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Story leads

When a government agency or another public source releases new numbers for the states or big cities, these are the biggest changes: who rose most, who fell most and who is newly at the top. Each lead comes with its chart, source, a citation and questions to start reporting. Leads cover new numbers from the last 30 days and update themselves; check back each week.

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7 charts with new state or city numbers, newest first.

Energy · New numbers This week

Which states get the most electricity from wind and solar?

  • Biggest rise: District of Columbia (District of Columbia page)

    Up 8.4 percentage points, from 18.4% to 26.8%. Now the 16th highest of 51 (19th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in District of Columbia? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: Utah (Utah page)

    Down 2.4 percentage points, from 19.4% to 17%. Now the 20th highest of 51 (18th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Utah? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • New highest: Iowa (Iowa page)

    Iowa, at 60.7% (2nd before), passed South Dakota, now at 59.1%.

    To report: What sets Iowa apart, and what changed in South Dakota? Ask the people who track this figure in both places.

U.S. overall: 17.2%, the same as before.

In 2025 wind and solar made 60.7% of Iowa's electricity, 59.1% of South Dakota's and 51.9% of New Mexico's, against 17.2% across the US and 0.9% in Alabama. Solar counts only utility-scale plants, not rooftop panels, and the 2025 figures are preliminary.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Data Browser (net generation by state) · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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Energy · New numbers This week

Which states get the most electricity from nuclear power?

  • Biggest rise: Arkansas (Arkansas page)

    Up 0.7 percentage points, from 22.1% to 22.8%. Now the 14th highest of 51 (15th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Arkansas? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: Minnesota (Minnesota page)

    Down 0.8 percentage points, from 22.5% to 21.7%. Now the 15th highest of 51 (14th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Minnesota? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

U.S. overall: 17.7%, the same as before.

In 2025 nuclear power made 56.4% of New Hampshire's electricity, 54.2% of South Carolina's and 50.5% of Illinois's, against 17.7% across the US. Many states, and D.C., have no nuclear plant and generate none. The 2025 figures are preliminary.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Data Browser (net generation by state) · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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Energy · New numbers This week

Which states get the most electricity from natural gas?

  • Biggest rise: Minnesota (Minnesota page)

    Up 1.5 percentage points, from 19.3% to 20.8%. Now the 38th highest of 51 (the same rank as before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Minnesota? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: District of Columbia (District of Columbia page)

    Down 9.9 percentage points, from 56.5% to 46.6%. Now the 15th highest of 51 (9th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in District of Columbia? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

U.S. overall: 40.8%, down from 40.9%.

In 2025 natural gas made 87.5% of Rhode Island's electricity, followed by Delaware (85.3%) and Massachusetts (77.3%). Across the US it made 40.8%, and the smallest shares were in Vermont (0%) and Hawaii (0%). Each bar is gas's share of the electricity generated in that state; the 2025 figures are preliminary.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Data Browser (net generation by state) · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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Energy · New numbers This week

Which states pay the most for electricity?

  • Biggest rise: California (California page)

    Up 1.19 (3.8%), from 31.35 to 32.54. Now the 2nd highest of 51 (the same rank as before).

    To report: What's behind the change in California? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: South Carolina (South Carolina page)

    Down 0.16 (1.1%), from 15.12 to 14.96. Now the 31st highest of 51 (30th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in South Carolina? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

U.S. average: 17.3, up from 17.23.

In 2025 homes in Hawaii paid 40.6 cents per kilowatt-hour, 3.4 times the 11.8 cents in North Dakota. The US average was 17.3 cents; California and Massachusetts were next most expensive. Prices are the average residential price in each state and D.C.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Data Browser (retail sales) · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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Energy · New numbers This week

Which states get the most electricity from coal?

  • Biggest rise: Alaska (Alaska page)

    Up 1.8 percentage points, from 10.5% to 12.3%. Now the 25th highest of 51 (26th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Alaska? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: Indiana (Indiana page)

    Down 1.1 percentage points, from 46% to 44.9%. Now the 8th highest of 51 (7th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Indiana? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

U.S. overall: 16.6%, the same as before.

In 2025 coal made 86.9% of West Virginia's electricity, followed by Kentucky (66%) and Missouri (63.7%). Across the US it made 16.6%, and some states made none. Each bar is coal's share of the electricity generated in that state, which may differ from what its homes use; the 2025 figures are preliminary.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Data Browser (net generation by state) · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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College · New numbers

What does your college cost a family earning under $30,000?

  • Biggest rise: Oak Valley College, CA

    Up $8,000 (498.4%), from $1,605 to $9,605. Now the 1369th highest of 1713 (1691st before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Oak Valley College, CA? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: Goucher College, MD

    Down $10,056 (50.8%), from $19,803 to $9,747. Now the 1358th highest of 1713 (543rd before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Goucher College, MD? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

Search 1,713 colleges that mainly award bachelor's degrees. In the school year that ended in June 2025, students from families earning $30,000 or less paid an average net price of $6,061 a year after grants and scholarships at Ohio State and $2,542 at Harvard. The lowest was at Ner Israel Rabbinical College, MD, $0; where grants more than cover the full cost, the figure is below zero. It counts first-time, full-time undergraduates who received federal aid; at public colleges, only those paying in-state tuition.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Jun 30, 2025

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College · New numbers

What does your college cost after grants?

  • Biggest rise: Oak Valley College, CA

    Up $8,950 (524.6%), from $1,706 to $10,656. Now the 1555th highest of 1769 (1758th before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Oak Valley College, CA? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

  • Biggest drop: Northeastern University, MA

    Down $11,210 (38.6%), from $29,060 to $17,850. Now the 1043rd highest of 1769 (321st before).

    To report: What's behind the change in Northeastern University, MA? Ask the people who track this figure there, check the source's notes for revisions, and compare it with the U.S. and nearby places.

Search 1,769 colleges that mainly award bachelor's degrees. In the school year that ended in June 2025, the average net price, what a year cost after grants and scholarships, was $17,269 at Ohio State and $19,148 at Harvard. It counts first-time, full-time undergraduates who received federal aid; at public colleges, only those paying in-state tuition. Loans are not subtracted, because they have to be repaid. A separate chart shows what low-income families pay.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · License: Public domain (U.S. government work) · Data as of Jun 30, 2025

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Using these leads

  • A lead is a place to start, not a story: find out why the number changed before you report that it did.
  • Read the chart page's notes. Sources revise figures, and some are estimates with a margin of error; changes smaller than that margin are never listed here.
  • Ranks compare places on one measure. Say what is measured and when, using the chart's labels and data date.
  • Credit the original source and link to the chart on Chartly. Charts are free to embed, and the citations are ready to copy.

Every chart with new numbers, not only states and cities, is on new data this week. Need a number with a citation? See the statistics to cite.