How much does an electric water heater cost per month in Rhode Island?

About $82.51 a month, assuming 3,500 kWh a year at 28.29¢/kWh.

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

Roughly 3,500 kWh a year under these assumptions.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

Rhode Island has the 7th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $641 a year.

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Cost to run an electric water heater in Rhode Island (July 2026 rates)

At 28.29¢ per kilowatt-hour — Rhode Island's average residential price in July 2026 — running an electric water heater costs $990 a year. That is 55% more than the national average of $641. Rhode Island's residential rate is up 8.1% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $916 to $990 a year.

Per day: $2.71
Per month: $82.51
Per year: $990

Assumption: 3,500 kWh a year. A 50-gallon resistance tank for a household of three or four. This is typically the largest or second-largest electric load in a home without electric heat. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

Related calculators: work out whether a heat-pump water heater pays back.

How Rhode Island compares

Rhode Island pays 28.29¢/kWh, the 7th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $349 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same electric water heater costs $445 a year in Louisiana and $1,680 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $1,235 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
District of Columbia	25.21¢	$73.53	$882
New Hampshire	26.60¢	$77.58	$931
Rhode Island	28.29¢	$82.51	$990
Alaska	28.83¢	$84.09	$1,009
New York	29.90¢	$87.21	$1,046

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

What else costs about the same in Rhode Island

Electric car$1,075 a year in RI Hot tub$707 a year in RI Central air conditioner$665 a year in RI

Cutting the number down

A heat-pump water heater does the same job for roughly a third of the electricity, which is why it usually pays back faster than any other upgrade in the house.
Dropping the setpoint from 140 F to 120 F cuts standby losses and scalding risk at once.
An insulating blanket on an older tank pays for itself in a season; check the manufacturer's guidance first.

Questions

How much does an electric water heater cost per month in Rhode Island?: About $82.51 a month, assuming 3,500 kWh a year at 28.29¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does an electric water heater use?: Roughly 3,500 kWh a year under these assumptions.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: Rhode Island has the 7th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $641 a year.