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

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Laptop in Washington?

The short answer

In Washington, a laptop drawing 60W costs about $0.01 per hour — roughly $2.15 a month if it runs 8 hours a day.

The estimate uses Washington’s average residential electricity price of 14.7¢/kWh from EIA (July 2026) — 20% below the national average.

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

Laptop cost by daily use in Washington

Cost at 14.7¢/kWh, the Washington average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 1.8 $0.01 $0.27 $3.22
2 hours/day 3.7 $0.02 $0.54 $6.44
4 hours/day 7.3 $0.04 $1.07 $12.89
8 hours/day 14.6 $0.07 $2.15 $25.77
12 hours/day 21.9 $0.11 $3.22 $38.66
24 hours/day 43.8 $0.21 $6.44 $77.32

Washington vs other states

At typical use, a laptop costs $25.77 a year in Washington — $58.32 less than in Hawaii and $3.49 more than in Louisiana.

Washington has the 13th-cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. Washington electricity rates · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Washington

14.7¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +9.4% from a year earlier.

How to lower the cost of running a laptop

Laptops are designed to run on batteries, so they're inherently efficient. Typical use draws 30–60W from the charger, with gaming laptops and mobile workstations reaching 100–200W under load. Even working full time on a laptop costs only a few dollars a month in most states.

  • Use battery-saver mode and lower screen brightness.
  • Unplug once charged if your laptop lacks charge-limiting features.
  • Put it to sleep instead of leaving it idle overnight.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a laptop for 24 hours in Washington?

Running a 60W laptop for 24 hours uses about 1.44 kWh, which costs about $0.21 at Washington’s average rate of 14.7¢/kWh.

How many kWh does a laptop use per month?

At 8 hours a day, a typical laptop uses about 14.6 kWh a month. In Washington that costs $2.15.

Is it expensive to run a laptop in Washington?

Washington has the 13th-cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 14.7¢/kWh — cheaper than most. Running a laptop here costs about $25.77 a year at typical use, compared with $32.08 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Washington right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Washington was 14.7¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 9.4% from a year earlier.

Laptop costs in nearby states

Cheapest and priciest states

Comparisons

Sources & method