topping the list. The average overdue utility balance has climbed to $817 nationwide, up nearly 40% over four years, with past-due balances totaling over $2,300 in Connecticut and $1,870 in Rhode Island. The fastest-growing overdue balances belong to middle-income households, as those with subprime (14%) and near-prime (13%) credit scores have overdue balances growing at twice the rate as deep subprime (7%) households, a sign that the energy debt crisis is climbing up into the middle class. 

“One year into Trump’s second term, energy bills have hit a record $280 a month, and the debt that comes with it is no longer confined to the lowest-income households—it’s climbing straight into the middle class,” said Angela Hanks, Chief of Policy Programs at The Century Foundation. “Unpaid utility bills are one of the first places you see a family’s budget start to break, since people pay their power bill before almost anything else. So when families who had been managing to keep up start to fall behind, that’s a flashing warning sign for our economy as a whole.”

“Across the country, families are being forced into debt just to keep their lights on—while utility monopolies and the tech giants behind the AI data center boom cut back-room deals that send everyone else’s bills soaring,” said Aissa Canchola Bañez, Policy Director for Protect Borrowers. “Instead of stepping in, the Trump administration is making it worse, gutting the very programs that help families keep up. In the richest country on earth, no one should have to choose between paying down debt and heating and cooling their home.”

Key Findings

  • Energy bills are rising three times faster than inflation under President Trump. The national average monthly utility bill reached $280 in early 2026, a 12% increase since the end of 2024.
  • Bills are spiking across the country, particularly in states that Trump won in the 2024 election. Typical monthly bills now top $280 in eighteen states, with average costs rising more than 20% in ten states. Montana leads the nation with average bills surging 52% since Trump returned to office, while increases topped 25% in Arkansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and reached 24% in North Dakota. States along the northeast also continue to see sizable increases.
  • Rising costs are pushing more households into debt. The national average overdue utility balance climbed to $817 in March 2026, an 8.2% rise since the end of 2024 and a 40% increase over the past four years.
  • Utility debt is climbing among middle-income families. Since December 2024, average overdue balances among households with subprime and near-prime credit scores grew 13.6% and 12.6%, respectively — roughly double the nearly 7% growth among the lowest-income (deep subprime) households. Meaning that, the fastest-growing balances now belong to working families who, until recently, had been keeping up with rising energy costs.
  • Nearly 1 in 20 households—roughly 14 million Americans—carry utility debt so severe it has been or soon will be sent to collections. Severe delinquency is concentrated in the South, Appalachia, and Midwest, reaching 8.9% in Texas (the highest in the nation), 7.9% in Kentucky, and 7.7% in North Carolina—nearly double the national average.
  • Black households and Americans with lower credit scores are hit hardest. Black households carry overdue utility debt at three times the rate of white households (11% vs. 3.6%). Among those behind, Black consumers owe the most on average ($901), followed by Asian consumers ($890), whose average balances have surged 78% in four years. Additionally, nearly 1 in 5 deep subprime households (18%) carries an overdue balance, compared to less than 1% of super-prime families.
  • The largest debts are concentrated along the Atlantic coast. Average overdue utility debt now exceeds $1,000 in eleven states. Connecticut leads the nation at over $2,300, followed by Rhode Island ($1,872), Massachusetts ($1,662), New York ($1,579), and Maine ($1,305).
  • The true scale is far bigger than credit data alone can capture. Only about 3% of active utility accounts appear in consumer credit data, excluding the vast majority of households with severe balances not yet in collections. Broader survey data from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association find that 1 in 6 U.S. households is behind on utility bills, owing a combined $25 billion.

The report notes that these price hikes are the direct result of Trump administration actions and are set to intensify, not ease. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is unwinding clean-energy investments projected to lower household bills, while the administration has cut LIHEAP funding from $6.1 billion in 2023 to $4 billion in 2026 and fired the program’s entire federal staff. The rapid buildout of AI data centers is loading enormous new demand onto the grid and utilities are passing those costs directly to households. And following a record winter heating season, the energy-price shocks from the war in Iran are adding financial pressure on families—trends this analysis does not yet fully capture. 

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About The Century Foundation

The Century Foundation (TCF) is a progressive, independent think tank that conducts research, develops solutions, and drives policy change to make people’s lives better. We pursue economic, racial, gender, and disability equity in education, health care, and work, and promote U.S. foreign policy that fosters international cooperation, peace, and security. TCF is based in New York, with an office in Washington, D.C. Follow the organization on Twitter at @TCFdotorg and learn more at www.tcf.org.

About Protect Borrowers

Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) is a nonprofit organization led by a team of experts, lawyers, and advocates fighting to build an economy where debt doesn’t limit opportunity. We investigate financial abuses, take predatory companies to court, and push for policies to protect working people from debt traps. We aim to deliver immediate relief to families while building power, driving systemic change, and fighting for racial and economic justice.

Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow us on social @BorrowerJustice.