What an EV really costs in Arizona — any EV, any hybrid, any gas car

What is different about Arizona's numbers

Home electricity here is 15.2¢/kWh, 17.4% below the 18.4¢ U.S. average (EIA, 2026-05), and regular gas averages $4.04/gal, 5% above the national $3.85 (AAA). Arizona is one of 10 states charging no EV road-use fee, so an electric car here carries only the $8 base registration.

Run all 80 models that have their own cost page through the kernel at both rate sets and the average electric car's 5-year total in Arizona lands $1,900 below its U.S.-average figure, while the average gas or hybrid car lands $523 below its own. Net effect: Arizona narrows the gap an EV has to close by about $1,377. Head-to-head that comes out as EVs taking 14 of 55 matchups at Arizona rates against 14 nationally — we publish that whichever way it falls.

Ranked against the other 50 state rate sets by what the whole priced fleet costs to run, Arizona is 3rd cheapest for an electric car and 36th for a gas or hybrid one. Its residential rate has barely moved across the 24 months to 2026-04 (15.4¢ → 15.5¢/kWh), so an EV here costs about what it did two years ago.

Across the 37 matchups where an electric car faces a gas or hybrid one, the median EV costs $12,896 more over 5 years than the gas or hybrid car it is matched against at Arizona rates — against $13,751 more nationally. Arizona closes it by about $855. The EV that comes closest here is the Rivian R1S Dual-Motor (Standard Pack) against the Cadillac Escalade, $17,815 ahead; the furthest behind is the Kia EV9 Light Long Range RWD (electric) against the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid LE FWD, $24,214 adrift.

Running cost, Arizona prices: a Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD draws about $4.33 of electricity per 100 miles at home (charging loss included), against $13.46 of gas for a 30 mpg car. A gas car would need 93 mpg to match the EV's fuel bill here. That is the running-cost line only — depreciation and insurance are what usually decide the 5-year total, and they are why most of the matchups below still go to the gas or hybrid car.

Arizona EV incentive: none we can verify. Federal support ended too — the $7,500 new / $4,000 used credits expired Sept 30, 2025 — so nothing is discounted anywhere on this page.

Cheapest EVs to own in Arizona

Ranked by true 5-year cost of ownership at Arizona rates (12,000 mi/yr, all-in):

1. Chevrolet Bolt EUV (used)$43,408
2. Nissan Leaf SV+$43,956
3. Toyota bZ XLE (electric)$46,127
4. Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE$47,198
5. 2026 Fiat 500e$47,891
6. Chevrolet Equinox EV LT$48,379
7. Hyundai Kona Electric SEL (Long Range)$49,049
8. 2026 Volvo EX30 Single motor extended range$50,354

Arizona cost by model

Arizona is one of the six cheapest states in the country for 44 of the 80 models we price — Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD at $52,896, Tesla Model Y RWD at $55,671, Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD at $57,559 and 41 more. Sorted by 5-year cost to own at Arizona rates; the order is not the national order.

This is the Arizona-relevant slice of the fleet. The full 80-model table at U.S.-average rates is on every model — price vs 5-year cost.

Matchups that change hands in Arizona

None of them. All 55 head-to-head matchups come out the same way at Arizona rates as at the U.S. average — local prices move the totals here by $1,900 on an average EV, but never enough to change a winner. See every matchup →

Car insurance in Arizona

Drivers in Arizona spent an average of $1,344 a year on auto insurance — 4.9% above the $1,281 national average (NAIC, 2023, the latest published figure; a state average across all drivers, not a quote for any one car or driver, and premiums have moved since). Electric cars typically add about 42% on top of a comparable gas car, 18% for 2024-and-newer models (Insurify, June 2026, modeled at a standard driver profile).

Our 5-year totals use a labeled per-model estimate for each car, not this average — see how EV insurance moves the 5-year cost.

States whose numbers look like Arizona's

Closest matches on home electricity and pump price — the states where the same car lands nearest to its Arizona total — plus the cheapest and most expensive states in the country to run an EV:

• Wyoming →
• Montana →
• Florida →
• New Mexico →
• South Dakota →
• Colorado →
• West Virginia →
• Georgia →
• Nevada →
• Hawaii →

All 51 state hubs →