How many watts does a hair dryer use?
A hair dryer uses 1,200–2,200 W (about 1,800 W on average). Running 0.25 hours/day, that is about 0.45 kWh a day and 13.5 kWh a month — roughly $2.48 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.34 ¢/kWh.
This is the hair dryer electricity usage reference: watts, amps on a 120 V circuit, the kWh math, and links to what that usage costs in each state.
Watts, amps, and kWh for a hair dryer
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Rated wattage range | 1,200–2,200 W |
| Average draw used in our math | 1,800 W |
| Amps at 120 V | 10–18 A (15 A at the average draw) |
| kWh per hour | 1.80 kWh |
| kWh per day at 0.25 hours/day | 0.45 kWh |
| kWh per month | 13.5 kWh |
| Cost per month at the U.S. average (18.34 ¢/kWh) | $2.48 |
The math is kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1000 and amps = watts ÷ volts. A standard 120 V household circuit on a 15 A breaker carries about 1,800 W. For the dollars in your state, open cost to run a hair dryer in Texas and switch states from there.
Hair Dryer electricity usage profile
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| kWh per hour | 1.80 kWh |
| kWh per day (typical) | 0.45 kWh |
| kWh per month (typical) | 13.5 kWh |
| kWh per year (typical) | 164.3 kWh |
| Low runtime scenario | 0.5 hours/day |
| High runtime scenario | 2.25 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: June 2026. Usage calculations use fixed appliance wattage and runtime assumptions so results stay comparable across pages.
Frequently asked questions
How many watts does a hair dryer use?
A hair dryer uses 1,200–2,200 W (about 1,800 W on average). Our usage and cost math uses 1,800 watts running 0.25 hours/day.
How many amps does a hair dryer draw?
On a 120 V circuit, 1,200–2,200 W works out to about 10–18 A; at the 1,800 W we use in the math that is 15 A.
How much electricity does a hair dryer use per month?
About 13.5 kWh a month at 0.25 hours/day. Lighter use (0.5 hours/day) comes to roughly 27.0 kWh and heavier use (2.25 hours/day) roughly 121.5 kWh.
How much does it cost to run a hair dryer?
About $2.48 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.34 ¢/kWh — from roughly $1.77 in Nevada to $7.12 in Hawaii at the same usage. The state cost-to-run pages price it at every state's rate.