How much does an incandescent bulb cost per month in District of Columbia?

About $2.37 a month, assuming 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year at 25.98¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does an incandescent bulb use?

Roughly 110 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.06 kWh for every hour it runs.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

District of Columbia has the 9th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $19.89 a year.

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Cost to run an incandescent bulb in District of Columbia (August 2026 rates)

At 25.98¢ per kilowatt-hour — District of Columbia's average residential price in August 2026 — running an incandescent bulb costs $28.45 a year. That is 43% more than the national average of $19.89. District of Columbia's residential rate is up 12.1% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $25.38 to $28.45 a year.

Per hour: 1.6¢
Per day of use: 7.8¢
Per month: $2.37
Per year: $28.45

Assumption: 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year — 110 kWh a year. A 60 W bulb producing roughly the same 800 lumens as a 9 W LED. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How District of Columbia compares

District of Columbia pays 25.98¢/kWh, the 9th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $8.56 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same incandescent bulb costs $13.93 a year in Nevada and $51.66 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $37.73 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Connecticut	24.51¢	$2.24	$26.84
New Jersey	24.61¢	$2.25	$26.95
District of Columbia	25.98¢	$2.37	$28.45
New Hampshire	27.64¢	$2.52	$30.27
Rhode Island	28.18¢	$2.57	$30.86

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an incandescent bulb.

What else costs about the same in District of Columbia

Microwave$28.45 a year in DC Electric kettle$28.45 a year in DC Box fan$29.23 a year in DC

Cutting the number down

The comparison is the point: identical light, nearly seven times the electricity, for the whole life of the bulb.
Replacing the handful of bulbs that burn the most hours captures most of the available saving immediately.

Questions

How much does an incandescent bulb cost per month in District of Columbia?: About $2.37 a month, assuming 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year at 25.98¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does an incandescent bulb use?: Roughly 110 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.06 kWh for every hour it runs.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: District of Columbia has the 9th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $19.89 a year.