Mining Electricity Costs by US State (2026)

Two miners with identical rigs can have opposite outcomes. The difference is almost always the electricity rate — it is the single biggest lever on whether your rig prints or bleeds.

Electricity is the largest ongoing cost in mining, and in the US it varies enormously by state. The cheapest states are nearly three times cheaper per kilowatt-hour than the most expensive ones, and that spread alone can flip a setup from profitable to underwater. Below we lay out how states compare, the simple math to turn watts into dollars, and how to nail down your exact cost. When you want a real number for your rig, the electricity cost calculator has a region selector that fills in your state's average for you.

Why your rate matters more than your hardware

It is tempting to obsess over hashrate, but power cost decides far more of your bottom line. A rig running flat-out 24/7 turns watts into a fixed monthly bill regardless of coin price. When the coin pumps, a cheap rate makes you very profitable; when it dumps, a cheap rate is often the only thing keeping you above water. A high rate, by contrast, gives you almost no margin for error — one difficulty bump or price dip and you are mining at a loss. This is the same point we make in our guide on whether GPU mining is still profitable: cheap power is the prerequisite, not the bonus.

Cheap vs expensive states at a glance

The table below shows approximate residential averages, not exact or current rates. Residential is what most home miners actually pay, but it is the right number to start from. Rates move with season, demand, and utility, so treat these as ballpark tiers, not quotes.

The cheap states cluster around hydro, wind, and other low-cost generation — the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Mountain West and Plains. The expensive end is dominated by the Northeast and California, with Hawaii in a category of its own because it leans heavily on imported fuel. The gap between roughly $0.11 and $0.32 is not a rounding error; it is the difference between a healthy margin and a money pit on the exact same hardware.

The kWh math, in plain terms

Turning power into dollars is one short formula:

So the full one-liner is (watts ÷ 1000) × hours × rate. A single GPU pulling 200 W at the wall, running 24 hours, uses 0.2 kW × 24 = 4.8 kWh per day. At a cheap $0.11/kWh that is about $0.53/day; at an expensive $0.32/kWh it jumps to $1.54/day — nearly triple, for the same coins earned. Scale that to a six-card rig near 1,200 W and the monthly gap balloons to well over a hundred dollars. For the full revenue-minus-cost picture, walk through our step-by-step profit guide.

Read the exact rate off your own bill

State averages are a starting point, not your real number. Your actual cost can differ for several reasons, and they all matter:

• Delivery and fees — your bill includes more than the raw energy charge. Distribution, transmission, and surcharges can add several cents per kWh, so the headline rate understates what you really pay.
• Tiered pricing — many utilities charge more per kWh above a usage threshold. A 24/7 rig pushes you into the highest tier, so your marginal cost can be well above the average.
• Commercial and industrial rates — these differ from residential, often lower per kWh but with demand charges. If you mine at scale or out of a business, residential averages do not apply to you.
• Time-of-use plans — some areas charge by hour, with cheap overnight windows and pricey afternoon peaks. Mining only during off-peak hours can dramatically cut your effective rate.

To find your true number, take total dollars on the bill and divide by total kWh used — that blended figure already bakes in fees and tiers. Plug that into the calculator instead of a state average for the most honest result.

Low rates are not the whole story

Cheap power is the foundation, but it does not erase the other variables. Coin price, network difficulty, and hardware efficiency still decide whether you profit, which is why even miners in cheap states should pick coins carefully — see our most-profitable-coin breakdown. Efficiency matters too: a newer, more efficient card earns the same hashrate for fewer watts, so it stretches every kilowatt-hour further. Shopping efficient and renewed GPUs can lower both your purchase price and your ongoing power draw at once. The goal is to stack the deck: low rate, efficient hardware, and a coin worth mining.

Track it over time, not just once

Your rate is not frozen. Utilities raise prices, seasons shift demand, and a winter spike can quietly turn a profitable rig into a losing one without you noticing. Checking once tells you whether to start; logging it month over month tells you whether to keep going — and it is what you will want at tax time. The simplest way to do that is to re-run the numbers whenever your bill changes: plug your latest rate into our free mining calculators so you always know your real profit, not a hopeful estimate. Use them to decide whether to start, and keep re-checking to stay honest as rates drift.

Frequently asked

Do these rates apply to large mining operations? Not directly — the table shows residential averages. Commercial and industrial customers often get different rates with demand charges, so a serious operation should use its actual contracted rate in the calculator rather than a residential average.

Is it worth moving to a cheaper state to mine? Rarely for a hobby rig, since the savings on a card or two will not offset relocation. At scale it is exactly why large farms cluster in cheap-power regions. For most people, the win is reading your true rate and choosing efficient gear — compare options in our best mining GPU guide.

What if my rate is over $0.30/kWh? General-purpose mining is tough to keep profitable there, but it is not automatically hopeless — a very efficient setup on the right coin during off-peak hours can still work. Run your exact numbers in the calculator before assuming either way.

Estimates only. Electricity rates shown are approximate averages that change over time and by utility; always confirm against your own bill. Not financial advice.