How Much Hanging Christmas Lights Cost in Kentucky for 2025

If your house is adorned with Christmas lights this holiday season, do you know how much it's going to add to your electric bill? It might surprise you.

We all know someone who goes all out for Christmas each year. Then, you have those who don't get too wild with things; they simply put up some lights outside, put up the tree, the garland, the poinsettias, and they're done. Personally, I'm the latter of the two. For many, decking the halls may not be an expense we consider when making our holiday plans. Not only does it cost money to purchase the decorations, but there's also the cost to power them. There are lights on the tree, lights outside, the lit-up Santa on the front lawn, the inflatables, and the musical Christmas village. All of those things add up. Which is why I am hesitant to go all out with Christmas decor. Not because I'm a Scrooge or Grinch, but let's be honest here. The electricity bills are expensive enough, especially in December and January. It can be even more expensive if you go all out for Christmas as if you're Clark Griswold.

So the big question here is, how much does putting up Christmas lights for the holiday season add to your electric bill in Kentucky? Well, the answer to that question actually depends on a few factors.

Get our free mobile app

How Much You Decorate Your Home Makes a Big Difference

The website, Mr. Electric, analyzed data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to map out the cost of holiday lights in every U.S. state. The results of this study revealed the significant impact of celebrating holidays on your wallet. This study details how much it costs to run incandescent lights versus LED lights. The difference between the two is staggering.

Mr. Electric estimated, for this study, that the lights would run seven hours a day, from 6 pm to 12 am. They also added that the lights would be up a total of 34 days from the day after Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve. The study also breaks down the Christmas light decorations into three categories because some folks put up more than others.

-The typical holiday light user will use one to three wreaths, a garland, and about 10 strings of light for wrapping their outdoor trees.

-The heavy holiday light user is one that lines the roof, walkway, and driveway with Christmas lights, adds a wreath to the front door, and wraps one to two trees as well.

-The enthusiastic holiday light user lines their roof, yard, and driveway as well as wrapping all of their trees, adding lights to nearly every inch of their house.

How Much Does it Cost Hoosiers to Put Up Christmas Lights?

According to Mr. Electric, Kentucky is actually one of the cheapest states in the country to run Christmas lights. Kentuckians who fall under the "typical usage" category will shell out an extra $18.73 on their electric bill for using incandescent lights. However, if they use LED lights, that cost would be only $2.77. If you are one of those who puts a little more effort into your light display and fall under the "heavy usage" category, it'll cost you an extra $200.49 for incandescent lights, $26.60 for LED lights. Finally, if you consider yourself the Clark Griswold of the neighborhood, you'll be shelling out an extra $540.58 if you're using incandescent lights, and $69.80 for LEDs.

So, a couple of big takeaways from this are: First, and most obvious, the more you have, the more you'll spend. Secondly, your cheapest route is to make sure that your light displays are LED. That will cost you much less than using incandescent bulbs. Keep those things in mind this holiday season. Which category best describes your house?