Table 1. Annual Electricity Consumption Percentiles by Household Income, 1997
(kilowatthours per household)

  5th percentile 10th percentile 25th percentile   median   75th percentile 90th percentile 95th percentile
All Households 2,287 3,167 5,056 8,370 13,485 19,866 24,436
Household
Income
 
Less than 10,000 Dollars 1,577 2,033 3,297 5,704 9,432 14,994 19,537
10,000 to 14,999 Dollars 1,778 2,250 3,798 6,313 10,249 15,780 20,878
15,000 to 19,999 Dollars 2,125 2,965 4,452 7,688 12,313 17,148 20,451
20,000 to 24,999 Dollars 2,324 3,311 4,823 8,065 12,706 18,881 23,032
25,000 to 34,999 Dollars 2,774 3,358 5,210 7,922 12,534 17,845 21,853
35,000 to 49,999 Dollars 2,916 3,843 5,569 9,166 13,770 19,943 24,532
50,000 to 74,999 Dollars 3,126 4,360 6,852 10,589 16,335 22,406 26,571
More than 75,000 Dollars 4,047 5,000 7,777 11,814 18,044 26,207 30,556
Graph of data

Notes: The data in this table are for households that used electricity.
The percentiles describe the distribution of household electricity consumption data; for example, 25% of households with incomes less than 10,000 dollars consumed less than 3,297 kilowatthours (kWh) and 75% consumed more than that amount.
Source: 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Return to: “Median Values and Percentiles for Household Energy Data”

Table 2. Mean Annual Electricity Consumption by Household Income, 1997
(kilowatthours per household)

  Electricity Consumption per Household
(kWh)
Relative Standard Error (percent) Standard Error (kWh) 95% confidence level lower bound (kWh) 95% confidence level upper bound (kWh)
All Households 10,219 1.4 430 9,939 10,499
Household Income
Less than 10,000 Dollars 7,372 4.8 354 6,678 8,065
10,000 to 14,999 Dollars 7,975 3.8 303 7,381 8,568
15,000 to 19,999 Dollars 9,031 3.4 307 8,429 9,633
20,000 to 24,999 Dollars 9,963 4.6 458 9,065 10,862
25,000 to 34,999 Dollars 9,652 2.3 222 9,217 10,087
35,000 to 49,999 Dollars 10,697 2.5 267 10,173 11,221
50,000 to 74,999 Dollars 12,265 2.8 343 11,592 12,938
More than 75,000 Dollars 13,988 2.8 392 13,220 14,755
Graph of data

Notes: The data in this table are for households that used electricity.
The standard error is a measure of sampling error and can be used to calculate a confidence range. For example, the estimate for electricity consumption for households with incomes less than 10,000 dollars is 7,372 kilowatthours (kWh) and the standard error is 354 kWh. The 95% confidence interval is calculated by multiplying 1.96 times the standard error, and the 95% confidence range is 6,678 kWh to 8,065 kWh.
Source: 1997 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Return to: “Median Values and Percentiles for Household Energy Data”