U.S. residential electricity EIA data: July 2026 US average 18.3¢/kWh Updated
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Home Office · Massachusetts

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Desktop Computer in Massachusetts?

The short answer

Running a 150W desktop computer in Massachusetts costs about $0.05 an hour. At 8 hours a day, that’s roughly $11.13 a month and $134 a year.

Massachusetts’s average residential rate was 30.5¢ per kWh in July 2026 (EIA), 67% above the US average.

Source: U.S. EIA, July 2026 data · Updated

Desktop Computer cost by daily use in Massachusetts

Cost at 30.5¢/kWh, the Massachusetts average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 4.6 $0.05 $1.39 $16.69
2 hours/day 9.1 $0.09 $2.78 $33.39
4 hours/day 18.3 $0.18 $5.57 $66.77
8 hours/day 36.5 $0.37 $11.13 $134
12 hours/day 54.8 $0.55 $16.70 $200
24 hours/day 109.5 $1.10 $33.39 $401

Massachusetts vs other states

At typical use, a desktop computer costs $134 a year in Massachusetts — $76.69 less than in Hawaii and $77.83 more than in Louisiana.

Massachusetts has the 4th-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. electricity prices in Massachusetts · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Massachusetts

30.5¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +1.4% from a year earlier.

How to lower the cost of running a desktop computer

Everyday desktop use — browsing, documents, video calls — is light work for a modern PC, so most office desktops plus a monitor draw around 100–200W. Workstations rendering video or running heavy software use more. Sleep mode drops consumption to just a few watts, so letting the computer sleep when you step away makes a real difference over a year.

  • Set the computer to sleep after 15–30 minutes and the display after 5–10 minutes.
  • Turn off the whole setup with a power strip at the end of the day.
  • Lower monitor brightness — it often accounts for a big share of the total.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a desktop computer for 24 hours in Massachusetts?

Running a 150W desktop computer for 24 hours uses about 3.60 kWh, which costs about $1.10 at Massachusetts’s average rate of 30.5¢/kWh.

How many kWh does a desktop computer use per month?

At 8 hours a day, a typical desktop computer uses about 36.5 kWh a month. In Massachusetts that costs $11.13.

Is it expensive to run a desktop computer in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has the 4th-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 30.5¢/kWh — one of the most expensive. Running a desktop computer here costs about $134 a year at typical use, compared with $80.20 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Massachusetts right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Massachusetts was 30.5¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 1.4% from a year earlier.

Desktop Computer costs in nearby states

Cheapest and priciest states

Comparisons

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