Cost to run an aquarium in New Mexico (August 2026 rates)
At 16.51¢ per kilowatt-hour — New Mexico's average residential price in August 2026 — running an aquarium costs $97.62 a year. That is 9% less than the national average of $107. New Mexico's residential rate is up 3.3% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $94.49 to $97.62 a year.
- Per hour
- 1.1¢
- Per day of use
- 26.7¢
- Per month
- $8.14
- Per year
- $97.62
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 New Mexico compares
New Mexico pays 16.51¢/kWh, the 25th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $9.76 less 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 16.31¢ | $8.04 | $96.44 |
| Alabama | 16.33¢ | $8.05 | $96.56 |
| New Mexico | 16.51¢ | $8.14 | $97.62 |
| Indiana | 17.02¢ | $8.39 | $101 |
| Iowa | 17.06¢ | $8.41 | $101 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an aquarium.
What else costs about the same in New Mexico
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 New Mexico?
- About $8.14 a month, assuming 150 W at a 45% duty cycle, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 16.51¢/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?
- New Mexico has the 25th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $107 a year.