What a microwave costs to run, by state
Cooking and reheating, plus the standby draw of the clock and panel.
Figures cover homes with a microwave. Each is the difference a microwave 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 Yorknot indexed | 90 kWh | $3.52 | $39.09 |
| Washingtonnot indexed | 114 kWh | $6.00 | $17.40 |
| New Jerseynot indexed | 96 kWh | $6.60 | $26.28 |
| Texasnot indexed | 110 kWh | $7.47 | $19.80 |
| Ohionot indexed | 108 kWh | $7.63 | $10.68 |
| Coloradonot indexed | 113 kWh | $8.31 | $18.40 |
| Virginia | 112 kWh | $8.42 | $27.54 |
| Georgia | 107 kWh | $8.92 | $17.36 |
| North Carolinanot indexed | 106 kWh | $9.29 | $15.50 |
| Minnesotanot indexed | 113 kWh | $9.80 | $18.24 |
| Massachusetts | 102 kWh | $9.84 | $34.68 |
| Arizonanot indexed | 111 kWh | $10.15 | $18.32 |
| Pennsylvanianot indexed | 108 kWh | $10.80 | $24.24 |
| Illinois | 106 kWh | $11.32 | $11.32 |
| Oregonnot indexed | 117 kWh | $13.17 | $22.32 |
| Floridanot indexed | 105 kWh | $13.80 | $16.84 |
| Michigan | 104 kWh | $14.52 | $25.60 |
| Californianot indexed | 108 kWh | $16.56 | $55.92 |