How Much Does It Cost to Run a Space Heater? Costs by State

Quick answer

At the U.S. average home electricity price for July 2026 (18.31¢ per kWh, according to the EIA), a space heater on its 1,500-watt high setting costs about 27¢ an hour, about $2.20 for an 8-hour day, and about $66 a month at 8 hours a day for 30 days. A 750-watt low setting cuts those numbers in half. Your real cost depends on your state’s price and on how often the heater’s thermostat switches it off.

The formula

A space heater draws the wattage on its label whenever its heating element is on, so the math is simple:

Cost = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours of use × price per kWh

For a 1,500-watt heater at 18.31¢ per kWh:

• 1,500 W ÷ 1,000 = 1.5 kWh for every hour the element is on
• 1.5 kWh × $0.1831 = $0.275 per hour
• 8 hours a day = 12 kWh = $2.20 per day
• 30 days = 360 kWh = $65.92 per month

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Setting	Cost per hour	8 hours a day	30 days at 8 hours a day
1,500 W (common high setting)	$0.27	$2.20	$65.92
900 W (low setting on some models)	$0.16	$1.32	$39.55
750 W (common low setting)	$0.14	$1.10	$32.96

Assumes the heating element runs the whole time. Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (U.S. residential average, July 2026: 18.31¢/kWh)

What it costs in your state

In July 2026, the average home price ranged from 12.72¢ per kWh in Louisiana to 48.00¢ in Hawaii. The same 8-hours-a-day habit costs about $46 a month in Louisiana and about $173 a month in Hawaii.

Cost to run a 1,500-watt space heater 8 hours a day, by state (July 2026 rates)

State	Rate (¢/kWh)	Per hour	Per day	Per month (30 days)
U.S. average	18.31¢	$0.27	$2.20	$65.92
Alabama	16.40¢	$0.25	$1.97	$59.04
Alaska	28.83¢	$0.43	$3.46	$103.79
Arizona	15.38¢	$0.23	$1.85	$55.37
Arkansas	14.33¢	$0.21	$1.72	$51.59
California	33.61¢	$0.50	$4.03	$121.00
Colorado	17.00¢	$0.26	$2.04	$61.20
Connecticut	24.16¢	$0.36	$2.90	$86.98
Delaware	18.48¢	$0.28	$2.22	$66.53
District of Columbia	25.21¢	$0.38	$3.03	$90.76
Florida	15.03¢	$0.23	$1.80	$54.11
Georgia	16.27¢	$0.24	$1.95	$58.57
Hawaii	48.00¢	$0.72	$5.76	$172.80
Idaho	13.73¢	$0.21	$1.65	$49.43
Illinois	19.22¢	$0.29	$2.31	$69.19
Indiana	16.73¢	$0.25	$2.01	$60.23
Iowa	15.99¢	$0.24	$1.92	$57.56
Kansas	15.27¢	$0.23	$1.83	$54.97
Kentucky	13.81¢	$0.21	$1.66	$49.72
Louisiana	12.72¢	$0.19	$1.53	$45.79
Maine	32.41¢	$0.49	$3.89	$116.68
Maryland	21.41¢	$0.32	$2.57	$77.08
Massachusetts	30.49¢	$0.46	$3.66	$109.76
Michigan	23.05¢	$0.35	$2.77	$82.98
Minnesota	17.45¢	$0.26	$2.09	$62.82
Mississippi	14.54¢	$0.22	$1.74	$52.34
Missouri	16.09¢	$0.24	$1.93	$57.92
Montana	14.99¢	$0.22	$1.80	$53.96
Nebraska	13.78¢	$0.21	$1.65	$49.61
Nevada	12.77¢	$0.19	$1.53	$45.97
New Hampshire	26.60¢	$0.40	$3.19	$95.76
New Jersey	25.19¢	$0.38	$3.02	$90.68
New Mexico	16.09¢	$0.24	$1.93	$57.92
New York	29.90¢	$0.45	$3.59	$107.64
North Carolina	15.16¢	$0.23	$1.82	$54.58
North Dakota	13.41¢	$0.20	$1.61	$48.28
Ohio	19.45¢	$0.29	$2.33	$70.02
Oklahoma	14.35¢	$0.22	$1.72	$51.66
Oregon	15.97¢	$0.24	$1.92	$57.49
Pennsylvania	21.72¢	$0.33	$2.61	$78.19
Rhode Island	28.29¢	$0.42	$3.39	$101.84
South Carolina	15.47¢	$0.23	$1.86	$55.69
South Dakota	15.37¢	$0.23	$1.84	$55.33
Tennessee	13.71¢	$0.21	$1.65	$49.36
Texas	15.88¢	$0.24	$1.91	$57.17
Utah	13.12¢	$0.20	$1.57	$47.23
Vermont	23.75¢	$0.36	$2.85	$85.50
Virginia	17.55¢	$0.26	$2.11	$63.18
Washington	14.71¢	$0.22	$1.77	$52.96
West Virginia	15.78¢	$0.24	$1.89	$56.81
Wisconsin	19.06¢	$0.29	$2.29	$68.62
Wyoming	14.36¢	$0.22	$1.72	$51.70

Prices move during the year: the U.S. average for January through July 2026 was 18.19¢ per kWh. Your plan may also have tiers or time-of-use pricing, so for the closest estimate, enter the rate from your own bill in the calculator below.

Calculate your own cost

To price other things you plug in, use the appliance cost calculator.

Do space heaters use a lot of electricity?

Yes. A CPSC investigation guideline notes that voluntary safety standards permit portable electric heaters to be rated at up to 1,500 watts, and describes them as using electricity at the highest rate of any portable consumer product that needs no installation and runs for long periods.

At 8 hours a day, a 1,500-watt heater uses 360 kWh a month. That is roughly 40% of the 899 kWh a month the average U.S. residential customer bought in 2022, according to the EIA.

What changes your real cost

1. The heat setting. The Holmes HCH9264M ceramic heater, for example, lists 1,500 watts on high and 900 watts on low; many others use 750 watts on low. The label or manual tells you what yours draws.

2. How often the thermostat cycles. A thermostat shuts the element off when the room reaches the set temperature and back on as it cools, which the Holmes manual calls normal. If the element runs half the time, you pay half the numbers above. A small, closed, well-insulated room lets the heater cycle off more often than a large or drafty one.

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3. Not the heater type. Ceramic, oil-filled, and infrared heaters of the same wattage cost the same per hour while their elements are on, because electric resistance heating turns essentially 100% of its electricity into heat (Department of Energy). What differs is how the heat reaches you. Radiant (infrared) heaters warm people and objects in their line of sight, so the DOE says they can be the more efficient choice when you will stay in one spot for only a few hours. Oil-filled heaters store some heat, so they cycle less often.

4. Your price per kWh. The same heater costs about 3.8 times as much per hour in Hawaii as in Louisiana.

Is a space heater cheaper than your central heat?

It depends on what you would otherwise heat.

• Heating one room instead of the whole house can save money. Small space heaters can be cheaper to use if you only want to heat one room, the DOE says, and zone heating can save more than 20% compared with heating the whole house. That only works if you turn the central thermostat down while the space heater runs.
• A heat pump is usually cheaper per unit of heat. Heat pumps easily cut electricity use by 50% compared with electric resistance heating (DOE), and every plug-in space heater uses electric resistance. Running space heaters in several rooms instead of a working heat pump will usually cost more.
• Gas heat is often cheaper than electric resistance heat. The DOE notes that electric heat is often more expensive than heat from fuel-burning appliances, because energy is lost in generating and transmitting electricity. For whole-house costs by state, see heat pump vs. gas furnace cost.

How to see what your heater really costs

1. Time the cycles. On a typical evening, note how many minutes per hour the heater actually heats (the element and fan stop when it cycles off). Multiply the hourly cost above by that fraction.
2. Check your utility account. Many utilities show daily or hourly use online. Compare a day with the heater to a similar day without it.

Ways to spend less, safely

• Heat the room you are in, close the door, and turn the central thermostat down.
• Pick a heater with a thermostat, sized for the room. The DOE recommends both; a thermostat avoids the waste of overheating a room.
• Use the low setting when it keeps you comfortable. A 750-watt low setting costs half as much per hour as 1,500-watt high; a 900-watt low setting costs 40% less.
• Turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed. It saves money and is a key safety rule.

For savings across the whole house, see how to lower your electric bill.

How we calculated these numbers

• Prices: EIA Electric Power Monthly, average residential price by state, July 2026 (Table 5.6.A, released September 24, 2026), and January through July 2026 (Table 5.6.B). The EIA average price is total residential electricity revenue divided by the kWh sold. It is an average across all customers in the state, not your exact plan.
• Use: the heater draws its rated wattage whenever its element is on. Costs are rounded to the cent.
• Updates: we recalculate the tables when the EIA publishes new monthly prices.