How much does an incandescent bulb cost per month in South Dakota?

About $1.40 a month, assuming 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year at 15.37¢/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?

South Dakota has the 18th 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 South Dakota (July 2026 rates)

At 15.37¢ per kilowatt-hour — South Dakota's average residential price in July 2026 — running an incandescent bulb costs $16.83 a year. That is 16% less than the national average of $20.05. South Dakota's residential rate is up 5.9% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $15.90 to $16.83 a year.

Per hour: 0.9¢
Per day of use: 4.6¢
Per month: $1.40
Per year: $16.83

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 South Dakota compares

South Dakota pays 15.37¢/kWh, the 18th cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $3.22 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
North Carolina	15.16¢	$1.38	$16.60
Kansas	15.27¢	$1.39	$16.72
South Dakota	15.37¢	$1.40	$16.83
Arizona	15.38¢	$1.40	$16.84
South Carolina	15.47¢	$1.41	$16.94

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

What else costs about the same in South Dakota

Microwave$16.83 a year in SD Electric kettle$16.83 a year in SD Box fan$17.29 a year in SD

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 South Dakota?: About $1.40 a month, assuming 60 W, 5 hours a day, 365 days a year at 15.37¢/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?: South Dakota has the 18th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $20.05 a year.