How much does a heat pump cost per month in California?

About $53.55 a month, assuming 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year at 29.75¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a heat pump use?

Roughly 2,160 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.44 kWh for every hour it runs.

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 $392 a year.

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Cost to run a heat pump in California (August 2026 rates)

At 29.75¢ per kilowatt-hour — California's average residential price in August 2026 — running a heat pump costs $643 a year. That is 64% more than the national average of $392. California's residential rate is down 3.8% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $668 to $643 a year.

Per hour: 42.8¢
Per day of use: $4.28
Per month: $53.55
Per year: $643

Assumption: 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year — 2,160 kWh a year. A mid-size ducted heat pump in heating mode. It moves heat rather than making it, delivering two to four units of heat per unit of electricity until the outdoor temperature drops far enough to trigger backup resistance strips. 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 $250 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same heat pump costs $275 a year in Nevada and $1,019 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $744 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
New York	28.65¢	$51.57	$619
Alaska	29.41¢	$52.94	$635
California	29.75¢	$53.55	$643
Massachusetts	30.48¢	$54.86	$658
Maine	32.11¢	$57.80	$694

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

What else costs about the same in California

Central air conditioner$700 a year in CA Hot tub$744 a year in CA Pool pump$514 a year in CA

Cutting the number down

Auxiliary resistance heat is the expensive mode. Big thermostat setbacks trigger it on recovery, so a steady setting usually beats aggressive setbacks.
Cold-climate models hold useful capacity well below freezing; older units fall back to strips much sooner.
Keeping the outdoor coil clear of snow, leaves and shrubs protects the efficiency you paid for.

Questions

How much does a heat pump cost per month in California?: About $53.55 a month, assuming 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year at 29.75¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a heat pump use?: Roughly 2,160 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.44 kWh for every hour it runs.
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 $392 a year.