Gas vs. electric dryer: the real cost difference in your state

A conventional vented electric dryer uses 1.4 to 4.7 kWh per cycle. At the US-average residential rate of 18.05¢/kWh, that is $0.25 to $0.85 per load with an average around $0.42. A gas dryer uses 0.04 to 0.07 therms of natural gas per cycle plus 200 to 400 watts of electricity for the motor and controls. At the US-average residential gas rate of $1.45 per therm and the same electric rate, the all-in fuel cost lands around $0.18 to $0.30 per load with an average near $0.23. A heat pump electric dryer uses 1.0 to 1.8 kWh per cycle, which works out to $0.18 to $0.32 per load on the same electricity rate.

The DOE puts the average US household at 250 to 300 dryer cycles a year. Multiplying through, the annual fuel cost is $50 to $57 for a gas dryer, $105 to $115 for a conventional electric, and $54 to $75 for a heat pump electric. Those are the numbers most comparison tables are built on, including the gas-versus-electric calculator at omnicalculator.com. The catch is that all three numbers move dramatically with state rates.

State residential rates and gas prices both vary, but electricity varies more. A three-times rate spread on the electric side is much wider than the typical 1.5-times spread on the gas side. That is why the gas-versus-electric gap widens as rates rise.

In Louisiana at 12.44¢/kWh and roughly $1.05 per therm, a 300-cycle household pays about $42 a year on a gas dryer, $74 on a conventional electric, and $39 on a heat pump electric. The gas-versus-electric gap is only $32 a year, and the heat pump narrowly beats both. In Texas at 14.8¢ and $1.18 per therm, gas runs $48, conventional electric $89, and heat pump $44. The gap widens to $41. At the national average, gas runs about $54, conventional electric $108, and heat pump $63. Gas is $54 cheaper than conventional electric. In Connecticut at 28.7¢/kWh, gas costs about $60 a year, conventional electric $172, and heat pump $100. The gap is now $112. In Hawaii at 39.89¢/kWh, gas runs $66, conventional electric $239, and heat pump $140. The gas-versus-conventional-electric gap is $173 a year. The conventional electric dryer becomes a meaningful line item on the bill.

The full state rate table is on the electricity rates by state page, with current 2026 numbers for all 50 states. The pattern: in the dozen states paying under 14¢/kWh, the fuel-cost case for gas over electric is real but small. In the dozen states paying over 22¢/kWh, the case is large enough that a household replacing a working dryer can recover the cost difference quickly.

The fuel math is half the answer. The other half is what the laundry hookup looks like. Most US homes already have a 30-amp 240-volt outlet at the laundry location because that has been the standard residential electrical hookup for dryers for decades. A gas dryer needs that same 240-volt outlet for its motor and controls plus a gas supply line and a vent.

If a gas line already runs to the laundry location, switching to gas costs nothing beyond the appliance price difference. A gas dryer typically costs $50 to $150 more than the equivalent electric model at the same brand and capacity tier. At an $55-a-year fuel savings, the appliance pays back in one to three years.

If a gas line does not run to the laundry location, a plumber has to add one. A short run from an existing gas main or water heater closet costs $400 to $800. A longer run across a finished basement, through walls, or to a second-floor laundry can cost $1,000 to $2,500. At $55 a year in fuel savings, an $800 gas line run takes 14 to 16 years to recover. A $1,500 run takes 27. For most households without an existing gas hookup, the install cost erases the lifetime fuel savings on a single dryer.

Heat pump dryers compress and recycle the moist air inside the drum instead of heating fresh air and venting it outside. Energy use per cycle drops 28 to 50% against a conventional electric. The annual electricity bill lands at $54 to $75 at national-average rates, which beats conventional electric and approaches the gas number. In high-rate states, a heat pump dryer beats gas. In Hawaii at 39.89¢/kWh, a heat pump electric runs about $140 a year against $66 for gas, but only because Hawaii's gas prices are unusually low. In Connecticut and California, heat pump electric and gas run within $20 a year of each other.

Heat pump dryers cost $1,000 to $1,800 new, roughly $300 to $500 more than a comparable conventional electric and $200 to $400 more than a comparable gas model. They take longer per cycle, typically 80 to 120 minutes against 45 to 60 for conventional. They do not need a vent, which is the install advantage that beats both alternatives in apartments, condos, and any laundry location where venting through an exterior wall is not an option. Many models qualify for federal residential clean energy credits and for state utility rebates that close another $200 to $500 of the purchase-price gap. The current ENERGY STAR certified list is on the ENERGY STAR clothes dryer finder.

The model-level wattage and cycle math is on the heat pump dryer appliance page.

A household with an existing gas hookup, replacing a working conventional electric dryer at the national average, recovers the gas-versus-electric appliance price difference in 1.5 to 2.5 years on fuel alone. In Connecticut or Hawaii, payback drops to under a year. In Louisiana, payback is 2.5 to 3 years.

A household without a gas hookup, replacing the same dryer at the national average, does not recover an $800 gas line install in less than 14 years. The same household replacing the dryer with a heat pump electric model recovers the $300 to $500 appliance price premium in 5 to 8 years on fuel savings, and faster if rebates apply. In high-rate states, the heat pump recovers in 2 to 4 years. The heat pump path is almost always the better answer when there is no existing gas line.

A household whose existing dryer still works, in a low-rate state, with no gas hookup, gets the smallest economic case for any switch. The most expensive thing they can do is replace working equipment. The cheapest play is to ride the existing appliance to the end of its useful life and then re-evaluate when rates have likely moved further up.

State rates, household cycle counts, dryer model wattage, and installation cost all shift the answer. The averages above are useful as a sanity check, but the right comparison for any specific household uses that household's rate and dryer wattage.

The full electric-dryer cost breakdown, including model-level wattage and cycle math, is on the dryer electricity cost post. The appliance pages for electric, gas, and heat pump dryers each list spec-sheet wattages and current ENERGY STAR certified models. If the bill increase prompting this comparison is broader than the dryer alone, the high-bill diagnostic walkthrough isolates which appliance is actually driving the change.