What Central AC Costs to Run, State by State
How the cost is worked out
Cooling degree days measure how much and how long a place runs above 65°F. ACSizeCheck turns each city's monthly cooling degree days into hours at full output for a correctly sized unit, divides by an efficiency of SEER2 14.3, and prices the kWh at the state's average residential rate from the EIA.
State by state
| State | Cities | Rate | Median yearly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 1 | 46.41¢ | $3,475 |
| Arizona | 44 | 15.36¢ | $952 |
| Florida | 173 | 15.32¢ | $896 |
| Texas | 252 | 16.03¢ | $722 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 24.86¢ | $679 |
| Louisiana | 35 | 13.27¢ | $588 |
| South Carolina | 42 | 15.9¢ | $559 |
| Mississippi | 41 | 15.06¢ | $547 |
| California | 376 | 32.58¢ | $544 |
| Nevada | 10 | 13.36¢ | $544 |
| Alabama | 66 | 16.51¢ | $531 |
| New Jersey | 116 | 24.09¢ | $446 |
| Maryland | 23 | 21.31¢ | $439 |
| Georgia | 101 | 15.48¢ | $420 |
| Oklahoma | 45 | 13.81¢ | $412 |
| Arkansas | 39 | 13.74¢ | $403 |
| North Carolina | 91 | 14.94¢ | $383 |
| New Mexico | 19 | 15.34¢ | $356 |
| Kansas | 38 | 15.26¢ | $335 |
| Rhode Island | 8 | 29.05¢ | $328 |
| Delaware | 6 | 17.98¢ | $326 |
| Tennessee | 65 | 13.8¢ | $320 |
| Missouri | 80 | 14.28¢ | $305 |
| Connecticut | 21 | 27.47¢ | $292 |
| Virginia | 39 | 16.95¢ | $290 |
| New York | 90 | 29.26¢ | $275 |
| Illinois | 225 | 19.23¢ | $268 |
| Massachusetts | 58 | 30.19¢ | $267 |
| Kentucky | 42 | 14.2¢ | $254 |
| Ohio | 176 | 18.81¢ | $244 |
| Pennsylvania | 68 | 21.13¢ | $243 |
| Indiana | 88 | 17.04¢ | $231 |
| West Virginia | 13 | 15.58¢ | $223 |
| Michigan | 90 | 21.73¢ | $208 |
| Vermont | 4 | 23.93¢ | $205 |
| Utah | 67 | 13.19¢ | $195 |
| Nebraska | 16 | 12.92¢ | $189 |
| Iowa | 41 | 14.55¢ | $186 |
| New Hampshire | 11 | 26.91¢ | $178 |
| Maine | 11 | 30.23¢ | $176 |
| South Dakota | 14 | 14.58¢ | $159 |
| Minnesota | 103 | 16.44¢ | $151 |
| Wisconsin | 98 | 19.05¢ | $146 |
| Colorado | 53 | 16.8¢ | $139 |
| Idaho | 26 | 13.02¢ | $101 |
| North Dakota | 9 | 12.46¢ | $84 |
| Oregon | 57 | 15.46¢ | $78 |
| Wyoming | 11 | 14.01¢ | $70 |
| Montana | 8 | 14.13¢ | $54 |
| Washington | 91 | 14.42¢ | $38 |
| Alaska | 4 | 27.32¢ | $7 |
Climate or price?
The most expensive single cities to cool are Honolulu, HI ($3,475), Palm Desert, CA ($2,355), Cathedral City, CA ($2,355). Heat matters more than the rate in most of the country, but high rates can put a mild state above a hotter one. A SEER2 18 unit uses about a fifth less than the SEER2 14.3 assumed here.
Where to go next
See how far apart the answers run: Bullhead City, AZ, Houston, TX, San Francisco, CA.
Embed the AC Size Widget for Any US City · Why the 20 BTU per Square Foot Rule Oversizes Most Air Conditioners