How much does an incandescent bulb cost per month in North Carolina?

About $1.38 a month, assuming 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year at 15.16¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does an incandescent bulb use?

Roughly 110 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.06 kWh for every hour it runs.

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 $20.05 a year.

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Cost to run an incandescent bulb in North Carolina (July 2026 rates)

At 15.16¢ per kilowatt-hour — North Carolina's average residential price in July 2026 — running an incandescent bulb costs $16.60 a year. That is 17% less than the national average of $20.05. North Carolina's residential rate is up 13.4% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $14.64 to $16.60 a year.

Per hour: 0.9¢
Per day of use: 4.5¢
Per month: $1.38
Per year: $16.60

Assumption: 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year — 110 kWh a year. A 60 W bulb producing roughly the same 800 lumens as a 9 W LED. 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 $3.45 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same incandescent bulb costs $13.93 a year in Louisiana and $52.56 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $38.63 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Montana	14.99¢	$1.37	$16.41
Florida	15.03¢	$1.37	$16.46
North Carolina	15.16¢	$1.38	$16.60
Kansas	15.27¢	$1.39	$16.72
South Dakota	15.37¢	$1.40	$16.83

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an incandescent bulb.

What else costs about the same in North Carolina

Microwave$16.60 a year in NC Electric kettle$16.60 a year in NC Box fan$17.05 a year in NC

Cutting the number down

The comparison is the point: identical light, nearly seven times the electricity, for the whole life of the bulb.
Replacing the handful of bulbs that burn the most hours captures most of the available saving immediately.

Questions

How much does an incandescent bulb cost per month in North Carolina?: About $1.38 a month, assuming 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year at 15.16¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does an incandescent bulb use?: Roughly 110 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.06 kWh for every hour it runs.
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 $20.05 a year.