Energy affordability is measured in several ways: the share of income spent on energy, the ability to keep a home warm or cool, total expenditure, and access to efficiency support. The figures below distinguish U.S. household estimates, EU-SILC survey responses, economy-wide energy spending, and modeled cooling demand.
Key Energy Affordability Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2022, U.S. households spent an average 5.6% of income on combined home and transportation energy.
- In 2022, low-income U.S. households spent an average 17.8% of income on energy alone.
- In 2022, about one in four U.S. households had a high combined energy burden above 12% of income.
- In 2022, about three in four low-income U.S. households had a high combined energy burden above 12% of income.
- In the DOE LEAD data, the national average housing energy burden for low-income U.S. households was 6.7% of gross income.
- In 2023, 10.6% of the EU population could not afford to keep their home adequately warm.
- In 2023, Spain and Portugal each recorded a 20.8% share unable to keep homes adequately warm.
- In 2023, Finland recorded a 2.6% share unable to keep homes adequately warm.
- Between 2022 and 2023, the share unable to keep homes adequately warm increased in 19 EU countries.
- In 2022, U.S. inflation-adjusted total energy expenditures exceeded $1.7 trillion.
- In 2022, U.S. inflation-adjusted energy expenditures were about $5,200 per person.
- In 2022, electricity represented 28% of U.S. total end-use energy expenditures.
- During summer 2022, 26% of EU households could not keep their homes comfortably cool.
- During summer 2022, 34.8% of EU households in the lowest income quintile could not keep homes comfortably cool.
- In 2024, EU residential cooling demand was estimated at around 140 TWh.
- In 2024, about 31 TWh of EU residential cooling demand remained unmet in a model estimate.
- The U.S. Weatherization Assistance Program serves approximately 35,000 homes per year with DOE funds.
- Eligible U.S. homeowners can receive up to $3,200 annually through federal energy-efficiency tax credits.
Contents
- Household energy burden statistics and income shares
- Low-income and demographic energy affordability data
- European heating affordability statistics
- Energy prices, bills and expenditure trends
- Cooling affordability and year-round energy poverty
- Energy assistance, efficiency and affordability outcomes
Household Energy Burden Statistics and Income Shares
Energy burden expresses energy spending as a share of income, but the definition matters. DOE LEAD uses housing energy and defines a high burden as 6% or more of gross household income, while ACEEE’s severe threshold is above 10% and its high combined threshold is above 12%.
| Measure | Population and period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Combined home and transportation energy | U.S. households, 2022 | 5.6% of income |
| Energy alone | U.S. low-income households, 2022 | 17.8% of income |
| Housing energy | U.S. low-income households, ACS 2018–2022 average calibrated to 2022 utility data | 6.7% of gross income |
| High combined burden | U.S. households, 2022 | About one in four |
| High combined burden | U.S. low-income households, 2022 | About three in four |
The ACEEE combined measure includes home energy and transportation fuel. In 2022, transportation fuel made up more than half of average U.S. combined energy spending, so the 5.6% and 17.8% figures should not be compared with a housing-only measure as though they used identical boundaries. ACEEE, Combined Energy Burdens: Estimating Total Home and Transportation Energy Burdens
DOE LEAD reports that energy burden can exceed 30% in some U.S. locations and income groups. That is a selected-location estimate rather than a national average, and LEAD’s five-year averages are not intended to show year-to-year changes. DOE, Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool Factsheet
Low-Income and Demographic Energy Affordability Data
The distribution of burden is uneven across income, housing type, race and geography. ACEEE’s 2022 combined-burden analysis found that low-income households’ 17.8% energy share was almost four times the 5.6% national average, with the report noting that the component measures use differently defined income groups.
Earlier national burden estimates cited in ACEEE’s 2024 update provide a separate reference point for 2017. More than 25% of U.S. households, or 30.6 million households, experienced a high energy burden; about 50% of those high-burden households, or 15.9 million, had a severe burden.
Among low-income U.S. households in that cited 2017 analysis, 67%, or 25.8 million households, experienced a high burden. Among low-income households with a high burden, 60%, or 15.4 million, had a severe burden above 10%.
Other reported comparisons include:
- Black U.S. households had an average combined energy share of 6% of income in 2022, while Hispanic households had an average share of 7.9%.
- Rural U.S. households had an average combined energy burden nearly 50% higher than urban households in 2022; the report does not establish causality.
- In the 2017 analysis cited by ACEEE, the median energy burden of Hispanic households was 20% higher than that of white non-Hispanic households, and the median burden of Black households was 43% higher.
- The median burden of low-income multifamily households was 2.3 times that of other multifamily households in the cited 2017 comparison.
These results describe different periods and measures. The 2022 figures include combined home and transportation energy, while the earlier figures are cited national burden estimates and should not be treated as a continuous annual series. ACEEE, Combined Energy Burdens
European Heating Affordability Statistics
Eurostat’s EU-SILC indicator asks whether people can afford to keep their homes adequately warm. It is self-reported, so it captures perceived affordability and adequacy rather than heating intensity, duration or measured indoor temperature.
The EU share unable to keep homes adequately warm was 6.9% in 2021, 9.3% in 2022, and 10.6% in 2023. The share increased in 19 EU countries between 2022 and 2023.
| Country or region | 2023 unable to keep home adequately warm |
|---|---|
| European Union | 10.6% |
| Luxembourg | 2.1% |
| Finland | 2.6% |
| Slovenia | 3.6% |
| Austria | 3.9% |
| Estonia | 4.1% |
| Greece | 19.2% |
| Lithuania | 20.0% |
| Bulgaria | 20.7% |
| Spain | 20.8% |
| Portugal | 20.8% |
Between 2022 and 2023, the inability-to-heat share rose by 3.7 percentage points in Spain, 3.3 percentage points in Portugal and 3.2 percentage points in Czechia. Eurostat, 10.6% of EU population struggled to keep homes warm; Eurostat, Key figures on Living conditions in Europe – 2024 edition
Energy Prices, Bills and Expenditure Trends
U.S. Energy Information Administration expenditure data cover all end users, not household-only affordability. Inflation-adjusted total U.S. energy expenditures exceeded $1.7 trillion in 2022, increasing 22% from 2021; the measure includes residential, commercial, industrial and transportation end users.
| U.S. measure | 2022 result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Energy expenditures per capita | About $5,200 | All end-use energy |
| Electricity expenditures | $482 billion | End users; excludes primary fuels used by power sector |
| Natural-gas expenditures | $179 billion | End users; excludes gas used for electricity generation |
| Energy expenditures as share of nominal GDP | 6.7% | Economy-wide |
Per-capita spending ranged from about $13,100 in Alaska and $11,200 in Wyoming to about $4,100 in New York, $4,000 in Maryland and Florida, and $3,900 in the District of Columbia. Electricity represented 28% of U.S. total end-use energy expenditures in 2022, while end-use natural-gas expenditures increased 26% from 2021 after inflation adjustment.
The economy-wide energy-expenditure share was 6.7% of nominal GDP in 2022, compared with 5.6% in 2021. This is an end-use expenditure ratio, not a household affordability threshold. EIA, U.S. energy spending increased by more than 20% in 2022
Cooling Affordability and Year-Round Energy Poverty
Affordability challenges extend beyond winter heating. During summer 2022, 26% of EU households reported that they could not keep their homes comfortably cool; the EU-SILC data were collected in 2023 and are self-reported.
Income differences were substantial: 34.8% of households in the lowest income quintile could not keep homes comfortably cool, compared with 17.9% in the highest income quintile. These are survey observations, not direct measurements of electricity use or indoor temperature.
Climate and demand indicators show why cooling is increasingly relevant. EU cooling degree days increased from around 38 in 1979 to 117 in 2024, while a JRC estimate put EU residential cooling demand at around 140 TWh in 2024 and modeled unmet demand at about 31 TWh.
The cooling-demand figures are estimates and the unmet-demand figure is modeled rather than a meter reading. European Energy Poverty Advisory Hub, Heatwaves and summer energy poverty: highlights from the 25th EPAH Lunch Talk
Energy Assistance, Efficiency and Affordability Outcomes
Efficiency programs and financial incentives address affordability through lower energy needs or reduced upgrade costs. DOE estimates that its Weatherization Assistance Program serves approximately 35,000 homes per year with DOE funds.
Federal energy-efficiency tax credits can provide eligible U.S. homeowners up to $3,200 annually for qualifying upgrades through 2032. The amount is a maximum statutory credit, so eligibility and actual claims vary.
The IEA cites research from a number of advanced economies finding that each USD 1 spent on building improvements can generate up to USD 2.5 in societal health-related savings. This is an upper-end research finding, not a guaranteed return for every project.
The IEA also cites WHO reporting that exposure of vulnerable populations to dangerous heat levels increased fourfold over approximately 2005–2025. That is a global heat-exposure estimate rather than a direct household affordability measure, but it adds a health context to heating and cooling access.
DOE, Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool Factsheet; IEA, Household Energy Affordability – Executive summary