Ask how much electricity a Dallas home uses and you’ll get a single number back, usually somewhere around 1,000 kWh a month. The number is roughly right and almost useless, because the thing that drives a Dallas bill is not the average. It is the gap between February and August.
Average usage in Dallas–Fort Worth
Comparison sites that publish averages for Dallas put the typical home between about 900 and 1,200 kWh a month, depending on the data source and the year. Apartments run lower, often 500 to 700 kWh. Large houses, homes with pools, and anything with electric heat run well above 1,500. Texas homes use more electricity than the national average mostly because of air conditioning.
The summer swing
A typical Dallas–Fort Worth year is not flat. Our typical-home profile, built from a real Carrollton home’s year and scaled to a 1,000 kWh average, uses 450 kWh in January and 1,988 kWh in September: more than 4 times as much. June through September account for roughly half the year’s electricity.
That swing is why a plan’s advertised price, measured at a steady 1,000 kWh, says so little. A bill credit that needs 1,000 kWh pays out in the four summer months and vanishes for the other eight. See bill credit plans explained.
What a year costs, as of November 2026
On the plans we track, priced month by month on that seasonal shape with Oncor’s delivery charges included, the cheapest plan for each size of home works out to:
| Home | Usage | A year | Average month | All-in price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment or small home | 6,001 kWh | $717 | $60 | 12.0¢ |
| Typical home | 12,000 kWh | $1,445 | $120 | 12.0¢ |
| Large home | 23,999 kWh | $2,842 | $237 | 11.8¢ |
The average month hides the range too: on the typical home, the August bill is roughly three times the February one on any plan. Budget for the peak, not the average.
Why your bill is higher than the “average bill” you read about
- The plan. The same home can pay $1,445 or $3,588 a year on plans we track, before taxes. Most of the spread between “average” and your bill is plan choice, not usage.
- Holdover rates. A contract that expired onto a month-to-month rate can cost far more than any plan on the market. See when to switch.
- Taxes and fees not on the Electricity Facts Label add a little to every plan alike.
- The house. Insulation, the age of the air conditioner, a pool pump, and the thermostat setting move usage more than anything you plug in.
Lowering it, in order of effect
- Price your real 12 months on every plan and switch to the lowest total. Ten minutes, often worth $100 to $300 a year. WattaWatt does it from a bill upload.
- Never let a contract roll onto the holdover rate.
- Then the house: a thermostat two degrees higher in summer, clean filters, and shade on west windows do more than LED bulbs.
Want your own number instead of the typical one? Here is where to find your 12 months.