Cost to run a microwave in Utah (July 2026 rates)
At 13.12¢ per kilowatt-hour — Utah's average residential price in July 2026 — running a microwave costs $14.37 a year. That is 28% less than the national average of $20.05. Utah's residential rate is down 2.5% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $14.73 to $14.37 a year.
- Per hour
- 15.7¢
- Per day of use
- 3.9¢
- Per month
- $1.20
- Per year
- $14.37
Assumption: 1,200 W, 15 minutes a day, 365 days a year — 110 kWh a year. Draw while cooking; the 1,100 W on the label is delivered power and the wall draw is a little higher. Assumes 15 minutes a day of actual use. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.
How Utah compares
Utah pays 13.12¢/kWh, the 3rd cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $5.68 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same microwave 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 12.72¢ | $1.16 | $13.93 |
| Nevada | 12.77¢ | $1.17 | $13.98 |
| Utah | 13.12¢ | $1.20 | $14.37 |
| North Dakota | 13.41¢ | $1.22 | $14.68 |
| Tennessee | 13.71¢ | $1.25 | $15.01 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a microwave.
What else costs about the same in Utah
Cutting the number down
- Reheating in a microwave is close to the cheapest way to put heat into food, because nearly all of it lands in the food rather than the air.
- The clock display draws a couple of watts around the clock, which over a year is a meaningful share of a lightly used microwave's total.
Questions
- How much does a microwave cost per month in Utah?
- About $1.20 a month, assuming 1,200 W, 15 minutes a day, 365 days a year at 13.12¢/kWh.
- How many kilowatt-hours does a microwave use?
- Roughly 110 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.20 kWh for every hour it runs.
- Is that expensive compared with other states?
- Utah has the 3rd cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $20.05 a year.