How much does a laptop cost per month in California?

About $2.97 a month, assuming 60 W, 8 hours a day, 250 days a year at 29.75¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a laptop use?

Roughly 120 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.06 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 $21.79 a year.

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

At 29.75¢ per kilowatt-hour — California's average residential price in August 2026 — running a laptop costs $35.70 a year. That is 64% more than the national average of $21.79. California's residential rate is down 3.8% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $37.10 to $35.70 a year.

Per hour: 1.8¢
Per day of use: 14.3¢
Per month: $2.97
Per year: $35.70

Assumption: 60 W, 8 hours a day, 250 days a year — 120 kWh a year. Charging and working. Once the battery is full, draw drops toward 20 to 30 W for light work. 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 $13.91 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same laptop costs $15.26 a year in Nevada and $56.62 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $41.35 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
New York	28.65¢	$2.86	$34.38
Alaska	29.41¢	$2.94	$35.29
California	29.75¢	$2.97	$35.70
Massachusetts	30.48¢	$3.05	$36.58
Maine	32.11¢	$3.21	$38.53

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

What else costs about the same in California

Air fryer$37.48 a year in CA Box fan$33.47 a year in CA Washing machine$38.67 a year in CA

Cutting the number down

A laptop typically uses a fifth to a tenth of what a comparable desktop does for ordinary work.
The charger left plugged in with no laptop attached draws almost nothing on modern units.

Questions

How much does a laptop cost per month in California?: About $2.97 a month, assuming 60 W, 8 hours a day, 250 days a year at 29.75¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a laptop use?: Roughly 120 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.06 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 $21.79 a year.