How much does a washing machine cost per month in Illinois?

About $2.09 a month, assuming 0.50 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 19.32¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a washing machine use?

Roughly 130 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

Illinois has the 18th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $23.61 a year.

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Cost to run a washing machine in Illinois (August 2026 rates)

At 19.32¢ per kilowatt-hour — Illinois's average residential price in August 2026 — running a washing machine costs $25.12 a year. That is 6% more than the national average of $23.61. Illinois's residential rate is up 7.2% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $23.44 to $25.12 a year.

Per cycle: 9.7¢
Per day: 6.9¢
Per month: $2.09
Per year: $25.12

Assumption: 0.50 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week — 130 kWh a year. A front-loader on a warm cycle, including the water heating attributable to the wash. A cold wash lands closer to 0.15 kWh. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How Illinois compares

Illinois pays 19.32¢/kWh, the 18th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $1.51 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same washing machine costs $16.54 a year in Nevada and $61.33 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $44.80 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Virginia	17.64¢	$1.91	$22.93
Delaware	18.70¢	$2.03	$24.31
Illinois	19.32¢	$2.09	$25.12
Ohio	19.38¢	$2.10	$25.19
Wisconsin	19.41¢	$2.10	$25.23

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

What else costs about the same in Illinois

Air fryer$24.34 a year in IL Laptop$23.18 a year in IL Box fan$21.73 a year in IL

Cutting the number down

Almost all of a washer's energy is water heating, so switching to cold is close to switching the appliance off, energy-wise.
Modern detergents are formulated for cold water; the hot-wash habit outlived the chemistry that required it.

Questions

How much does a washing machine cost per month in Illinois?: About $2.09 a month, assuming 0.50 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 19.32¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a washing machine use?: Roughly 130 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: Illinois has the 18th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $23.61 a year.