Cost to run an aquarium in Alaska (August 2026 rates)
At 29.41¢ per kilowatt-hour — Alaska's average residential price in August 2026 — running an aquarium costs $174 a year. That is 62% more than the national average of $107. Alaska's residential rate is up 5.8% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $164 to $174 a year.
- Per hour
- 2.0¢
- Per day of use
- 47.6¢
- Per month
- $14.49
- Per year
- $174
Assumption: 150 W at a 45% duty cycle, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — 591 kWh a year. A 55-gallon tank: heater, filter and light combined, averaged over a day. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.
How Alaska compares
Alaska pays 29.41¢/kWh, the 5th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $66.52 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same aquarium costs $75.21 a year in Nevada and $279 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $204 a year.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 28.18¢ | $13.89 | $167 |
| New York | 28.65¢ | $14.12 | $169 |
| Alaska | 29.41¢ | $14.49 | $174 |
| California | 29.75¢ | $14.66 | $176 |
| Massachusetts | 30.48¢ | $15.02 | $180 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an aquarium.
What else costs about the same in Alaska
Cutting the number down
- The heater is nearly all of it, and its runtime depends on the room. A tank in a cool room costs more to keep warm.
- Insulating the back and sides of the tank cuts heater runtime without changing the view.
- A lid limits evaporative heat loss, which is the main way an open tank sheds the warmth you paid for.
Questions
- How much does an aquarium cost per month in Alaska?
- About $14.49 a month, assuming 150 W at a 45% duty cycle, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 29.41¢/kWh.
- How many kilowatt-hours does an aquarium use?
- Roughly 591 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.07 kWh for every hour it runs.
- Is that expensive compared with other states?
- Alaska has the 5th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $107 a year.