How much does an electric baseboard heater cost per month in California?

About $39.08 a month, assuming 1,500 W at a 50% duty cycle, 12 hours a day, 150 days a year at 34.74¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does an electric baseboard heater use?

Roughly 1,350 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.75 kWh for every hour it runs.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

California has the 2nd most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $248 a year.

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Cost to run an electric baseboard heater in California (June 2026 rates)

At 34.74¢ per kilowatt-hour — California's average residential price in June 2026 — running an electric baseboard heater costs $469 a year. That is 89% more than the national average of $248. California's residential rate is up 3.4% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $453 to $469 a year.

Per hour: 26.1¢
Per day of use: $3.13
Per month: $39.08
Per year: $469

Assumption: 1,500 W at a 50% duty cycle, 12 hours a day, 150 days a year — 1,350 kWh a year. Per 6-foot section. A whole house typically has several running at once, so multiply by the number of sections in use. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How California compares

California pays 34.74¢/kWh, the 2nd most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $221 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same electric baseboard heater costs $177 a year in Nevada and $712 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $535 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
New York	29.49¢	$33.18	$398
Maine	29.59¢	$33.29	$399
Massachusetts	29.61¢	$33.31	$400
California	34.74¢	$39.08	$469
Hawaii	52.72¢	$59.31	$712

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

What else costs about the same in California

Pool pump$600 a year in CA Garage refrigerator$313 a year in CA Space heater$300 a year in CA

Cutting the number down

Resistance heat is 1 kWh in, 1 kWh of heat out. There is no efficiency upgrade available; the only lever is running fewer of them, less often.
Furniture pushed against a baseboard blocks convection and makes the thermostat run the element longer.
Zoning by room is the built-in advantage. Turning unused rooms down to 55 F is where the savings live.

Questions

How much does an electric baseboard heater cost per month in California?: About $39.08 a month, assuming 1,500 W at a 50% duty cycle, 12 hours a day, 150 days a year at 34.74¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does an electric baseboard heater use?: Roughly 1,350 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.75 kWh for every hour it runs.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: California has the 2nd most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $248 a year.