Electricity rates in California
Households in California paid an average of 34.74¢ per kilowatt-hour in June 2026. That is 89% above the national average of 18.34¢, and the 2nd most expensive of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions. Year over year the rate is up 3.4%.
- Average rate
- 34.74¢
- A year ago
- 33.59¢
- U.S. average
- 18.34¢
- Rank
- 2nd most expensive
What common appliances cost in California
Every figure below is this state's rate applied to a stated usage assumption. Follow any row for the full breakdown.
| Appliance | kWh/year | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric car | 3,800 | $110 | $1,320 |
| Electric water heater | 3,500 | $101 | $1,216 |
| Hot tub | 2,500 | $72.38 | $869 |
| Central air conditioner | 2,352 | $68.09 | $817 |
| Heat pump | 2,160 | $62.53 | $750 |
| Pool pump | 1,728 | $50.03 | $600 |
| Electric baseboard heater | 1,350 | $39.08 | $469 |
| Garage refrigerator | 900 | $26.06 | $313 |
| Space heater | 864 | $25.01 | $300 |
| Portable air conditioner | 845 | $24.46 | $293 |
| Electric clothes dryer | 780 | $22.58 | $271 |
| Window air conditioner | 691 | $20.01 | $240 |
| Aquarium | 591 | $17.12 | $205 |
| Gaming pc | 584 | $16.91 | $203 |
| Well pump | 548 | $15.85 | $190 |
| Dehumidifier | 540 | $15.63 | $188 |
| Air purifier | 438 | $12.68 | $152 |
| Refrigerator | 400 | $11.58 | $139 |
| Desktop computer | 400 | $11.58 | $139 |
| Electric oven | 333 | $9.63 | $116 |
| Dishwasher | 312 | $9.03 | $108 |
| Chest freezer | 300 | $8.69 | $104 |
| Game console | 219 | $6.34 | $76.08 |
| Coffee maker | 164 | $4.76 | $57.06 |
| 55-inch led tv | 164 | $4.76 | $57.06 |
| Washing machine | 130 | $3.76 | $45.16 |
| Air fryer | 126 | $3.65 | $43.77 |
| Laptop | 120 | $3.47 | $41.69 |
| Box fan | 112 | $3.26 | $39.08 |
| Electric kettle | 110 | $3.17 | $38.04 |
| Microwave | 110 | $3.17 | $38.04 |
| Incandescent bulb | 110 | $3.17 | $38.04 |
| Treadmill | 105 | $3.04 | $36.48 |
| Slow cooker | 96 | $2.78 | $33.35 |
| Hair dryer | 94 | $2.74 | $32.83 |
| Wi-fi router | 88 | $2.54 | $30.43 |
| Ceiling fan | 86 | $2.50 | $30.02 |
| 3d printer | 65 | $1.88 | $22.51 |
| Computer monitor | 60 | $1.74 | $20.84 |
| Security camera | 44 | $1.27 | $15.22 |
| Electric pressure cooker | 42 | $1.22 | $14.59 |
| Rice cooker | 42 | $1.22 | $14.59 |
| Electric lawn mower | 42 | $1.20 | $14.45 |
| Electric blanket | 38 | $1.11 | $13.34 |
| Vacuum cleaner | 36 | $1.04 | $12.51 |
| Toaster | 35 | $1.01 | $12.17 |
| Smart speaker | 26 | 76.1¢ | $9.13 |
| Clothes iron | 16 | 47.8¢ | $5.73 |
| Led bulb | 16 | 47.6¢ | $5.71 |
| String of christmas lights | 7 | 19.5¢ | $2.34 |
The largest single line item on this list in California is an electric car at $1,320 a year. The whole list together comes to $9,803 a year, though few households run all of them.
Questions
- What is the average electricity rate in California?
- 34.74¢ per kilowatt-hour for residential customers in June 2026, according to EIA's Electric Power Monthly.
- Is electricity expensive in California?
- It ranks 2nd most expensive of 51 U.S. jurisdictions, 89% above the national average.
- Why is my bill higher than this rate suggests?
- This is a statewide average of what customers actually paid, so it already blends in fixed charges and taxes across all utilities and plans. Your own utility, rate plan, time-of-use period and tier can each move you well away from the average.