How much does a dishwasher cost per month in California?

About $7.73 a month, assuming 1.20 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 29.75¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a dishwasher use?

Roughly 312 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

California has the 4th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $56.66 a year.

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Cost to run a dishwasher in California (August 2026 rates)

At 29.75¢ per kilowatt-hour — California's average residential price in August 2026 — running a dishwasher costs $92.82 a year. That is 64% more than the national average of $56.66. California's residential rate is down 3.8% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $96.47 to $92.82 a year.

Per cycle: 35.7¢
Per day: 25.4¢
Per month: $7.73
Per year: $92.82

Assumption: 1.20 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week — 312 kWh a year. Includes the machine's own water heating. Heated dry adds roughly 0.4 kWh to each cycle on top of this. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How California compares

California pays 29.75¢/kWh, the 4th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $36.16 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same dishwasher costs $39.69 a year in Nevada and $147 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $108 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
New York	28.65¢	$7.45	$89.39
Alaska	29.41¢	$7.65	$91.76
California	29.75¢	$7.73	$92.82
Massachusetts	30.48¢	$7.92	$95.10
Maine	32.11¢	$8.35	$100

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a dishwasher.

What else costs about the same in California

Chest freezer$89.25 a year in CA Electric oven$99.01 a year in CA Refrigerator$119 a year in CA

Cutting the number down

Skipping heated dry and cracking the door open is the largest single saving available on a dishwasher, and it costs nothing.
A full load uses the same energy as a half load, so waiting until it is full halves the per-dish cost.
Pre-rinsing under a hot tap usually spends more energy heating water than the machine would have used.

Questions

How much does a dishwasher cost per month in California?: About $7.73 a month, assuming 1.20 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 29.75¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a dishwasher use?: Roughly 312 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: California has the 4th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $56.66 a year.