Which state makes the most hydro power?
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Which states make the most hydro power (electricity from moving water) in a year? Tap them most-to-least.
Tapping assigns 1→4 in order
I bet… Nevada — the Hoover Dam is huge!
Answer
The real order is…
Washington makes about 2.06× as much hydropower as #2 California — the Columbia River's giant dams win it.
📚 Background The rainy Pacific Northwest wins: Washington makes about 2× as much hydropower as #2 California. Giant dams on the Columbia River — including the huge Grand Coulee Dam — turn mountain snowmelt into electricity all year. (U.S. EIA, electricity data) (opens in a new tab)
🔍 Explore more: ⚡『The oil state that quietly went green』→ I bet… Nevada — the Hoover Dam is huge!
Compare
Hydropower generated (billion kWh, by state, 2024)
Highest: Washington (60.7 billion kWh); lowest shown here: Wyoming (1 billion kWh).
Note: net electricity from moving water — rivers and dams — in billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), 2024, U.S. EIA. Only the states that generate a meaningful amount of hydropower are shown.
Geography is destiny!
Recap
🏅 Today's discovery
🏅 Washington is the USA's #1!
🐕 States in Numbers
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📋 See the ranking table (top 33)
| Rank | State | Value |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Washington | 60.7 billion kWh |
| #2 | California | 29.5 billion kWh |
| #3 | New York | 27.9 billion kWh |
| #4 | Oregon | 26.9 billion kWh |
| #5 | Montana | 9.2 billion kWh |
| #5 | Idaho | 9.2 billion kWh |
| #7 | Tennessee | 8.9 billion kWh |
| #8 | Alabama | 8.4 billion kWh |
| #9 | Arizona | 5.3 billion kWh |
| #10 | North Carolina | 4.8 billion kWh |
| #11 | South Dakota | 4.6 billion kWh |
| #12 | Kentucky | 4.1 billion kWh |
| #13 | Arkansas | 3.1 billion kWh |
| #14 | Georgia | 2.9 billion kWh |
| #14 | Maine | 2.9 billion kWh |
| #16 | Pennsylvania | 2.7 billion kWh |
| #17 | South Carolina | 2.4 billion kWh |
| #18 | Wisconsin | 2.1 billion kWh |
| #18 | North Dakota | 2.1 billion kWh |
| #20 | Maryland | 1.8 billion kWh |
| #21 | Alaska | 1.7 billion kWh |
| #21 | Colorado | 1.7 billion kWh |
| #23 | Nevada | 1.6 billion kWh |
| #23 | Oklahoma | 1.6 billion kWh |
| #25 | New Hampshire | 1.4 billion kWh |
| #25 | West Virginia | 1.4 billion kWh |
| #27 | Vermont | 1.3 billion kWh |
| #27 | Michigan | 1.3 billion kWh |
| #27 | Virginia | 1.3 billion kWh |
| #30 | Nebraska | 1.2 billion kWh |
| #31 | Iowa | 1 billion kWh |
| #31 | Missouri | 1 billion kWh |
| #31 | Wyoming | 1 billion kWh |
Only the states that generate a meaningful amount of hydropower are shown.
Figures are published for 48 states; this table shows the top 33.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (2024)
Sources
Data as of: 2024
U.S. EIA: net generation from conventional hydro by state, 2024 (opens in a new tab) (2026-07-24) — Official published values (the committed raw file holds EIA's megawatt-hour value for every generating state; the display converts to billion kWh).
↳ On eia.gov/electricity/data/state, open 'Annual generation by state and energy source', filter YEAR 2024, TYPE OF PRODUCER 'Total Electric Power Industry', ENERGY SOURCE 'Hydroelectric Conventional'.