Dishwashers and Washing Machines by State: Who Has Them and How Often They Run
The short answer
72.7 percent of US homes, 89.8 million, have a dishwasher and 84.2 percent, 104.0 million, have a clothes washer, according to EIA’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Dishwasher ownership runs from 88.8 percent in Utah to 39.6 percent in Hawaii. In homes built 2016 to 2020, 94.5 percent have one, against 54.6 percent of homes built before 1950.
What the table shows
Dishwashers and clothes washers are the two water-using appliances a plumber hooks up to supply and drain. The Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey records whether each home has them, how old they are, how often they run and, for washers, whether they load from the top or the front. EIA publishes clothes washer ownership by state; dishwasher ownership and washer type by state are estimated here from the microdata.
| State | Clothes washer (EIA) | Dishwasher | RSE | Front-loading share of washers | RSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 92% | 69.8% | 4% | 17.9% | 16% |
| Alaska | 84% | 75.6% | 3% | 40.0% | 7% |
| Arizona | 91% | 81.6% | 2% | 30.8% | 7% |
| Arkansas | 92% | 68.4% | 5% | 20.9% | 12% |
| California | 77% | 71.8% | 2% | 35.5% | 4% |
| Colorado | 86% | 81.8% | 2% | 33.3% | 10% |
| Connecticut | 77% | 67.9% | 4% | 31.1% | 10% |
| Delaware | 90% | 83.9% | 4% | 28.8% | 13% |
| District of Columbia | 58% | 70.3% | 5% | 52.5% | 8% |
| Florida | 88% | 79.2% | 2% | 25.8% | 7% |
| Georgia | 91% | 79.8% | 2% | 23.4% | 9% |
| Hawaii | 83% | 39.6% | 6% | 32.6% | 9% |
| Idaho | 93% | 82.5% | 3% | 30.3% | 12% |
| Illinois | 79% | 65.9% | 4% | 28.9% | 8% |
| Indiana | 91% | 68.1% | 4% | 24.1% | 10% |
| Iowa | 91% | 68.2% | 5% | 26.6% | 10% |
| Kansas | 87% | 72.2% | 4% | 27.3% | 11% |
| Kentucky | 91% | 70.5% | 3% | 21.4% | 11% |
| Louisiana | 91% | 69.3% | 4% | 15.5% | 13% |
| Maine | 85% | 62.0% | 5% | 34.6% | 12% |
| Maryland | 86% | 81.1% | 3% | 30.0% | 9% |
| Massachusetts | 75% | 69.7% | 3% | 39.2% | 7% |
| Michigan | 87% | 69.7% | 4% | 22.6% | 8% |
| Minnesota | 85% | 76.2% | 3% | 26.0% | 10% |
| Mississippi | 89% | 73.7% | 5% | 19.1% | 19% |
| Missouri | 87% | 70.0% | 4% | 20.2% | 12% |
| Montana | 91% | 73.4% | 5% | 37.7% | 12% |
| Nebraska | 83% | 77.1% | 4% | 21.6% | 17% |
| Nevada | 88% | 83.9% | 3% | 24.2% | 12% |
| New Hampshire | 83% | 67.9% | 7% | 39.2% | 12% |
| New Jersey | 75% | 70.9% | 3% | 28.4% | 9% |
| New Mexico | 88% | 67.1% | 6% | 35.9% | 11% |
| New York | 62% | 55.9% | 3% | 38.2% | 5% |
| North Carolina | 92% | 76.5% | 3% | 23.8% | 9% |
| North Dakota | 83% | 77.8% | 3% | 28.0% | 9% |
| Ohio | 85% | 65.5% | 4% | 26.0% | 10% |
| Oklahoma | 88% | 79.0% | 4% | 25.1% | 13% |
| Oregon | 90% | 82.0% | 3% | 36.5% | 8% |
| Pennsylvania | 86% | 69.5% | 3% | 23.6% | 8% |
| Rhode Island | 77% | 67.1% | 5% | 41.7% | 9% |
| South Carolina | 91% | 76.3% | 3% | 18.9% | 12% |
| South Dakota | 87% | 77.5% | 4% | 27.3% | 15% |
| Tennessee | 91% | 74.3% | 3% | 18.5% | 10% |
| Texas | 88% | 77.1% | 2% | 26.1% | 5% |
| Utah | 92% | 88.8% | 3% | 38.1% | 10% |
| Vermont | 80% | 62.6% | 5% | 40.6% | 9% |
| Virginia | 90% | 78.8% | 3% | 27.1% | 7% |
| Washington | 85% | 82.5% | 3% | 38.2% | 5% |
| West Virginia | 89% | 64.3% | 5% | 18.5% | 17% |
| Wisconsin | 84% | 68.8% | 4% | 33.3% | 8% |
| Wyoming | 86% | 76.8% | 5% | 34.2% | 11% |
Sources: EIA RECS 2020 State Appliances highlights table (clothes washers); dishwasher and front-loader shares calculated by The Plumbing Brief from the RECS 2020 microdata with replicate weights. RSE is the relative standard error; † marks RSEs above 30 percent.
Sourced figures
- US homes with a dishwasher: 89.79 million, 72.7 percent. Clothes washer: 103.96 million, 84.2 percent. Source: EIA RECS 2020, table HC3.1.
- Top-loading washers: 74.82 million; front-loading: 29.14 million, 28.0 percent of washers. Source: EIA HC3.1.
- Wash temperature: hot 8.72 million homes, warm 53.11 million, cold 42.13 million. Source: EIA HC3.1.
- Average dishwasher loads per week, homes with one: 3.1; clothes washer loads: 4.0. Source: calculated from RECS 2020 microdata.
- Dishwashers 10 or more years old: 29.6 percent; washers: 24.8 percent. Source: calculated from RECS 2020 microdata.
- Highest clothes washer ownership: Idaho 93 percent; lowest: District of Columbia 58 percent. Source: EIA RECS 2020 state table.
- Dishwasher ownership by home type: Mobile home 48.2%, Single-family detached 79.4%, Single-family attached 77.0%, Apartment, 2 to 4 units 46.0%, Apartment, 5 or more units 66.7%. Source: calculated from RECS 2020 microdata.
What we calculated
New homes come with a dishwasher
Formula. Dishwasher share by year built.
Calculation. 54.6 percent before 1950 rising steadily to 94.5 percent for 2016 to 2020.
Finding. Most of the remaining dishwasher gap is in older housing, where adding one means a new supply branch, a drain connection and often cabinet work. That is retrofit demand for plumbers.
Limitations. A home’s dishwasher may have been added long after construction; year built describes the house, not the appliance.
Apartments in small buildings lag
Formula. Dishwasher share by home type.
Calculation. Apartments in 2 to 4 unit buildings 46.0 percent; apartments in 5+ unit buildings 66.7; detached houses 79.4.
Finding. Small older multi-family buildings are the least equipped stock, which fits the New York and New England results.
Limitations. Home type is correlated with age and region.
If you quote one number
- 73 percent of US homes have a dishwasher; 84 percent have a clothes washer.
- Utah leads dishwasher ownership at 89 percent; Hawaii trails at 40 percent.
- Only 8.7 million households wash clothes in hot water.
Download the data
EIA’s published washer ownership and our microdata estimates with RSEs. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Attribution: The Plumbing Brief.
Dishwashers and clothes washers by state (EIA RECS 2020) (CSV)
How this report was built
Methodology
Sources. EIA RECS 2020 State Appliances highlights table, table HC3.1 and the public microdata v7, retrieved 4 October 2026.
Estimation. Microdata shares use NWEIGHT and the 60 replicate weights; national point estimates reproduce EIA’s HC3.1 figures exactly (89.79 million dishwashers, 103.96 million washers, 29.14 million front-loaders).
Retrieval date. 4 October 2026.
Data limitations
- RECS 2020 is the latest edition.
- State dishwasher estimates rest on small samples in small states; check the RSE.
- Loads per week are household estimates, not metered.
- Differences between states may not be statistically significant.
Source quality ranking
Tier 1. US Energy Information Administration, RECS 2020.
Tier 2. None used. Tier 3. None used.
Summary for reporters
About 89.8 million US homes, 72.7 percent, have a dishwasher and 104 million, 84.2 percent, have a clothes washer, according to the Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. An analysis of the survey’s microdata by The Plumbing Brief found dishwasher ownership ranging from 88.8 percent in Utah to 39.6 percent in Hawaii, and from 54.6 percent in homes built before 1950 to 94.5 percent in homes built 2016 to 2020.
Angles this supports
- Which states have the most dishwashers
- Hawaii is the dishwasher desert
- New homes almost all have dishwashers; old ones don’t
- Front loaders are still under a third of washers
Questions this answers
What percentage of US homes have a dishwasher? 72.7 percent, 89.8 million homes (EIA RECS 2020).
What percentage have a washing machine? 84.2 percent, 104 million homes.
Which state has the most dishwashers? Utah, at 88.8 percent of homes.
Which state has the fewest? Hawaii, at 39.6 percent.
Are front-loading washers common? 28.0 percent of washers are front-loading.
How often do people run the dishwasher? About 3.1 loads a week on average in homes that have one.
How to cite this report
The Plumbing Brief, “Dishwashers and Washing Machines by State: Who Has Them and How Often They Run”, https://theplumbingbrief.com/dishwashers-and-washing-machines-by-state/, accessed [date].
Last reviewed: 2026-10-04.
