How much does a pool pump cost per month in California?

About $50.03 a month, assuming 1,200 W, 8 hours a day, 180 days a year at 34.74¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a pool pump use?

Roughly 1,728 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.20 kWh for every hour it runs.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

California has the 2nd most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $317 a year.

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Cost to run a pool pump in California (June 2026 rates)

At 34.74¢ per kilowatt-hour — California's average residential price in June 2026 — running a pool pump costs $600 a year. That is 89% more than the national average of $317. California's residential rate is up 3.4% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $580 to $600 a year.

Per hour: 41.7¢
Per day of use: $3.34
Per month: $50.03
Per year: $600

Assumption: 1,200 W, 8 hours a day, 180 days a year — 1,728 kWh a year. A single-speed 1.5 HP pump. Variable-speed pumps running longer at low speed use a fraction of this. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How California compares

California pays 34.74¢/kWh, the 2nd most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $283 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same pool pump costs $227 a year in Nevada and $911 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $684 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
New York	29.49¢	$42.47	$510
Maine	29.59¢	$42.61	$511
Massachusetts	29.61¢	$42.64	$512
California	34.74¢	$50.03	$600
Hawaii	52.72¢	$75.92	$911

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a pool pump.

What else costs about the same in California

Electric baseboard heater$469 a year in CA Heat pump$750 a year in CA Central air conditioner$817 a year in CA

Cutting the number down

Pump power rises roughly with the cube of speed, so running at half speed for twice as long uses about a quarter of the energy.
Most pools are turned over more often than they need. Cutting an hour a day is free money all season.
A variable-speed pump is one of the few upgrades that routinely pays back within two seasons.

Questions

How much does a pool pump cost per month in California?: About $50.03 a month, assuming 1,200 W, 8 hours a day, 180 days a year at 34.74¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a pool pump use?: Roughly 1,728 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.20 kWh for every hour it runs.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: California has the 2nd most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $317 a year.