Space heater running cost calculator: every US state
Cost per hour, per day and per month, worked out from your heater's wattage and your state's average residential electricity price.
Short answer
At the US average residential price for July 2026, 18.31 cents per kilowatthour, a 1,500-watt heater running at full power costs about 27 cents an hour. Eight hours a day for 30 days comes to $65.92. In Louisiana, the cheapest state in that month's figures, the same use costs $45.79; in Hawaii, the most expensive, $172.80.
Work out your own cost
Cost of a 1,500-watt heater in each state
The table assumes a heater drawing 1,500 watts the whole time it's on. That's an example figure, not a claim about any particular model. For another wattage, scale the costs (a 750-watt setting costs half as much) or use the calculator above.
| State | Price (¢/kWh) | Per hour | Per day | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16.40 | $0.25 | $1.97 | $59.04 |
| Alaska | 28.83 | $0.43 | $3.46 | $103.79 |
| Arizona | 15.38 | $0.23 | $1.85 | $55.37 |
| Arkansas | 14.33 | $0.21 | $1.72 | $51.59 |
| California | 33.61 | $0.50 | $4.03 | $121.00 |
| Colorado | 17.00 | $0.26 | $2.04 | $61.20 |
| Connecticut | 24.16 | $0.36 | $2.90 | $86.98 |
| Delaware | 18.48 | $0.28 | $2.22 | $66.53 |
| District of Columbia | 25.21 | $0.38 | $3.03 | $90.76 |
| Florida | 15.03 | $0.23 | $1.80 | $54.11 |
| Georgia | 16.27 | $0.24 | $1.95 | $58.57 |
| Hawaii | 48.00 | $0.72 | $5.76 | $172.80 |
| Idaho | 13.73 | $0.21 | $1.65 | $49.43 |
| Illinois | 19.22 | $0.29 | $2.31 | $69.19 |
| Indiana | 16.73 | $0.25 | $2.01 | $60.23 |
| Iowa | 15.99 | $0.24 | $1.92 | $57.56 |
| Kansas | 15.27 | $0.23 | $1.83 | $54.97 |
| Kentucky | 13.81 | $0.21 | $1.66 | $49.72 |
| Louisiana | 12.72 | $0.19 | $1.53 | $45.79 |
| Maine | 32.41 | $0.49 | $3.89 | $116.68 |
| Maryland | 21.41 | $0.32 | $2.57 | $77.08 |
| Massachusetts | 30.49 | $0.46 | $3.66 | $109.76 |
| Michigan | 23.05 | $0.35 | $2.77 | $82.98 |
| Minnesota | 17.45 | $0.26 | $2.09 | $62.82 |
| Mississippi | 14.54 | $0.22 | $1.74 | $52.34 |
| Missouri | 16.09 | $0.24 | $1.93 | $57.92 |
| Montana | 14.99 | $0.22 | $1.80 | $53.96 |
| Nebraska | 13.78 | $0.21 | $1.65 | $49.61 |
| Nevada | 12.77 | $0.19 | $1.53 | $45.97 |
| New Hampshire | 26.60 | $0.40 | $3.19 | $95.76 |
| New Jersey | 25.19 | $0.38 | $3.02 | $90.68 |
| New Mexico | 16.09 | $0.24 | $1.93 | $57.92 |
| New York | 29.90 | $0.45 | $3.59 | $107.64 |
| North Carolina | 15.16 | $0.23 | $1.82 | $54.58 |
| North Dakota | 13.41 | $0.20 | $1.61 | $48.28 |
| Ohio | 19.45 | $0.29 | $2.33 | $70.02 |
| Oklahoma | 14.35 | $0.22 | $1.72 | $51.66 |
| Oregon | 15.97 | $0.24 | $1.92 | $57.49 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.72 | $0.33 | $2.61 | $78.19 |
| Rhode Island | 28.29 | $0.42 | $3.39 | $101.84 |
| South Carolina | 15.47 | $0.23 | $1.86 | $55.69 |
| South Dakota | 15.37 | $0.23 | $1.84 | $55.33 |
| Tennessee | 13.71 | $0.21 | $1.65 | $49.36 |
| Texas | 15.88 | $0.24 | $1.91 | $57.17 |
| Utah | 13.12 | $0.20 | $1.57 | $47.23 |
| Vermont | 23.75 | $0.36 | $2.85 | $85.50 |
| Virginia | 17.55 | $0.26 | $2.11 | $63.18 |
| Washington | 14.71 | $0.22 | $1.77 | $52.96 |
| West Virginia | 15.78 | $0.24 | $1.89 | $56.81 |
| Wisconsin | 19.06 | $0.29 | $2.29 | $68.62 |
| Wyoming | 14.36 | $0.22 | $1.72 | $51.70 |
| US average | 18.31 | $0.27 | $2.20 | $65.92 |
How the calculation works
cost ($) = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × price (¢ per kWh) ÷ 100
Dividing watts by 1,000 gives kilowatts. Kilowatts multiplied by hours give kilowatthours (kWh), the unit on your electric bill. Multiply by the price per kWh and you have the cost. The “time heating” setting scales the hours down: at 50%, the heater draws power for half the time it's switched on.
Worked example at the US average: 1,500 W ÷ 1,000 = 1.5 kW. Eight hours a day uses 12 kWh. 12 kWh × 18.31 cents = 219.72 cents, or $2.20 a day. Thirty days uses 360 kWh, which costs $65.92. Costs are rounded to the cent only at the end.
What the state price is, and what it isn't
The prices come from the US Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, residential column. EIA works out its average revenue per kilowatthour “by dividing the total monthly revenue by the corresponding total monthly sales”. So each figure is an average for a state's whole residential sector, not the rate in any one contract.
- Your own price can be higher or lower. If your bill shows a price per kWh, type it into the calculator.
- These are July 2026 figures, the latest month EIA had published on October 1, 2026, and EIA marks them as preliminary estimates. EIA's next release is scheduled for October 23, 2026. We update the table when EIA publishes newer months.
- Prices move. The same table puts the US average at 18.31 cents in July 2026, against 17.45 cents in July 2025.
Same watts, same cost
Oil-filled radiators, ceramic fan heaters and infrared heaters work in different ways, but the electric meter counts only watts and hours. At full power, any 1,500-watt heater uses 1.5 kWh an hour. What changes the bill is the wattage you run the heater at and how long it actually draws power, so a lower setting or a thermostat that switches it off lowers the cost. The type of heater doesn't change the price of a kilowatthour.
Before you plug it in
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission's winter safety tips, published January 23, 2026, ask people to keep portable heaters at least three feet away from drapes, furniture, bedding and other combustible materials, and to turn heaters off when sleeping. The CPSC also says: “Plug electric space heaters directly into a wall outlet—never into an extension cord or power strip.”
The same sums for other appliances
The calculator works for anything with a wattage on its label. Set the hours to match how long you use it. For appliances that hold a set temperature, treat a 100% result as a ceiling rather than a typical figure. Some appliances are rated in other units, and have their own calculators: dehumidifiers (pints per day), air conditioners (Btu and CEER), refrigerators (kWh a year) and electric cars (kWh per 100 miles). There are also pages for electric blankets and air fryers against ovens.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State, July 2026 and 2025, residential column. Data for July 2026, released September 24, 2026; next release October 23, 2026. Read October 1, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Glossary: average revenue per kilowatthour. Read October 1, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Keep Warm and Safe This Winter: Tips for Using Generators, Furnaces and Space Heaters, release 26-217, January 23, 2026. Read October 1, 2026.
Changes: first published October 1, 2026, with EIA data for July 2026. Links to related calculators added October 1, 2026.