In a recent study done by LendingTree, the statistics firm found that 41.4% of households in Alabama say they have reduced or skipped necessities like food or medicine in order to afford their energy bill.

While gas prices have made headlines with high inflation and more and more commuters getting back on the road, consumers are not the only ones cutting costs, so they can pay at the pump. In fact, according to LendingTree, more than one-third (33.9%) of U.S. households say they reduced or skipped necessities like medicine or food to pay an energy bill within the past 12 months.

Many households make many efforts to reduce their household energy use to make ends meet, even if it meant risking their health. In fact, just over 1 in 5 (20.8%) households reported keeping their homes at temperatures they felt unsafe or unhealthy. Regardless of what they have done to keep costs down, though, 28.9% of households in Alabama were unable to pay at least part of one energy bill in the past 12 months.

Within the past 12 months, electricity prices have increased by 16.0% per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

“In the same period natural gas prices rose 33.6%. Unexpected gas shortages are largely to blame here, mainly due to international conflicts,” LendingTree shared

“According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas exports from Russia to Europe reached their lowest level in 40 years, prompting the U.S. to export large amounts of its already limited inventory to help fill in the gaps,” says LendingTree’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.

Despite rising prices, energy demand has remained high within the U.S. In fact, the EIA estimates that U.S. households consumed 1.7% more electricity this summer than last year’s. That’s because this year brought a particularly sweltering summer — the third hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

While this is a widespread problem, LendingTree took the initiative to take an even closer look at Southern states to find that Southerners are most likely to reduce or skip basic expenses to afford their energy bills, according to the analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.

The study reports that households in these states endured an especially hot summer. Texas saw the second-warmest summer on record for the state, while Mississippi boasted one of the top-10 warmest Junes on record. 2021 was no breeze, either. In fact, July 2021 was Earth’s warmest month on record, which certainly contributed to rises in energy expenses. West Virginia had its 11th warmest summer in 2021.

Texas tops the list, with 44.8% of households forgoing necessities for energy, to be closely followed by Mississippi (42.9%), West Virginia (41.7%), Oklahoma (41.6%), and Alabama (41.4%)

While the heat makes a big difference, LendingTree chief credit analyst Matt Schulz says it’s certainly not the only factor.

“There’s no question that income plays a big role, too,” he says. “Mississippi and West Virginia are among the lowest-income states in the country, which means less financial margin for error for people who live there. Inflation has shrunk that already-razor-thin margin for error to zero for many people. When that happens, payments get missed and expenses get slashed.”

On the other end of the list, LendingTree shared that 20.3% of households in the District of Columbia say they reduced or skipped expenses to pay their energy bill — the lowest of any state. D.C. is followed by Vermont (24.4%) and Delaware (24.6%).

Households in the District of Columbia and Delaware have income levels above the U.S. median, while the median in Vermont is just below.

The three states have moderate summer temperatures. In D.C., normal summer temperatures are 78.9 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, and the last two summers were only slightly warmer. Vermont and Delaware are similarly temperate. Although both had a few days of extreme heat over the past two summers, Vermont only broke high temperatures twice.

LendingTree also took the initiative to examine the racial differences nationwide among households that were struggling to pay parts of their bills and revealed that 40% of Black households report they couldn’t pay at least part of their energy bill in the past 12 months. They’re followed by Latino households at 35.9%. Meanwhile, 17.7% of white households and 12.1% of Asian households say similarly.

According to Schulz, income disparity plays the largest role here.

“It’s no secret that Black and Latino households typically have lower incomes than white or Asian households, and that creates major financial difficulties even in the best of times,” he says. “When inflation is rising, however, it makes things far worse and requires additional sacrifices to make ends meet.”

Data from the Federal Reserve reveals that on average, Black and Latino households earn about half as much as white households. Families of other ethnic and racial backgrounds — which include Asian families — have lower wealth than white families but higher wealth than Black and Latino families.

That income gap indirectly affects one’s likelihood of experiencing extreme heat, too. Densely packed cities experience a “surface urban heat island” effect. A 2021 study published in Nature Communications journal found that Black and Latino residents are far more likely to experience these higher temperatures than white families — which can also impact their energy costs.

So, this begs the question of what families of all backgrounds can do to combat the high energy costs. After a brutal summer, the fall brings some relief for many families looking to cut back on their energy bills. But that relief won’t last long. In fact, the EIA predicts energy prices will remain historically high through 2023, including oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity.

By LendingTree’s assessment, citizens will be shelling out more for heat this winter, too. The half of U.S. households that use natural gas to heat their homes should expect to spend 28% more than last year when the cold hits, according to the EIA. Those households that use heating oil should expect a 27% increase from last winter, while homes that primarily use electricity and propane may pay up to 10% and 5% more, respectively.

While there are not always direct solutions for such issues, there are things that can be done in the name of ‘symptom management.’ Households are encouraged to revisit budgets, build an emergency fund, or ‘think small’.

“If you haven’t tweaked your budget since last summer, you should,” Schulz said. “With prices rising everywhere and energy costs being no exception, failing to account for those rising prices can lead to some really unpleasant surprises when those peak winter energy bills come due.”

“You don’t have to adjust your thermostat much at all to reduce your bill,” Schulz says, “Even just lowering it by a degree or two during the winter can have a real impact.”

LendingTree researchers analyzed U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data to estimate the percentage of American households that said they reduced or skipped basic expenses to pay an energy bill in the past 12 months.

While also estimating the rate of households that reported being unable to pay at least part of their energy bill in the past year, researchers tracked these figures at the national and state levels, and the Household Pulse Survey was fielded from July 27 – August 8, 2022.