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

What is different about Louisiana's numbers

Home electricity here is 14.1¢/kWh, 23.3% below the 18.4¢ U.S. average (EIA, 2026-05), and regular gas averages $3.46/gal, 10% below the national $3.85 (AAA). Louisiana also charges electric cars a $110/yr road-use fee on top of the $20 base registration — $550 across 5 years, folded into every EV figure on this page.

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 Louisiana lands $1,606 below its U.S.-average figure, while the average gas or hybrid car lands $1,806 below its own. Net effect: Louisiana widens the gap an EV has to close by about $200. Head-to-head that comes out as EVs taking 14 of 55 matchups at Louisiana 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, Louisiana is 7th cheapest for an electric car and 5th for a gas or hybrid one. Its residential rate has moved 11.6¢ → 14.4¢/kWh across the 24 months to 2026-04 (+24.1%); on a Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD that shift alone is about $620 more electricity over 5 years than the same car would have cost at the 2024-05 rate.

Across the 37 matchups where an electric car faces a gas or hybrid one, the median EV costs $13,810 more over 5 years than the gas or hybrid car it is matched against at Louisiana rates — against $13,751 more nationally. Louisiana widens it by about $59. The EV that comes closest here is the Rivian R1S Dual-Motor (Standard Pack) against the Cadillac Escalade, $15,188 ahead; the furthest behind is the Kia EV9 Light Long Range RWD (electric) against the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid LE FWD, $25,356 adrift.

Running cost, Louisiana prices: a Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD draws about $4.02 of electricity per 100 miles at home (charging loss included), against $11.55 of gas for a 30 mpg car. A gas car would need 86 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.

Louisiana 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 Louisiana

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

1. Chevrolet Bolt EUV (used)$43,750
2. Nissan Leaf SV+$44,279
3. Toyota bZ XLE (electric)$46,490
4. Hyundai Ioniq 5 SE$47,540
5. 2026 Fiat 500e$48,221
6. Chevrolet Equinox EV LT$48,712
7. Hyundai Kona Electric SEL (Long Range)$49,382
8. 2026 Volvo EX30 Single motor extended range$50,685

Louisiana cost by model

Louisiana is one of the six cheapest states in the country for 41 of the 80 models we price — Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD at $53,267, Hyundai Ioniq 6 SE at $52,765, BMW i4 eDrive35 at $64,368 and 38 more. Sorted by 5-year cost to own at Louisiana rates; the order is not the national order.

This is the Louisiana-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 Louisiana

None of them. All 55 head-to-head matchups come out the same way at Louisiana rates as at the U.S. average — local prices move the totals here by $1,606 on an average EV, but never enough to change a winner. See every matchup →

Car insurance in Louisiana

Drivers in Louisiana spent an average of $1,749 a year on auto insurance — 36.5% 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 Louisiana's

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

• Iowa →
• Arkansas →
• Tennessee →
• Missouri →
• Kentucky →
• Nebraska →
• Oklahoma →
• North Carolina →
• Nevada →
• Hawaii →

All 51 state hubs →