What air conditioning costs to run, by state
All electricity used for cooling — central systems, heat pumps in cooling mode, and window or wall units — plus the air handler that runs with them.
Figures cover homes with air conditioning. Each is the difference air conditioning makes to a year’s bill on the cheapest and dearest published plan in that state, not a rate multiplied by a wattage.
Pilot data. 450 tariffs from 45 utilities, retrieved September 2, 2026. This is a sample, not national coverage — a utility missing here is one that has not been indexed yet.
| State | Used per year | Cheapest plan | Dearest plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,302 kWh | $45.62 | $565.29 |
| Washington | 892 kWh | $46.68 | $135.84 |
| Minnesota | 1,039 kWh | $90.25 | $168.36 |
| Colorado | 1,311 kWh | $97.08 | $214.32 |
| Ohio | 1,532 kWh | $107.97 | $151.08 |
| Oregon | 1,020 kWh | $115.12 | $195.00 |
| Massachusetts | 1,224 kWh | $117.36 | $414.60 |
| New Jersey | 1,748 kWh | $120.47 | $475.84 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,553 kWh | $155.28 | $348.36 |
| Illinois | 1,506 kWh | $160.32 | $160.32 |
| Virginia | 2,236 kWh | $167.78 | $551.12 |
| Michigan | 1,223 kWh | $172.08 | $300.28 |
| North Carolina | 2,470 kWh | $215.55 | $359.91 |
| Georgia | 3,019 kWh | $252.18 | $485.68 |
| California | 1,646 kWh | $253.92 | $852.57 |
| Texas | 3,979 kWh | $270.43 | $716.16 |
| Arizona | 5,165 kWh | $475.94 | $855.12 |
| Florida | 4,380 kWh | $533.28 | $700.83 |