How Much Does It Cost to Power a Kitchen in Each State?

The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home. It plays a vital role in fueling our daily lives. Households come together in the kitchen to cook, eat, entertain, and nowadays even work and study. The average adult spends over 400 hours a year in the kitchen. Like a heart, we all only have one kitchen, and it is constantly functioning for us. But it can be a costly part of the home. 

With tariffs and green energy rollbacks pushing household electricity bills up by 10% in recent months, it’s worth taking a moment to see which kitchen appliances are costing us the most money to use. In this article we break down the average operating cost of common kitchen appliances and highlight which states have the highest and lowest costs for running a kitchen.

The True Cost of Running a Kitchen in Every State

Top 10 Most Expensive States to Run a Kitchen

Ever wonder how much it really costs to keep your kitchen running? We did the math. In the map above we can see how much it costs on average to run a kitchen in each state annually, with colors highlighting the cheapest to the most expensive. To create the map we considered the average amount of time and the subsequent amount of electricity used for the following appliances: fridge, dishwasher, microwave oven, coffee maker, deep fryer, slow cooker, toaster, oven, stove top, and range hood. 

We can see that Hawaii is the state where it is the most expensive to run a kitchen. Homeowners in Hawaii will spend an average of $1,600 a year on the aforementioned appliances over 12 months. This is notably more expensive than other states. For example, the next most expensive are California ($1,366), Connecticut ($1,234), and Massachusetts ($1,167). 

The cost to run a kitchen reflects the cost of electricity in each state, meaning that if you live in an area where electricity prices are high it might be worth taking a look below to see where most of that money is going. Discovering which appliances cost the most to run can help you make decisions on how to adjust your habits or change the appliances themselves to more energy-efficient versions in order to bring costs down. 

Top 10 Cheapest States to Run a Kitchen

At the very bottom of the scale is Idaho, where households spend an average of just $463 per year to power kitchen appliances. This is a huge difference compared to Hawaii’s $1,600 annual cost. Other states with low kitchen energy expenses include Montana ($503), Oklahoma ($505), and Missouri ($506).

The lower costs are mainly driven by cheaper electricity rates in these regions. For homeowners in these states, running large appliances like ovens or fridges has a much smaller impact on the household budget compared to states with higher energy prices. Still, even in low-cost states, knowing which appliances consume the most electricity can help households make smarter, more energy-efficient choices and keep bills manageable in the long term.

How Much Are Kitchen Appliances Adding to Your Electricity Bill?

The image above shows the average annual cost to run common household appliances in the U.S. 

The Most Expensive Electricity Hogs in Your Kitchen

1. Fridge

On average, it costs $255.06 per year to run a fridge. It’s no surprise that the fridge is the biggest consumer of electricity in the kitchen as it needs to be running permanently 365 days a year. Not only that, it is in fact one of the top consumers of energy in the whole home, averaging 4.4% of the total energy consumption. If you have an old fridge, one way to save on costs in the long term is by upgrading to an Energy Star-rated model. Older fridges use around 2,000-3,000 kWh of electricity and can cost you more than $300 annually. The upfront average cost to install a new fridge is between $1,000 and $3,000.

Energy-saving hacks 

• Keep your fridge at the right temperature, around 37°F for the refrigerator and 0°F for the freezer. 

• Clean the coils twice a year to improve efficiency, and avoid leaving the door open longer than necessary. 

• Position it away from heat sources like ovens or direct sunlight.

Upgrade or keep?

If your fridge is over 10-15 years old, upgrading to an Energy Star model could cut your energy use by 35%. If it’s newer and running well, keep it, but adopt better usage habits to lower costs.

2. Electric stove top

Significantly cheaper than a fridge, electric stove stop are still the second most expensive appliance to run in the kitchen. They cost an average of $125.78 a year to use. Playing a big part in cooking meals, most homeowners use the stove top 5 times a week, for around 2 hours each day. 

Energy-saving hacks 

• Use the right size burner for your pots. A small pan placed on an oversized burner can waste more than 40% of the generated heat. 

• Consider small appliances like slow cookers, toaster ovens, or air fryers for everyday meals; they often use less power than a stove top.

Upgrade or keep?

If your current stove top works fine, keep it, but improve your cooking efficiency. If you’re planning a kitchen upgrade, consider induction stove tops, which heat up faster and are up to 10% more efficient than standard electric models.

3. Dishwasher

Dishwashers are the third most costly appliance to run in the kitchen. The average yearly cost to run a dishwasher is roughly $117.40. Like stove tops, this is based on the fact that most homeowners run their dishwasher 5 times a week. People often debate whether it is more energy efficient to wash dishes by hand or with a dishwasher. It turns out that an Energy Star rated dishwasher will consume less water than washing by hand. So while you may be paying out on electricity, you’ll be saving on water. The average cost to install a dishwasher is between $400 and $1,500.

Energy-saving hacks 

• Only run the dishwasher when it’s full.

• Use the eco or air-dry setting instead of heated dry. 

• Scrape food instead of rinsing to save water and energy.

Upgrade or keep?

If your dishwasher is over 10 years old, an Energy Star-rated replacement will use up to 12% less energy and 30% less water. If yours is still fairly new, keep it and focus on smart usage.

4. Oven

Ovens are another major contributor to kitchen energy costs, with an average yearly spend of about $96.60. Most households use their oven around four times per week, or roughly 192 days a year. If you’re wondering how many kWh an oven uses, it averages about 3 kWh per hour of operation, which works out to roughly 576 kWh per year based on typical household use. Choosing a more energy-efficient model can help cut down on electricity use and monthly bills over time. Installing an oven typically costs between $750 and $3,000.

Energy-saving hacks 

• Avoid preheating the oven unless absolutely necessary, and don’t peek inside too often; every time you open the door, the temperature can drop by 25°F. 

• Batch cooking meals saves energy by making the most of one heating cycle.

Upgrade or keep?

If you already own a mid-range or newer oven, keep it but adopt energy-smart habits. If you’re remodeling, consider a convection oven, which cooks food faster and uses about 20% less energy than a conventional one.

The Minor Contributors to Your Electricity Bill

1. Deep fryer

Fried food is a favorite for many, and there’s a good reason for it. Other than being an easier way to prepare meals, a deep fryer is cheap to run. It costs a mere $2.88 on average a year to run. Most Americans will use one for 15 minutes a day, 92 days of the year. This is a huge difference in cost when compared to stove tops and ovens.

2. Toaster

A toaster is not a main appliance for preparing meals, and therefore it comes as no surprise that its yearly costs are low. The quick method of preparing toast means most households only use it for an average of 6 minutes a day. While wattage is relatively high at around 1,200 Watts, the short time usage keeps costs down. If you’re wondering how much electricity a toaster uses per hour, it consumes about 1.2 kWh per hour, but since most households use it only 0.1 hours (6 minutes) per day, the annual energy consumption is just 43.8 kWh.

3. Range hood

Range hoods are used in conjunction with the stove top to keep the air clean of steam, smoke, and heavy odors while cooking. While it might be necessary to keep it running for a few minutes after, the range hood should only be used for around 1-2 hours. The range hood uses significantly less electricity than a stove top, however, the annual average cost to run one is $9.22.

4. Microwave

A microwave oven is a convenient kitchen appliance that saves time when heating or cooking food. The microwave energy use is pretty low, around 0.8 kWh per hour, resulting in an annual energy consumption of around 73 kWh. At current electricity rates, this adds up to roughly $12.75 per year, making it an energy-efficient choice for everyday meal prep.

5. Slow cooker

A slow cooker is perfect for preparing hearty meals with minimal effort, and it’s surprisingly energy-efficient. Although it takes a long time for meal preparation (around 8 hours), slow cooker energy use is low, consuming 0.15 kWh per hour and totaling about 115.2 kWh per year. Most people use it only once or twice a week, which translates to roughly $20.13 annually, making it a cost-effective option.

6. Coffee maker

A coffee maker is a staple for many households, delivering a fresh cup each morning with minimal fuss. The appliance consumes about 1.35 kWh per hour, and at current electricity rates, this adds up to around $28.41 per year if we consider a typical household use of 20 minutes per day.

Methodology

To calculate the cost of running a kitchen, we estimated the annual energy usage of the most common household appliances: fridge, electric stove top, dishwasher, oven, coffee maker, slow cooker, microwave oven, range hood, toaster, and deep fryer.

For each appliance, we used typical wattage values, average daily usage in hours, and the number of days per year the appliance is in use. This gave us an estimated annual energy consumption for every appliance.

We then multiplied the annual energy usage by the U.S. average residential electricity price, published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This gave us the average annual cost of running each appliance.

To capture state-by-state differences, we repeated the calculation using the residential electricity price for each state, based on the latest EIA data available as of May 2025. Adding up the appliance costs provided the total estimated annual cost of running a kitchen in each state.

FAQ

The kitchen is one of the biggest drivers of household electricity use. Based on Fixr.com calculations, the average U.S. cost to run a kitchen is around $680 annually just to power the most common kitchen appliances.

The cost depends heavily on where you live. Hawaii is the most expensive state to run a kitchen, at around $1,600 per year. California ($1,366), Connecticut ($1,234), and Massachusetts ($1,167) follow close behind. On the other end of the scale, households in Idaho spend just $463 per year, thanks to the state’s much lower electricity rates.

The variation comes down almost entirely to state-level electricity prices. Every household uses fridges, ovens, and dishwashers in similar ways, but the cost to run them differs dramatically depending on local rates. That’s why running the same set of appliances costs over three times more in Hawaii than in Idaho. With recent 2025 electricity price hikes driven by tariffs and green energy rollbacks, the gap between high-cost and low-cost states has become even more noticeable.