Georgia energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Georgia

Georgia plants pay 13.05 cents per kWh for industrial power as of Aug 2026, which puts the state 35.4% over the national average and 41 of 51 in the country, counting from the cheapest.

Current prices in Georgia

  • Industrial electricity: 13.05 cents per kWh (Aug 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Georgia typically pays: 13.81 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: $6.06 per Mcf (Aug 2026), 39.6% above the national average.
  • Just below Georgia on the price ladder: Illinois at 11.33, Maryland at 12.19, Vermont at 12.72 cents. Just above: Maine at 14.24, Connecticut at 16.18, New Jersey at 16.24 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about $5,220 in electricity at Georgia rates versus $3,856 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is $26,100 versus $19,280, and at 200 kW it is $104,400 versus $77,120.
  • Power costs here punish waste. In Georgia, load-shifting, waste heat recovery, and idle-time elimination pay back quicker than the national math suggests, and quotes for energy-heavy work should use the local rate, not a national default.

Cost to manufacture in Georgia

  • Georgia scores 104.7 on the MFG Calcs State Cost-to-Manufacture Index, where the U.S. is 100: the 30th lowest of 51 (Aug 2026).
  • Its labor factor (manufacturing wages) is 94.5 and its energy factor (industrial electricity) 135.4; the index weighs wages at 75% and electricity at 25% and leaves out taxes, land and incentives.

What factory labor pays in Georgia

  • Industrial production managers: $61.45/hr median in Georgia versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $48.12/hr median in Georgia versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $33.25/hr median in Georgia versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $29.39/hr median in Georgia versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $28.86/hr median in Georgia versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $25.29/hr median in Georgia versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).

Manufacturing jobs in Georgia

  • Georgia had 426,100 manufacturing jobs in Sep 2026, the 11th most of 51 (BLS State and Metro Area Employment, not seasonally adjusted).
  • That is up 0.2% from Sep 2025.

Manufacturing base in Georgia

  • Georgia has 7,874 manufacturing establishments employing about 409,333 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
  • Average pay per manufacturing employee is $62,730, 14% below the U.S. average of $73,202.
  • Largest sectors by establishment count: fabricated metal products (1,227), food manufacturing (766), printing and related support (708), chemical manufacturing (493), furniture and related products (467).

Manufacturing economy in Georgia

  • Manufacturing added $87.9B to Georgia's economy in 2025, 9.4% of the state's GDP, the 9th largest of the 50 states and DC (BEA).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, establishments and payroll from the Census Bureau and GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis; each refreshes automatically when the agency publishes, and this page archives every month and year it shows so the Georgia history keeps deepening.

Last reviewed 2026-11-13.