How much does an electric clothes dryer cost per month in Rhode Island?

About $18.32 a month, assuming 3.00 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 28.18¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does an electric clothes dryer use?

Roughly 780 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

Rhode Island has the 7th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $142 a year.

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Cost to run an electric clothes dryer in Rhode Island (August 2026 rates)

At 28.18¢ per kilowatt-hour — Rhode Island's average residential price in August 2026 — running an electric clothes dryer costs $220 a year. That is 55% more than the national average of $142. Rhode Island's residential rate is up 6.2% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $207 to $220 a year.

Per cycle: 84.5¢
Per day: 60.2¢
Per month: $18.32
Per year: $220

Assumption: 3.00 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week — 780 kWh a year. A standard vented electric dryer. Heat-pump dryers use roughly half this per load. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How Rhode Island compares

Rhode Island pays 28.18¢/kWh, the 7th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $78.16 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same electric clothes dryer costs $99.22 a year in Nevada and $368 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $269 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
District of Columbia	25.98¢	$16.89	$203
New Hampshire	27.64¢	$17.97	$216
Rhode Island	28.18¢	$18.32	$220
New York	28.65¢	$18.62	$223
Alaska	29.41¢	$19.12	$229

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an electric clothes dryer.

What else costs about the same in Rhode Island

Portable air conditioner$238 a year in RI Space heater$243 a year in RI Window air conditioner$195 a year in RI

Cutting the number down

The spin speed of the washer sets the dryer's workload. A faster final spin removes water mechanically instead of thermally, which is far cheaper.
A blocked lint screen or crushed vent hose makes every load run longer at full heat.
Back-to-back loads reuse a drum that is already hot.

Questions

How much does an electric clothes dryer cost per month in Rhode Island?: About $18.32 a month, assuming 3.00 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 28.18¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does an electric clothes dryer use?: Roughly 780 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: Rhode Island has the 7th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $142 a year.