What a clothes washer
costs to run
Meter reading
per year
110 kWh certified × 19.41¢ per kWh ÷ 100 — median of 390 listed models
Default: US residential average, 19.41¢ per kWh, EIA JUL 2026. Overwrite it with your own rate, or pick your state below.
SOURCE·ENERGY STAR certified product data·tariff US residential average 19.41¢ — EIA Electric Power Monthly, retrieved 2026-07-28·REVIEWED JUL 2026
$21.35 a year A typical ENERGY STAR certified clothes washer uses 110 kWh a year, which at the US average residential price of 19.41¢ per kWh is $21.35 a year.
That is the national figure, and nobody is billed at a national figure: the same appliance costs $13.59 a year in Idaho and $57.20 in Hawaii.
How this is worked out
- Take the certified annual consumption for the appliance class off the EPA's ENERGY STAR register — the median of every listed model, not a wattage anyone assumed.
- Take the residential tariff off the EIA's Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A. Here that is the US residential average, 19.41¢ per kWh.
- Multiply, then divide by 100 to come out of cents. Nothing is rounded before this line.
- Derive the rest of the schedule from that one figure: ÷ 12 monthly, ÷ 365 daily, × 10 for a ten-year life.
- Overwrite the tariff terminal with the rate printed on your own bill and the register re-reads. The certified consumption does not move — that is the half of the sum nobody gets to opinion their way out of.
annual cost ($) = certified kWh per year × tariff ¢ per kWh ÷ 100
Every certified model, cheapest to run first
Priced at the US average of 19.41¢/kWh. Nothing on this list is promoted or buried — it is the certified consumption in order.
| # | Model | kWh/yr | Cost/yr | vs typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hisense WF5S2845BB | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 2 | Hisense WF5S2845BT | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 3 | Hisense WF5S2845BW | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 4 | Premium Levella PWMF280HB | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 5 | Premium Levella PWMF280HT | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 6 | Premium Levella PWMF280HW | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 7 | Premium Levella PWMF286HS | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 8 | Premium Levella PWMF287HB | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 9 | TRUARCTIC TWF3124HSB | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 10 | TRUARCTIC TWF3124HST | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 11 | TRUARCTIC TWF3124HSW | 39 | $7.57 | saves $13.78 |
| 12 | Electrolux ELFW7337*** | 50 | $9.71 | saves $11.65 |
| 13 | Electrolux ELTE7300*** - | 50 | $9.71 | saves $11.65 |
| 14 | Electrolux ELTE730C*** - | 50 | $9.71 | saves $11.65 |
| 15 | Electrolux ELTG7300*** - | 50 | $9.71 | saves $11.65 |
| 16 | Frigidaire FWFX22D4EW | 50 | $9.71 | saves $11.65 |
| 17 | Speed Queen LWN6ZR**116T*** | 60 | $11.65 | saves $9.71 |
| 18 | Speed Queen LWN6ZR**119T*** | 60 | $11.65 | saves $9.71 |
| 19 | Midea MLH25N7BWW | 65 | $12.62 | saves $8.73 |
| 20 | Midea MLH27N4AWWC | 65 | $12.62 | saves $8.73 |
| 21 | Bosch WGA12400** | 70 | $13.59 | saves $7.76 |
| 22 | TRUARCTIC TAFW2422W | 70 | $13.59 | saves $7.76 |
| 23 | Beko BWM242300SWW | 73 | $14.17 | saves $7.18 |
| 24 | Blomberg BLWM242300SWG | 73 | $14.17 | saves $7.18 |
| 25 | Electrolux ELFW7738*** | 74 | $14.36 | saves $6.99 |
SOURCE·ENERGY STAR certified product data·390 certified clothes washers on the register, listed by certified consumption·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The same clothes washer on 51 tariffs
| State | Price per kWh | Cost per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.00¢ | $57.20 | $4.77 |
| California | 33.25¢ | $36.58 | $3.05 |
| New York | 29.93¢ | $32.92 | $2.74 |
| Rhode Island | 29.46¢ | $32.41 | $2.70 |
| Massachusetts | 28.82¢ | $31.70 | $2.64 |
| Maine | 28.63¢ | $31.49 | $2.62 |
| Alaska | 28.23¢ | $31.05 | $2.59 |
| Connecticut | 27.37¢ | $30.11 | $2.51 |
| New Hampshire | 27.33¢ | $30.06 | $2.51 |
| District of Columbia | 25.40¢ | $27.94 | $2.33 |
| Vermont | 24.89¢ | $27.38 | $2.28 |
| Illinois | 23.85¢ | $26.23 | $2.19 |
| New Jersey | 23.27¢ | $25.60 | $2.13 |
| Michigan | 22.01¢ | $24.21 | $2.02 |
| Maryland | 21.77¢ | $23.95 | $2.00 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.55¢ | $23.70 | $1.98 |
| Wisconsin | 19.74¢ | $21.71 | $1.81 |
| Ohio | 19.52¢ | $21.47 | $1.79 |
| Delaware | 19.38¢ | $21.32 | $1.78 |
| Indiana | 18.15¢ | $19.96 | $1.66 |
| Virginia | 17.61¢ | $19.37 | $1.61 |
| Minnesota | 16.95¢ | $18.64 | $1.55 |
| West Virginia | 16.80¢ | $18.48 | $1.54 |
| Alabama | 16.77¢ | $18.45 | $1.54 |
| Texas | 16.44¢ | $18.08 | $1.51 |
| Oregon | 16.27¢ | $17.90 | $1.49 |
| South Carolina | 16.18¢ | $17.80 | $1.48 |
| Colorado | 16.16¢ | $17.78 | $1.48 |
| Mississippi | 16.16¢ | $17.78 | $1.48 |
| Georgia | 15.84¢ | $17.42 | $1.45 |
| South Dakota | 15.73¢ | $17.30 | $1.44 |
| Arizona | 15.23¢ | $16.75 | $1.40 |
| Florida | 15.17¢ | $16.69 | $1.39 |
| Kansas | 15.13¢ | $16.64 | $1.39 |
| North Carolina | 15.09¢ | $16.60 | $1.38 |
| Kentucky | 14.98¢ | $16.48 | $1.37 |
| Washington | 14.95¢ | $16.45 | $1.37 |
| Wyoming | 14.80¢ | $16.28 | $1.36 |
| Montana | 14.67¢ | $16.14 | $1.34 |
| Tennessee | 14.47¢ | $15.92 | $1.33 |
| Arkansas | 14.36¢ | $15.80 | $1.32 |
| Louisiana | 14.15¢ | $15.56 | $1.30 |
| Iowa | 14.14¢ | $15.55 | $1.30 |
| New Mexico | 14.12¢ | $15.53 | $1.29 |
| Missouri | 13.68¢ | $15.05 | $1.25 |
| North Dakota | 13.61¢ | $14.97 | $1.25 |
| Nevada | 13.60¢ | $14.96 | $1.25 |
| Nebraska | 13.59¢ | $14.95 | $1.25 |
| Oklahoma | 13.38¢ | $14.72 | $1.23 |
| Utah | 12.96¢ | $14.26 | $1.19 |
| Idaho | 12.35¢ | $13.59 | $1.13 |
One certified clothes washer at the median consumption of 110 kWh a year, wired to 51 different tariffs. Same appliance, same duty cycle, same certification — only the tariff changes.
SOURCE·US EIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A·retrieved 2026-07-28·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Schedule notes
How much does it cost to run a clothes washer?
About $21.35 a year at the US average residential price of 19.41¢ per kWh, for a typical ENERGY STAR certified clothes washer using 110 kWh annually. Your own tariff decides the rest — put it into the terminal beside the register and the figure re-reads.
Which clothes washers are cheapest to run?
The certified list runs from 39 to 311 kWh a year across 390 models, so at the US average the best costs $7.57 a year to run and the worst $60.37. The full ranking is on this page, in certified order, with nothing promoted.
Does the state I live in change the answer?
Considerably. The same clothes washer costs $13.59 a year in Idaho at 12.35¢ and $57.20 in Hawaii at 52.00¢. Every state is listed on this page.
