How many watts does a clothes dryer use?
A clothes dryer uses 1,800–5,000 W (about 3,000 W on average). Running 0.75 hours/day, that is about 2.25 kWh a day and 67.5 kWh a month — roughly $12.36 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh.
This is the clothes dryer electricity usage reference: watts, amps on a 240 V circuit, the kWh math, and links to what that usage costs in each state.
Watts, amps, and kWh for a clothes dryer
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Rated wattage range | 1,800–5,000 W |
| Average draw used in our math | 3,000 W |
| Amps at 240 V | 7.5–21 A (13 A at the average draw) |
| kWh per hour | 3.00 kWh |
| kWh per day at 0.75 hours/day | 2.25 kWh |
| kWh per month | 67.5 kWh |
| Cost per month at the U.S. average (18.31 ¢/kWh) | $12.36 |
The math is kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1000 and amps = watts ÷ volts. A clothes dryer is normally wired for 240 V in US homes; a 120 V unit of the same wattage would draw twice the amps. For the dollars in your state, open cost to run a clothes dryer in Texas and switch states from there.
Clothes Dryer electricity usage profile
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| kWh per hour | 3.00 kWh |
| kWh per day (typical) | 2.25 kWh |
| kWh per month (typical) | 67.5 kWh |
| kWh per year (typical) | 821.3 kWh |
| Low runtime scenario | 0.5 hours/day |
| High runtime scenario | 2.75 hours/day |
Connect usage to cost tools
Related appliance usage pages
Source & Method
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Retail Sales of Electricity. Last dataset period: July 2026. Usage calculations use fixed appliance wattage and runtime assumptions so results stay comparable across pages.
Frequently asked questions
How many watts does a clothes dryer use?
A clothes dryer uses 1,800–5,000 W (about 3,000 W on average). Our usage and cost math uses 3,000 watts running 0.75 hours/day.
How many amps does a clothes dryer draw?
On a 240 V circuit, 1,800–5,000 W works out to about 7.5–21 A; at the 3,000 W we use in the math that is 13 A.
How much electricity does a clothes dryer use per month?
About 67.5 kWh a month at 0.75 hours/day. Lighter use (0.5 hours/day) comes to roughly 45.0 kWh and heavier use (2.75 hours/day) roughly 247.5 kWh.
How much does it cost to run a clothes dryer?
About $12.36 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh — from roughly $8.59 in Louisiana to $32.40 in Hawaii at the same usage. The state cost-to-run pages price it at every state's rate.