A Freezer Never Turns Off — So Your State's Electricity Rate Is the Whole Story

The median certified freezer costs $78.71 a year to run at the U.S. average electricity rate. Move that exact same machine to North Dakota, the cheapest state, and it costs $51.62. Move it to Hawaii, the priciest, and it costs $194.87 — a 3.8x gap for an identical appliance, driven entirely by the local rate.

Why a freezer isolates the rate effect so cleanly

A freezer is an always-on appliance: its DOE test procedure measures continuous compressor cycling at standardized temperatures, with no "hours of use" assumption to adjust for household habits. That matters for this comparison specifically, because it removes a variable that muddies most other appliances — a clothes dryer's cost also depends on how many loads a household actually runs, but a freezer's doesn't depend on anything you do. Whatever the certified kWh figure is, it happens regardless of location, which means the entire state-to-state cost difference comes from one number: the local price of electricity.

The certified range adds a second variable

Location isn't the only thing that moves a freezer's cost. Across 568 certified freezer models, annual use ranges from 137 kWh to 649 kWh — a model can be nearly 5x apart on its own, before location enters the picture. Chest and upright configurations account for much of that range; WattCost has a dedicated breakdown of that specific gap. Combine an inefficient model with a high-rate state, or an efficient model with a low-rate state, and the real-world spread between two freezers easily exceeds 10x.

The 50-state spread, concretely

The 3.8x ratio between North Dakota and Hawaii isn't specific to freezers — it's the ratio between the country's cheapest electricity (12.35¢/kWh) and most expensive (46.62¢/kWh), applied to any always-on category's median. WattCost found the same 3.8x pattern for refrigerators ($42.61 in North Dakota vs. $160.84 in Hawaii) — because it's driven by the rate ratio itself, not by anything specific to either appliance.

Contrast with a cyclical appliance

A clothes dryer shows a similar-looking state effect, but for a different reason: WattCost's dryer-by-state breakdown combines the rate difference with how many loads a household actually runs. A freezer has no equivalent behavioral lever — the rate is the entire explanation, which is what makes it the cleanest example of pure state-rate exposure in WattCost's dataset.

What actually moves the number

• Your state's electricity rate. For an always-on appliance like a freezer, this alone accounts for the entire 3.8x national spread.
• Model choice. Certified freezers span 137 to 649 kWh a year — see the freezers category page for specific models.
• Chest vs. upright configuration. Covered in detail in the chest vs. upright breakdown.

FAQ

Why does the same freezer cost so much more in some states? Because a freezer runs continuously regardless of location, the entire cost difference between states comes from the local electricity rate — a 3.8x gap between North Dakota (12.35¢/kWh) and Hawaii (46.62¢/kWh) at the median certified freezer.

Is the state effect bigger for a freezer than for other appliances? It's about the same ratio as for refrigerators — both are always-on appliances, so both show the full rate ratio with no behavioral variable diluting it. Cyclical appliances like dryers show a similar-looking gap for a different, partly behavioral reason.

How much does a freezer cost to run in the cheapest vs. most expensive state? About $51.62 a year in North Dakota versus $194.87 a year in Hawaii, for the median certified model at each state's average residential rate.

Does freezer size or type matter as much as location? Model choice alone spans 137 to 649 kWh a year — nearly a 5x range — so an efficient model in an expensive state can still beat an inefficient model in a cheap one. See the chest vs. upright freezer breakdown for specifics.