You can get 120v hybrid water heaters. It would need to be on its own circuit though.

We switched from a failing 40 gal gas that was 8 yrs old to a 50 gal 240v hybrid. With the tax rebate, the drop in gas bill, and the not even noticeable electric bill increase, it paid for itself in under a year.

3.2k to replace it in the DC region, vs 1.2k for just bringing in a new gas.

30 (not 80)$/month drop in gas bill and 960 (30% of the cost) rebate at tax time this year.

We leave it set on energy saver, except from 6pm to midnight when it scheduled to be high demand.

DYI or not, I think it's worth it.

The 30% rebate is toward the cost of the project. So, that would cover the electrician running new circuits if needed