How Much Does It Cost to Run a Dishwasher?
Based on a 1,200 W dishwasher running 1 hours a day with a 60% duty cycle, priced at the 2025 EIA residential average for every state. Change the state and hours below for your own number.
Updated Oct 16, 2026
Quick answer
Quick answer, US average (17.3 c/kWh)
About $3.74 a month
The same use costs $2.55 a month in North Dakota and $8.77 in Hawaii.
- Per hour
- $0.12
- with 60% cycling; $0.21 at full 1,200 W
- Per day
- $0.12
- 1 h, 0.72 kWh
- Per month
- $3.74
- 30 days
- Per year
- $45.46
- 365 days at the same use
Your state, your hours
Per hour
$0.12
Per day
$0.12
Per month
$3.74
Per year
$45.46
Dishwasher at 1,200 W, 1 h a day, 30 days a month, 60% duty cycle: 21.6 kWh a month. Using the 2025 US average of 17.3 cents/kWh.
Want to change the watts or duty cycle too? Open the full calculator.
What decides the cost of running a dishwasher
Most of a dishwasher's electricity goes into heating water and drying the dishes. The circulation pump and controls draw around 100 to 200 W, but the heating element, which boosts the incoming water to 140 degrees or higher and then heats the air for the dry cycle, is 1,000 to 1,400 W. Over a two hour normal cycle the element switches on and off, and it is on about 60 percent of the time. A typical normal cycle uses around 0.7 to 1.2 kWh of electricity, plus whatever your water heater spent heating the 3 to 5 gallons the machine fills with.
Cycle choice is the biggest lever. 'Heavy' or 'pots and pans' raises the water temperature and lengthens the wash, adding up to half a kWh. 'Heated dry' alone is often 0.3 to 0.5 kWh. Turn it off, crack the door at the end of the cycle, and the dishes dry almost as well for free. ENERGY STAR models in the 2020s are rated around 240 to 270 kWh a year on the label, which assumes 215 cycles, roughly four a week. If you run it daily, scale the figure up.
Against hand washing, a full dishwasher usually wins. Hand washing a full load with the tap running uses far more hot water than the 3 to 5 gallons a modern machine uses, and the hot water is what costs money. The machine only loses if you run it half empty, or rinse everything thoroughly under hot water first.
Dishwashers are a textbook case for time-of-use rates. The delayed start button lets you run it after the evening peak when rates drop, with no change to anything you do.
How to cut it
- Turn off heated dry and open the door at the end of the cycle.
- Run full loads on the normal or eco cycle, and skip heavy unless the dishes need it.
- Scrape plates instead of pre-rinsing under hot water. The machine's sensors adjust for soil.
- Use delayed start to run after peak hours on a time-of-use plan.
Dishwasher cost by state
Monthly cost for 1,200 W, 1 h a day, 60% duty cycle, 30 days, sorted cheapest to most expensive. Pick your state above to highlight it.
| Rank | State | Cents/kWh | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 11.81 | $2.55 |
| 2 | Idaho | 11.82 | $2.55 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 12.34 | $2.67 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 12.57 | $2.72 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 12.84 | $2.77 |
| 6 | Montana | 12.98 | $2.80 |
| 7 | Utah | 13.07 | $2.82 |
| 8 | Washington | 13.11 | $2.83 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13.12 | $2.83 |
| 10 | Nevada | 13.15 | $2.84 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 13.18 | $2.85 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 13.24 | $2.86 |
| 13 | South Dakota | 13.38 | $2.89 |
| 14 | Wyoming | 13.38 | $2.89 |
| 15 | Missouri | 13.49 | $2.91 |
| 16 | Iowa | 13.72 | $2.96 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 14.02 | $3.03 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 14.03 | $3.03 |
| 19 | Kansas | 14.56 | $3.14 |
| 20 | Georgia | 14.73 | $3.18 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 14.96 | $3.23 |
| 22 | New Mexico | 15.08 | $3.26 |
| 23 | Florida | 15.24 | $3.29 |
| 24 | Virginia | 15.28 | $3.30 |
| 25 | Arizona | 15.32 | $3.31 |
| 26 | Oregon | 15.37 | $3.32 |
| 27 | West Virginia | 15.41 | $3.33 |
| 28 | Texas | 15.47 | $3.34 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 15.82 | $3.42 |
| 30 | Colorado | 15.85 | $3.42 |
| 31 | Alabama | 16.10 | $3.48 |
| 32 | Indiana | 16.23 | $3.51 |
| 33 | Ohio | 16.96 | $3.66 |
| 34 | Delaware | 17.13 | $3.70 |
| 35 | Illinois | 17.69 | $3.82 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 18.16 | $3.92 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 19.30 | $4.17 |
| 38 | Maryland | 19.48 | $4.21 |
| 39 | Michigan | 20.01 | $4.32 |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 21.94 | $4.74 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 22.63 | $4.89 |
| 42 | Vermont | 22.92 | $4.95 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 24.56 | $5.30 |
| 44 | Alaska | 26.09 | $5.64 |
| 45 | New York | 26.39 | $5.70 |
| 46 | Maine | 27.78 | $6.00 |
| 47 | Connecticut | 29.38 | $6.35 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 29.46 | $6.36 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 30.48 | $6.58 |
| 50 | California | 32.54 | $7.03 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 40.59 | $8.77 |
Rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, annual average residential price, 2025 (eia.gov). Full list on the electricity rates by state page.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a dishwasher cost per cycle?+
Roughly 0.7 to 1.2 kWh of electricity per normal cycle, around 12 to 20 cents at the national average rate, plus a few cents of water heating if it is fed from the hot tap. Heated dry adds another 5 to 8 cents.
Is it cheaper to run a dishwasher or wash by hand?+
A full dishwasher is usually cheaper, because hand washing a full load uses 15 to 25 gallons of hot water and the machine uses 3 to 5. The machine's own electricity is small next to the hot water either way.
Does the eco cycle really save money?+
Yes. Eco cycles use less water and heat it less, and soak longer to make up for it, which cuts energy per cycle by 20 to 30 percent. They take longer, which is the only trade-off.
How many watts does a dishwasher use?+
About 1,200 W while the heating element is on, with elements ranging from 1,000 to 1,400 W, plus 100 to 200 W for the circulation pump and controls. Start-up draw is up to about 1,500 W.
How much does it cost to run a dishwasher per month?+
About $3.74 a month at one cycle a day: 1,200 W x 1 hour x 0.6 duty cycle = 0.72 kWh a cycle, 21.6 kWh a month, times $0.173. That is about 263 kWh or $45 a year.
Does a dishwasher use a lot of electricity?+
No. ENERGY STAR models from the 2020s are rated around 240 to 270 kWh a year at 215 cycles, which is about $42 to $47 a year at the national average rate (240 to 270 x $0.173). Run daily, the yearly figure is about 70 percent higher.
Does turning off heated dry save money?+
Yes. Heated dry uses about 0.3 to 0.5 kWh per cycle, which is 5 to 9 cents at 17.3 cents per kWh. Over 215 cycles a year that is about $11 to $19 saved, and cracking the door at the end of the cycle dries most dishes nearly as well.
Can a power station or generator run a dishwasher?+
Yes, if it can supply about 1,500 W. A normal cycle uses about 0.72 kWh, so a 1,000 Wh power station can usually finish one cycle after inverter losses (0.72 / 0.85 = 0.85 kWh). Turning off heated dry stretches the battery further.
Is it cheaper to run a dishwasher at night?+
Only on a time-of-use rate plan. On a flat rate the cost per cycle is the same at any hour. On time-of-use, the delayed start button lets you run it after the evening peak when rates are lower.
How can I lower the cost of running a dishwasher?+
Run full loads on the normal or eco cycle, and turn off heated dry. Scrape plates instead of pre-rinsing under hot water, since the hot water is what costs money, and use delayed start if you are on a time-of-use plan.
Marcus Reed
Founder and Editor, CrunchYourDollars
Marcus Reed builds the sizing tools on CrunchYourDollars. He is a software engineer with a long-running PC hardware and power supply habit, which is where the watts, watt-hours and surge math on this site comes from. Product specs are pulled from manufacturer data sheets, electricity rates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and water chemistry rules from the Water Quality Association. He is not a licensed electrician or plumber: the tools show the math and the matching models so you can make the call, and anything involving your electrical panel should be checked by a licensed pro.
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