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

About $1.85 a month, assuming 0.50 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 17.06¢/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?

Iowa has the 23rd most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $23.61 a year.

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

At 17.06¢ per kilowatt-hour — Iowa's average residential price in August 2026 — running a washing machine costs $22.18 a year. That is 6% less than the national average of $23.61. Iowa's residential rate is up 10.2% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $20.12 to $22.18 a year.

Per cycle: 8.5¢
Per day: 6.1¢
Per month: $1.85
Per year: $22.18

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 Iowa compares

Iowa pays 17.06¢/kWh, the 23rd most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $1.43 less 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
New Mexico	16.51¢	$1.79	$21.46
Indiana	17.02¢	$1.84	$22.13
Iowa	17.06¢	$1.85	$22.18
Colorado	17.17¢	$1.86	$22.32
Minnesota	17.20¢	$1.86	$22.36

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

What else costs about the same in Iowa

Air fryer$21.50 a year in IA Laptop$20.47 a year in IA Box fan$19.19 a year in IA

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 Iowa?: About $1.85 a month, assuming 0.50 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 17.06¢/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?: Iowa has the 23rd most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $23.61 a year.