How much does it cost to run a garbage disposal?
EIA data · June 2026About 8.4¢ a month at the U.S. average price of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour — but that figure moves a long way depending on where you live. Set your state below.
0.5 kWh a month at the U.S. average, 18.34¢/kWh for June 2026. Excludes fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates, which vary by utility and are on your bill.
Typical 350–900 W. Use the figure on your own label if you have it.
A garbage disposal sits mid-table at #86 of 88, which means something else in the house costs more. See whether kitchen or something else drives your bill.
Every figure here is priced per kilowatt-hour. What a kilowatt-hour actually is.
How many watts a garbage disposal uses
Disposals are rated by motor size: a 1/3 HP unit draws roughly 350 W, 1/2 HP about 500 W and 1 HP about 900 W.
- Low
- 350 W
- Typical
- 500 W
- High
- 900 W
What it costs across the country
Same appliance, same usage, different electricity price. Annual cost at 500 W and the default usage above.
| State | ¢/kWh | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.72 | $2.89 |
| California | 34.74 | $1.90 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61 | $1.62 |
| New York | 29.49 | $1.61 |
| Ohio | 19.19 | $1.05 |
| Texas | 15.94 | 87.3¢ |
| Florida | 15.10 | 82.7¢ |
| Utah | 13.37 | 73.2¢ |
| Nebraska | 13.25 | 72.5¢ |
| Nevada | 13.11 | 71.8¢ |
Worth knowing
- Runtime is measured in seconds. Even used several times a day, a disposal costs around a dollar a year and is effectively invisible on a bill.
- The real cost attached to a disposal is hot water, if you run the tap hot while using it. Cold water is recommended anyway, since it solidifies grease so it can be chopped.
- A jammed unit that trips its thermal overload repeatedly is a fault to fix, not a running cost to budget for.
Other appliances
Prices are statewide residential averages for June 2026 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. They exclude fixed monthly charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. See how these figures are calculated.