Cost to run a hot tub in California (August 2026 rates)
At 29.75¢ per kilowatt-hour — California's average residential price in August 2026 — running a hot tub costs $744 a year. That is 64% more than the national average of $454. California's residential rate is down 3.8% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $773 to $744 a year.
- Per day
- $2.04
- Per month
- $61.98
- Per year
- $744
Assumption: 2,500 kWh a year. A well-insulated 400-gallon tub held at 100 F year-round in a moderate climate. A poorly insulated tub in a cold climate can double 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 $290 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same hot tub costs $318 a year in Nevada and $1,180 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $862 a year.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 28.65¢ | $59.69 | $716 |
| Alaska | 29.41¢ | $61.27 | $735 |
| California | 29.75¢ | $61.98 | $744 |
| Massachusetts | 30.48¢ | $63.50 | $762 |
| Maine | 32.11¢ | $66.90 | $803 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a hot tub.
What else costs about the same in California
Cutting the number down
- A good cover is the whole ballgame. Most of the energy replaces heat lost from the surface, not heat delivered to people.
- Holding temperature usually beats cooling down and reheating, because reheating a large mass of water is expensive.
- A waterlogged cover has lost its insulation value and quietly doubles the standing loss.
Questions
- How much does a hot tub cost per month in California?
- About $61.98 a month, assuming 2,500 kWh a year at 29.75¢/kWh.
- How many kilowatt-hours does a hot tub use?
- Roughly 2,500 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 $454 a year.