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Cost to run a washing machine in North Carolina (August 2026 rates)
At 14.95¢ per kilowatt-hour — North Carolina's average residential price in August 2026 — running a washing machine costs $19.43 a year. That is 18% less than the national average of $23.61. North Carolina's residential rate is up 2.5% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $18.97 to $19.43 a year.
- Per cycle
- 7.5¢
- Per day
- 5.3¢
- Per month
- $1.62
- Per year
- $19.43
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 North Carolina compares
North Carolina pays 14.95¢/kWh, the 14th cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $4.17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 14.63¢ | $1.58 | $19.02 |
| Oklahoma | 14.82¢ | $1.61 | $19.27 |
| North Carolina | 14.95¢ | $1.62 | $19.43 |
| Florida | 14.99¢ | $1.62 | $19.49 |
| Arizona | 15.05¢ | $1.63 | $19.56 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a washing machine.
What else costs about the same in North Carolina
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 North Carolina?
- About $1.62 a month, assuming 0.50 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 14.95¢/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?
- North Carolina has the 14th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $23.61 a year.