U.S. residential electricity EIA data: July 2026 US average 18.3¢/kWh Updated
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Entertainment · Illinois

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Gaming PC in Illinois?

The short answer

Running a 500W gaming PC in Illinois costs about $0.10 an hour. At 4 hours a day, that’s roughly $11.69 a month and $140 a year.

The estimate uses Illinois’s average residential electricity price of 19.2¢/kWh from EIA (July 2026) — 5% above the national average.

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

Gaming PC cost by daily use in Illinois

Cost at 19.2¢/kWh, the Illinois average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 15.2 $0.10 $2.92 $35.08
2 hours/day 30.4 $0.19 $5.85 $70.15
4 hours/day 60.8 $0.38 $11.69 $140
8 hours/day 121.7 $0.77 $23.39 $281
12 hours/day 182.5 $1.15 $35.08 $421
24 hours/day 365.0 $2.31 $70.16 $842

Illinois vs other states

At typical use, a gaming PC costs $140 a year in Illinois — $210 less than in Hawaii and $47.45 more than in Louisiana.

Illinois has the 17th-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. electricity prices in Illinois · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Illinois

19.2¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +11.6% from a year earlier.

How to lower the cost of running a gaming PC

A gaming PC's power draw depends on the GPU and CPU and on how demanding the game is. A mid-range build typically pulls around 400–500W from the wall during gaming, while high-end systems with top-tier graphics cards can exceed 700–800W. Idle and desktop use is much lower, often 60–120W. The monitor adds another 30–80W.

  • Cap frame rates to your monitor's refresh rate — rendering frames you can't see wastes power.
  • Use your GPU's power-limit or efficiency settings for a large power cut with a small performance loss.
  • Set the PC to sleep after 15–30 minutes of inactivity.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a gaming PC for 24 hours in Illinois?

Running a 500W gaming PC for 24 hours uses about 12.0 kWh, which costs about $2.31 at Illinois’s average rate of 19.2¢/kWh.

How many kWh does a gaming PC use per month?

At 4 hours a day, a typical gaming PC uses about 60.8 kWh a month. In Illinois that costs $11.69.

Is it expensive to run a gaming PC in Illinois?

Illinois has the 17th-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 19.2¢/kWh — pricier than most. Running a gaming PC here costs about $140 a year at typical use, compared with $134 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Illinois right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Illinois was 19.2¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 11.6% from a year earlier.

Does a gaming PC use more electricity than a console?

Usually yes. A typical gaming PC draws 2–3 times more than a PS5 or Xbox Series X while gaming.

Gaming PC costs in nearby states

Cheapest and priciest states

Comparisons

Sources & method