Electricity rates in California

Average rate: 34.74¢
A year ago: 33.59¢
vs US average: +89%
Rank: 2 / 51

Every figure below is that rate applied to the same appliance models used across this site. The rate is the only thing that changes between states — a refrigerator in California draws exactly what it draws in Nevada, it just costs 2.6× as much to run.

What a typical bill looks like in California

California sits in the Pacific census division, where the EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey puts average household electricity at 7,665 kilowatt-hours a year — 27% below the national figure of 10,566 kWh. At 34.74¢ that is $2,663 a year, or $222 a month before fixed charges and taxes.

Typical annual bill in California

$2,663a year

$222 a month · 7,665 kWh, the Pacific average

Using the national average instead would put this at $3,671 — 38% higher. Region is the second-biggest variable after the rate itself.

Where the electricity goes in the Pacific

The Pacific is balanced between heating and cooling — 1,864 kWh against 1,514 kWh. These are conditional averages — each is the mean among households in the division that actually use electricity for that purpose, so they describe a home that has the thing, not a blend across homes that do not.

EIA RECS 2020, table CE4.6, Pacific division, priced at California’s 34.74¢/kWh. The parts do not sum to the total because each is conditioned on different households.

End use	Pacific	National	Difference	Cost in California
Water heating	2,588 kWh	2,706 kWh	-4%	$899
Space heating	1,864 kWh	2,484 kWh	-25%	$648
Air conditioning	1,514 kWh	2,318 kWh	-35%	$526
Refrigeration	821 kWh	839 kWh	-2%	$285
Everything else	4,153 kWh	5,108 kWh	-19%	$1,443

What California households pay against everyone else

The same grid sells to households, businesses and factories at different prices, because delivery costs are spread over very different volumes. In California a household pays 34.74¢ while industry pays 20.74¢ — 1.7× as much per kilowatt-hour. That ratio is not a scandal; it is the cost of running low-voltage distribution to individual houses rather than a single high-voltage feed to one plant. But it is the reason a household’s cost-saving arithmetic never looks like a business’s.

Average price by end-use sector, California. EIA Electric Power Monthly table 5.6.A. A dash means the EIA published no figure for that sector.

Sector	June 2026	June 2025	Change
Residential — your bill	34.74¢	33.59¢	+3.4%
Commercial	27.33¢	26.83¢	+1.9%
Industrial	20.74¢	22.14¢	-6.3%
All sectors	28.5¢	28.14¢	+1.3%

One month is weather. The year is your bill.

The June 2026 figure above is a single month. Across 2026 so far, California residential customers have averaged 33.17¢ — 4.7% below that single month.

That is a wide gap the other way: this month is dearer than the year has been, which usually means summer peaking. A January bill in California will not look like a July one, even at identical usage.

California, year to date

33.17¢per kWh

Against 34.74¢ in June 2026 alone · 32.41¢ over the same period last year

An annual bill reflects the year-to-date figure far more closely than any single month. Use it in the calculators if you are planning a year ahead.

What each appliance costs in California

Every appliance on this site, priced at California’s 34.74¢. Each figure uses the appliance’s real duty cycle — the share of its running time it actually draws power — so a refrigerator here is 420 kWh a year rather than the 1,314 kWh that nameplate arithmetic produces.

All 120 appliances at California’s average residential rate of 34.74¢/kWh, on this site’s standard usage assumptions. “Real average” is the draw averaged over the hours the appliance is in service.

Appliance	Rated	Real average	Electricity	A month	A year
Crypto mining rig	3,000 W	3,000 W	26,280 kWh	$761	$9,130
Electric furnace	15,000 W	3,755 W	9,012 kWh	$261	$3,131
EV charging (Level 1 wall socket)	1,400 W	1,403 W	3,747 kWh	$108	$1,302
EV charging (Level 2 home)	7,200 W	7,241 W	3,541 kWh	$103	$1,230
Hot tub	1,500 W	375 W	3,285 kWh	$95	$1,141
Pool heat pump	5,000 W	3,270 W	3,139 kWh	$91	$1,091
Electric water heater	4,500 W	311 W	2,720 kWh	$79	$945
Heat pump (heating)	1,800 W	999 W	2,307 kWh	$67	$801
Central air conditioner	3,500 W	2,125 W	2,295 kWh	$66	$797
Pool pump	1,500 W	1,500 W	2,160 kWh	$63	$750
Oxygen concentrator	350 W	350 W	2,044 kWh	$59	$710
Grow light	300 W	301 W	1,755 kWh	$51	$610
Standalone ice maker	350 W	158 W	1,380 kWh	$40	$479
Koi pond pump	150 W	150 W	1,314 kWh	$38	$456
Wine cellar cooling unit	450 W	149 W	1,301 kWh	$38	$452
Dehumidifier	480 W	288 W	1,244 kWh	$36	$432
Electric baseboard heater	1,000 W	400 W	1,188 kWh	$34	$413
Heated towel rail	120 W	120 W	1,051 kWh	$30	$365
Pottery kiln	8,000 W	4,800 W	1,037 kWh	$30	$360
Furnace blower / air handler	500 W	516 W	1,032 kWh	$30	$359
Space heater	1,500 W	827 W	992 kWh	$29	$345
Heat pump water heater	550 W	110 W	964 kWh	$28	$335
Waterbed heater	300 W	105 W	920 kWh	$27	$320
Oil-filled radiator	1,500 W	675 W	810 kWh	$23	$281
Portable air conditioner	1,100 W	771 W	771 kWh	$22	$268
Infrared heater	1,500 W	903 W	759 kWh	$22	$264
Golf cart charger	950 W	969 W	727 kWh	$21	$252
Garage refrigerator	180 W	81 W	710 kWh	$21	$247
Electric clothes dryer	3,000 W	2,273 W	682 kWh	$20	$237
Electric underfloor heating	1,200 W	423 W	676 kWh	$20	$235
Septic aerator pump	70 W	70 W	613 kWh	$18	$213
Gaming PC	400 W	415 W	606 kWh	$18	$210
Engine block heater	600 W	600 W	600 kWh	$17	$208
Window air conditioner	900 W	541 W	596 kWh	$17	$207
Mini split (cooling)	900 W	461 W	553 kWh	$16	$192
Electric fireplace	1,500 W	758 W	530 kWh	$15	$184
Home server or NAS	60 W	60 W	526 kWh	$15	$183
Radon mitigation fan	60 W	60 W	526 kWh	$15	$183
Electric sauna heater	6,000 W	3,330 W	500 kWh	$14	$174
Aquarium	150 W	53 W	460 kWh	$13	$160
Evaporative cooler	500 W	500 W	450 kWh	$13	$156
Well pump	1,000 W	1,000 W	438 kWh	$13	$152
Refrigerator	150 W	48 W	420 kWh	$12	$146
Heat pump clothes dryer	900 W	824 W	396 kWh	$11	$137
Hot water recirculation pump	45 W	45 W	394 kWh	$11	$137
Air purifier	45 W	45 W	394 kWh	$11	$137
Kegerator	95 W	40 W	350 kWh	$10	$121
Chest freezer	130 W	39 W	342 kWh	$9.89	$119
Electric oven	3,000 W	1,119 W	336 kWh	$9.72	$117
Water cooler / dispenser	100 W	35 W	307 kWh	$8.88	$107
Wine fridge	85 W	34 W	298 kWh	$8.62	$103
Reptile heat lamp	100 W	65 W	285 kWh	$8.24	$99
Mini fridge	75 W	30 W	263 kWh	$7.61	$91
Dishwasher	1,200 W	407 W	244 kWh	$7.07	$85
Pool salt chlorinator	160 W	166 W	239 kWh	$6.92	$83
Electric cooktop	2,000 W	931 W	230 kWh	$6.67	$80
UPS battery backup	25 W	25 W	219 kWh	$6.34	$76
Espresso machine	1,300 W	293 W	214 kWh	$6.19	$74
Games console	180 W	194 W	212 kWh	$6.15	$74
Desktop computer	100 W	104 W	208 kWh	$6.02	$72
OLED television	110 W	114 W	208 kWh	$6.01	$72
LED television	90 W	94 W	171 kWh	$4.96	$59
AV receiver	130 W	151 W	165 kWh	$4.79	$57
Whole house fan	400 W	400 W	160 kWh	$4.63	$56
Projector	280 W	289 W	144 kWh	$4.18	$50
Toaster oven	1,400 W	957 W	144 kWh	$4.16	$50
Microwave oven	1,200 W	1,485 W	136 kWh	$3.92	$47
Treadmill	700 W	855 W	128 kWh	$3.71	$45
CPAP machine	45 W	50 W	127 kWh	$3.69	$44
Laptop	50 W	52 W	125 kWh	$3.61	$43
Garden fountain pump	45 W	45 W	113 kWh	$3.28	$39
Incandescent bulb	60 W	60 W	110 kWh	$3.17	$38
Wi-Fi router and modem	12 W	12 W	105 kWh	$3.04	$37
Coffee maker	1,000 W	958 W	105 kWh	$3.04	$36
Tanning bed	4,500 W	5,095 W	102 kWh	$2.95	$35
Hair dryer	1,600 W	1,600 W	99 kWh	$2.87	$34
Food dehydrator	550 W	330 W	99 kWh	$2.87	$34
Washing machine	500 W	323 W	97 kWh	$2.81	$34
Air fryer	1,500 W	959 W	96 kWh	$2.78	$33
Welder	5,000 W	1,165 W	93 kWh	$2.70	$32
Sump pump	800 W	894 W	89 kWh	$2.59	$31
Air compressor	1,900 W	475 W	86 kWh	$2.48	$30
Electric kettle	1,500 W	1,500 W	82 kWh	$2.38	$29
E-scooter charger	90 W	93 W	74 kWh	$2.14	$26
E-bike charger	110 W	113 W	68 kWh	$1.95	$23
Box or pedestal fan	55 W	55 W	66 kWh	$1.91	$23
Central vacuum system	1,500 W	1,618 W	65 kWh	$1.87	$22
3D printer	120 W	69 W	62 kWh	$1.80	$22
Computer monitor	30 W	31 W	62 kWh	$1.79	$22
Slow cooker	200 W	120 W	58 kWh	$1.67	$20
Range hood	150 W	173 W	57 kWh	$1.65	$20
Rice cooker	650 W	283 W	57 kWh	$1.64	$20
Electric smoker	800 W	402 W	56 kWh	$1.63	$20
Humidifier	40 W	24 W	55 kWh	$1.59	$19
Robotic pool cleaner	180 W	197 W	54 kWh	$1.57	$19
Laser printer	600 W	1,794 W	54 kWh	$1.56	$19
Ceiling fan	35 W	37 W	53 kWh	$1.54	$19
Bread maker	550 W	171 W	48 kWh	$1.38	$17
Table saw	1,800 W	450 W	45 kWh	$1.30	$16
Security camera	5 W	5 W	44 kWh	$1.27	$15
Electric pressure cooker	1,000 W	381 W	43 kWh	$1.24	$15
Electric blanket	100 W	35 W	42 kWh	$1.22	$15
Egg incubator	60 W	27 W	41 kWh	$1.18	$14
Garage door opener	550 W	5,346 W	39 kWh	$1.13	$14
Massage chair	200 W	388 W	39 kWh	$1.12	$13
Battery trickle charger	25 W	9 W	38 kWh	$1.09	$13
Irrigation controller	4 W	4 W	35 kWh	$1.01	$12
Robot vacuum	40 W	97 W	35 kWh	$1.01	$12
Water softener	40 W	157 W	34 kWh	$1.00	$12
Sous vide circulator	900 W	140 W	34 kWh	$0.97	$12
Vacuum cleaner	900 W	900 W	27 kWh	$0.78	$9.38
Electric lawn mower	1,400 W	1,190 W	25 kWh	$0.72	$8.68
Clothes iron	1,300 W	520 W	21 kWh	$0.60	$7.23
Electric snow blower	1,800 W	1,620 W	19 kWh	$0.56	$6.75
Bathroom exhaust fan	35 W	35 W	19 kWh	$0.55	$6.66
Pressure washer	1,700 W	1,190 W	18 kWh	$0.52	$6.20
LED light bulb	9 W	9 W	16 kWh	$0.48	$5.71
Electric leaf blower	1,100 W	1,100 W	14 kWh	$0.40	$4.78
Garbage disposal	600 W	600 W	11 kWh	$0.32	$3.80
Hair straightener	150 W	75 W	5.6 kWh	$0.16	$1.95

How that compares

California against the national average and the extremes of the range.

Hawaii — most expensive52.72¢

California34.74¢

US average18.34¢

Nevada — cheapest13.11¢

Questions

What is the average electricity rate in California?

34.74 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers in June 2026, according to the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. That is 89% above the national average of 18.34¢, and ranks 2 out of 51 for price.

What is a typical electricity bill in California?

A household using the US average of 7,665 kWh a year would pay about $2,663 a year, or $222 a month, at California’s average rate. Actual usage varies far more than rates do — an all-electric home with electric heat can use two to three times that.

Have electricity rates in California gone up?

California residential rates are up 3.4% against the same month a year earlier, from 33.59¢ to 34.74¢. The national average moved up 5.0% over the same period.

Why is my rate different from this number?

This is a statewide average across every residential customer and every utility, including fixed monthly charges spread over the kilowatt-hours sold. Your own effective rate depends on your utility, your tariff and whether you are on time-of-use pricing. Divide the total amount on your bill by the kilowatt-hours it lists to get the figure that actually applies to you — that is the number to type into the calculators here.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, June 2026. U.S. Government work, public domain.

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