How Much Does It Cost to Run a Clothes Dryer in Missouri? (2026)
Electric tumble dryers are among the most power-hungry appliances in the house, drawing 3,000 watts or more while heating. A single load can cost more than a full day of refrigeration.
A typical clothes dryer (3,000 W) costs $0.49 per hour, or about $14.60 per month at 1 hour a day in Missouri. Expensive to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low 1,800 W | $0.29 | $0.29 | $8.76 | $106.57 |
| Typical 3,000 W | $0.49 | $0.49 | $14.60 | $177.61 |
| High 5,000 W | $0.81 | $0.81 | $24.33 | $296.02 |
Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 1 h/day ≈ 1,095 kWh per year.
One hour of a clothes dryer (3.0 kWh) is the same electricity as
- 17km in an electric car
- 30hours of TV
- 67hours of a laptop
- 333hours of an LED bulb
In Missouri, with electricity at 16.2¢ per kWh (source: EIA Table 5.6.A, 2026-06), a typical clothes dryer costs $0.49 per hour and about $177.61 per year at 1 hour a day. That is about 12% less than the national average for the US ($16.51 per month), because electricity in Missouri costs 16.2¢ per kWh against 18.3¢ nationally. Each $1.00 of electricity buys roughly 2.1 hours of use.
How to lower the cost of running a clothes dryer
- Clean the lint filter before every load. A clogged filter can add 30 percent to drying time.
- Use the moisture sensor setting rather than a fixed timer.
- Dry full loads, but do not overfill. Clothes need room to tumble.
- A heat pump dryer uses about half the electricity of a conventional vented dryer.
In standby it draws about 1 W, which adds roughly 9 kWh ($1.42) per year if it is never unplugged.
Is an efficient clothes dryer worth it?
Vented or condenser dryer, class C, about 4.5 kWh per load: about 675 kWh a year. Heat pump dryer, class A+++, about 1.5 kWh per load: about 225 kWh. The difference is worth $72.99 a year in Missouri.
- Replacing one that still works pays back in 12.3 years.
- When yours needs replacing anyway, the extra cost of the efficient model pays back in 4.8 years.
Usage assumed: 150 loads a year. Typical prices: $900.00 for the efficient model, $350.00 more than a basic one. Work it out with your own prices
Frequently asked questions
How much does one load in the dryer cost?
About 3 kWh for a conventional dryer. Multiply by your rate, or check the per-hour figure above.
Is air drying worth it?
Yes. A drying rack costs nothing to run, and even air drying half the loads cuts dryer costs in half.
Do dryer balls reduce electricity use?
Marginally. They can shorten drying time by a few minutes per load.
Compare with
Cost by region
US states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Canadian provinces
Related appliances
- Clothes Iron1,500 W typical
- Heat Pump Dryer900 W typical
- Vacuum Cleaner1,000 W typical
- Robot Vacuum30 W typical
Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz