What a hot tub pump costs to run in California
California homes use 444 kWh a year on a hot tub pump. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $68.52 to $230.28 a year across 115 published California plans — a $161.76 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Not indexed. This page does not yet meet the site’s own publication threshold — 85.5% similar to /cost-to-run/hot-tub-heater/california, limit 82%. It is shown because the data behind it is real, not because it is complete.
Cheapest 25 of 115 priced plans, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $47.54 | −$20.98 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Single Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $47.54 | −$20.98 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $51.56 | −$16.96 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $51.60 | −$16.92 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $68.52 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $71.91 | +$3.39 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $72.33 | +$3.81 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $74.96 | +$6.44 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $78.41 | +$9.89 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $81.18 | +$12.66 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $81.35 | +$12.83 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $85.64 | +$17.12 | 13.8¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $90.15 | +$21.63 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $90.33 | +$21.81 | 16.6¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $91.59 | +$23.07 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $97.68 | +$29.16 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $100.15 | +$31.63 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $102.33 | +$33.81 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $102.78 | +$34.26 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $106.62 | +$38.10 | 17.9¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $108.31 | +$39.79 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $109.64 | +$41.12 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $109.64 | +$41.12 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $110.04 | +$41.52 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $110.52 | +$42.00 | 23.5¢ |
90 further schedules are published and priced but not listed here — mostly regional and seasonal variants of the plans above. The dearest of them costs $230.28 a year at this usage.
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $25.44 (Residential Service), dearest $85.34, a $59.90 spread
- Average — cheapest $68.52 (Residential Service), dearest $230.28, a $161.76 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $101.64 (Residential Service), dearest $341.45, a $239.81 spread
What a hot tub pump costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a hot tub pump adds $68.52 to $230.28 a year — $5.71 to $19.19 a month. The median plan puts a hot tub pump at $169.31 a year.
Cheapest for a hot tub pump: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 444 kWh are billed at 15.4¢–51.8¢, against a 39.5¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 12.4¢ per kWh.
What California homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 444 kWh a year across 92 sampled homes that run one, near the national 484 kWh. The middle half spans 165 kWh to 659 kWh, so a hot tub pump varies by 494 kWh between one household and another.
The circulation pump and jets, separately from the water heater. That average covers homes with a hot tub — 7% of homes here.
That makes a hot tub pump about 7% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 6,037 kWh is what a hot tub pump is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each California provider's cheapest plan: City of Redding, California (Utility Company), $68.52; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $97.68; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $108.31; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $146.82; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $169.31.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $100.79 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 444 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a hot tub pump
A household in the lighter quarter runs a hot tub pump for 165 kWh a year and pays $25.44 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 659 kWh and pays $101.64 — $76.20 more for a hot tub pump on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for California, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 115 California tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 40.5865, -122.3917.