AC ON BLAST

Texans spend the 3rd lowest amount of money on energy, new report finds

Don't talk to us about the heat.

It doesn't have to be 100 degrees for Texans to lambast the singularly most-hated request that could ever be asked of them: to turn down their air conditioner. As it turns out, a new report commends Texas as the third least energy-expensive state in the nation.

According to the new study by personal finance website WalletHub, the average Texan's total energy consumption cost is about $379 a month. Breaking that number down, that means monthly electricity costs average out to about $153, then $68 for natural gas, and $158 for vehicle fuel. Home-heating oil consumption is another factor included in the report, which comes out to zero for the state.

Texas additionally has the fifth-lowest natural gas consumption per consumer, and the third-lowest gas prices in the nation. AAA says the state's average price is $3.13 per gallon, in contrast to the national average of $3.52.

WalletHub compared the average monthly energy bills for every state and the District of Columbia to determine the rankings of the most and least expensive energy costs. Data for the study was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and others.

The rest of the bottom five in the category for least energy-expensive states include Kansas (No. 47) and Nebraska (No. 48) with the same average energy cost of $384; New Mexico in No. 50 with residents spending $373 per month on energy; and residents in the District of Columbia (No. 51) spending the least in the nation at $274 a month.

To compare, Wyoming is the most energy-expensive state in the country, with residents' average total energy costs coming out to $844 a month. They spend $117 a month on electricity, $78 on natural gas, $287 on vehicle fuel, and $362 on home-heating oil consumption.

The top five most energy-expensive states in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Wyoming ($844)
No. 2 – North Dakota ($645)
No. 3 – Alaska ($613)
No. 4 – Connecticut ($593)
No. 5 – Massachusetts ($589)

Karen Clay, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, explained why energy costs are higher in some states, like Wyoming and North Dakota, than others.

"Energy costs reflect a combination of factors, including access to resources such as natural gas, coal, sun, and wind," Clay said. "The costs of moving and distributing energy, as well as state policies regarding energy efficiency and environmental impact, also contribute to varying energy costs among states."

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

texas reports Energy Use WalletHub

Top of the class

UT Austin ranks among best U.S. schools for entrepreneurship in 2025

UT Austin, University of Texas at Austin, top Texas schools, best public universities, best colleges

Photo by Alexander Williams on Unsplash

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The University of Texas at Austin has earned two top-10 spots on The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s lists of the best graduate and undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies for 2025.

UT Austin's McCombs School of Business ranks seventh in the graduate category, and UT ranks second in the undergraduate category.

The school is no stranger to the prestigious national lists. In the 2024 rankings, UT also appeared as No. 2 among undergraduate programs, and No. 6 in the ranking for the best graduate programs.

This year marks the fourth time that the school has landed in the top 5 on the undergraduate side, and the 12th time in 15 years that McCombs has made the top 10 among graduate programs in the annual ranking, UT notes in a news release.

The only other schools in Texas to make either top-10 list for 2025 were Rice University (No. 1 graduate school) and the University of Houston (No. 1 undergraduate program).

Rankings for The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur’s 2025 lists were based on a survey of administrators at nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, and Europe that offer entrepreneurship studies. Among the more than 40 factors used for the rankings were academic programs, faculty credentials, mentorship opportunities, and alumni entrepreneurship ventures.

"If the focus of the MBA program at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin were to be summed up in one word, it would be 'collaboration,'" reads the 2025 graduate schools report. "Students in more than 20 concentrations uniformly crow over its 'incredibly collaborative culture,' citing the 'supportive culture' as a top reason they ultimately picked the program. As a 'top 20 school,' the 'rigorous academic[s]' and 'focus on clean energy,' 'technology,' and 'entrepreneurship,' are other stand-out elements of the program."

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. Rice University
2. University of California-Los Angeles
3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
4. Washington University in St. Louis
5. Babson College
6. University of Washington
7. University of Texas at Austin
8. University of Virginia
9. Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands
10. University of South Florida

The top 10 schools on the list of 50 best undergraduate schools for entrepreneurship studies in 2025 are:

1. University of Houston
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. Babson College
4. University of Washington
5. Washington University in St. Louis
6. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
7. University of Maryland-College Park
8. Miami University of Ohio
9. Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico
10. Northeastern University

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The story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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