How much does an electric clothes dryer cost per month in North Carolina?

About $9.85 a month, assuming 3.00 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 15.16¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does an electric clothes dryer use?

Roughly 780 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

North Carolina has the 16th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $143 a year.

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Cost to run an electric clothes dryer in North Carolina (July 2026 rates)

At 15.16¢ per kilowatt-hour — North Carolina's average residential price in July 2026 — running an electric clothes dryer costs $118 a year. That is 17% less than the national average of $143. North Carolina's residential rate is up 13.4% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $104 to $118 a year.

Per cycle: 45.5¢
Per day: 32.4¢
Per month: $9.85
Per year: $118

Assumption: 3.00 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week — 780 kWh a year. A standard vented electric dryer. Heat-pump dryers use roughly half this per load. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How North Carolina compares

North Carolina pays 15.16¢/kWh, the 16th cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $24.57 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same electric clothes dryer costs $99.22 a year in Louisiana and $374 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $275 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Montana	14.99¢	$9.74	$117
Florida	15.03¢	$9.77	$117
North Carolina	15.16¢	$9.85	$118
Kansas	15.27¢	$9.93	$119
South Dakota	15.37¢	$9.99	$120

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an electric clothes dryer.

What else costs about the same in North Carolina

Portable air conditioner$128 a year in NC Space heater$131 a year in NC Window air conditioner$105 a year in NC

Cutting the number down

The spin speed of the washer sets the dryer's workload. A faster final spin removes water mechanically instead of thermally, which is far cheaper.
A blocked lint screen or crushed vent hose makes every load run longer at full heat.
Back-to-back loads reuse a drum that is already hot.

Questions

How much does an electric clothes dryer cost per month in North Carolina?: About $9.85 a month, assuming 3.00 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 15.16¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does an electric clothes dryer use?: Roughly 780 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: North Carolina has the 16th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $143 a year.