Cost to run a microwave in Ohio (June 2026 rates)
At 19.19¢ per kilowatt-hour — Ohio's average residential price in June 2026 — running a microwave costs $21.01 a year. That is 5% more than the national average of $20.08. Ohio's residential rate is up 9.7% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $19.16 to $21.01 a year.
- Per hour
- 23.0¢
- Per day of use
- 5.8¢
- Per month
- $1.75
- Per year
- $21.01
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 Ohio compares
Ohio pays 19.19¢/kWh, the 19th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to 93.1¢ more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same microwave costs $14.36 a year in Nevada and $57.73 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $43.37 a year.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 17.51¢ | $1.60 | $19.17 |
| Minnesota | 17.52¢ | $1.60 | $19.18 |
| Ohio | 19.19¢ | $1.75 | $21.01 |
| Delaware | 19.29¢ | $1.76 | $21.12 |
| Wisconsin | 19.56¢ | $1.78 | $21.42 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a microwave.
What else costs about the same in Ohio
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 Ohio?
- About $1.75 a month, assuming 1,200 W, 15 minutes a day, 365 days a year at 19.19¢/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?
- Ohio has the 19th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $20.08 a year.