How much does a dishwasher cost per month in South Carolina?

About $4.04 a month, assuming 1.20 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 15.55¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a dishwasher use?

Roughly 312 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

South Carolina has the 21st cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $57.22 a year.

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Cost to run a dishwasher in South Carolina (June 2026 rates)

At 15.55¢ per kilowatt-hour — South Carolina's average residential price in June 2026 — running a dishwasher costs $48.52 a year. That is 15% less than the national average of $57.22. South Carolina's residential rate is up 5.1% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $46.14 to $48.52 a year.

Per cycle: 18.7¢
Per day: 13.3¢
Per month: $4.04
Per year: $48.52

Assumption: 1.20 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week — 312 kWh a year. Includes the machine's own water heating. Heated dry adds roughly 0.4 kWh to each cycle on top of this. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How South Carolina compares

South Carolina pays 15.55¢/kWh, the 21st cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $8.70 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same dishwasher costs $40.90 a year in Nevada and $164 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $124 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
South Dakota	15.36¢	$3.99	$47.92
West Virginia	15.45¢	$4.02	$48.20
South Carolina	15.55¢	$4.04	$48.52
Kansas	15.71¢	$4.08	$49.02
Iowa	15.93¢	$4.14	$49.70

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a dishwasher.

What else costs about the same in South Carolina

Chest freezer$46.65 a year in SC Electric oven$51.75 a year in SC Refrigerator$62.20 a year in SC

Cutting the number down

Skipping heated dry and cracking the door open is the largest single saving available on a dishwasher, and it costs nothing.
A full load uses the same energy as a half load, so waiting until it is full halves the per-dish cost.
Pre-rinsing under a hot tap usually spends more energy heating water than the machine would have used.

Questions

How much does a dishwasher cost per month in South Carolina?: About $4.04 a month, assuming 1.20 kWh per cycle, 5 cycles a week at 15.55¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a dishwasher use?: Roughly 312 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: South Carolina has the 21st cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $57.22 a year.