How much does a refrigerator cost per month in North Carolina?

About $4.91 a month, assuming 400 kWh a year at 14.74¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a refrigerator use?

Roughly 400 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

North Carolina has the 11th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $73.36 a year.

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Cost to run a refrigerator in North Carolina (June 2026 rates)

At 14.74¢ per kilowatt-hour — North Carolina's average residential price in June 2026 — running a refrigerator costs $58.96 a year. That is 20% less than the national average of $73.36. North Carolina's residential rate is up 10.2% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $53.52 to $58.96 a year.

Per day: 16.2¢
Per month: $4.91
Per year: $58.96

Assumption: 400 kWh a year. A current ENERGY STAR top-freezer lands near 400 kWh a year. A 2000s-era side-by-side can be double, and a garage fridge in a hot climate higher still. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How North Carolina compares

North Carolina pays 14.74¢/kWh, the 11th cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $14.40 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same refrigerator costs $52.44 a year in Nevada and $211 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $158 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Oklahoma	14.33¢	$4.78	$57.32
Idaho	14.37¢	$4.79	$57.48
North Carolina	14.74¢	$4.91	$58.96
Mississippi	14.88¢	$4.96	$59.52
Washington	14.91¢	$4.97	$59.64

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

What else costs about the same in North Carolina

Desktop computer$58.96 a year in NC Air purifier$64.56 a year in NC Electric oven$49.05 a year in NC

Cutting the number down

The second fridge in the garage is often the most expensive appliance in a house, because it is usually the oldest one and it works against garage heat.
Coils packed with dust make the compressor run longer for the same cooling. Vacuuming them takes minutes.
A door gasket that no longer grips a dollar bill is leaking cold around the clock.

Questions

How much does a refrigerator cost per month in North Carolina?: About $4.91 a month, assuming 400 kWh a year at 14.74¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a refrigerator use?: Roughly 400 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: North Carolina has the 11th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $73.36 a year.