Natural Gas vs Electric Heating Cost by State
Enter your heated square footage and insulation and see a year of heat three ways: gas furnace, electric resistance (baseboard or electric furnace) and heat pump, at your state's prices.
Gas vs electric heat
B04Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for US average. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 18.3¢/kWh · US average · EIA, July 2026 · gas $1.48/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 4,500 heating degree-days · climate zone 4 (data as of 2026-09-28) ·
On the furnace label: 0.80 older, 0.90–0.98 condensing.
Gas furnace costs less per year by
Electric resistance: $4,056.96 a year · Gas furnace: $1,216.17 a year, for 75.6 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 75.6 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $53.66
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $16.09
- Electric resistance, per year
- $4,056.96
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,216.17
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$2,840.79
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.8
- Prices used
- electricity 18.3¢/kWh · gas $1.48/therm · propane $2.60/gal · oil $3.70/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $1,448.92
Cost by month, in season only
The yearly cost spread across the months using a typical heating degree-day pattern from NOAA 1991–2020 normals. Months outside the season show $0.
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
2026 note: The federal 25C and 25D tax credits ended for installations after Dec 31, 2025. Our numbers use 2026 rules. State rebates, HEAR/HOMES programs and utility programs may still apply.
Formula
How it works
- Annual heating load (MMBtu) = square feet × insulation factor × heating degree-days × 24 ÷ 1,000,000
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu = price per therm ÷ 0.1 ÷ AFUE
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu = price per kWh × 293.07
- Heat pump, $ per MMBtu = price per kWh × 293.07 ÷ seasonal COP of your climate zone
- Cost per year = annual load × $ per MMBtu; difference = gas cost − resistance cost
"Electric heat" means two very different things. Resistance heat (baseboards, wall heaters, an electric furnace) buys 3,412 BTU per kWh. A heat pump moves 2 to 3.6 times that much heat per kWh, depending on your climate zone. Against gas, resistance heat almost always loses; a heat pump can win or lose depending on your state.
Sources: EIA Electric Power Monthly table 5.6.A (electricity); EIA Natural Gas Prices, residential by state ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37 = $/therm); NOAA CPC heating degree-day normals 1991–2020; ACCA Manual J (simplified envelope factors); NEEP cold-climate heat pump data.
Worked example
A worked example
A well-insulated 1,800 sq ft house in Georgia needs about 30.2 MMBtu of heat a year. At $1.97/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers it at $21.41 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 16.3¢/kWh costs $47.68. The year comes to $647.53 on gas and $1,441.98 on resistance heat: gas is cheaper by an estimated $794.45. A heat pump at seasonal COP 3.1 would cost about $465.16 (B01 example), less than either.
Reference
By state, at the default inputs
Each state name opens that state's page, with its prices, a worked example and the neighbouring states.
Gas furnace costs less per year by, with this page's default inputs and each state's prices (EIA, July 2026, data as of 2026-09-28).
| US average | $2,840.79 | 18.3¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $1,297.13 | 16.4¢/kWh |
| Alaska | $11,912.70 | 28.8¢/kWh |
| Arizona | $602.57 | 15.4¢/kWh |
| Arkansas | $1,170.97 | 14.3¢/kWh |
| California | $3,169.40 | 33.6¢/kWh |
| Colorado | $3,838.97 | 17.0¢/kWh |
| Connecticut | $5,183.83 | 24.2¢/kWh |
| Delaware | $2,892.02 | 18.5¢/kWh |
| District of Columbia | $3,978.62 | 25.2¢/kWh |
| Florida | $203.58 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| Georgia | $1,235.82 | 16.3¢/kWh |
| Hawaii | $0.00 | 48.0¢/kWh |
| Idaho | $3,137.26 | 13.7¢/kWh |
| Illinois | $4,644.65 | 19.2¢/kWh |
| Indiana | $3,415.81 | 16.7¢/kWh |
| Iowa | $4,027.07 | 16.0¢/kWh |
| Kansas | $2,355.52 | 15.3¢/kWh |
| Kentucky | $1,891.13 | 13.8¢/kWh |
| Louisiana | $575.14 | 12.7¢/kWh |
| Maine | $9,336.06 | 32.4¢/kWh |
| Maryland | $3,538.85 | 21.4¢/kWh |
| Massachusetts | $6,144.25 | 30.5¢/kWh |
| Michigan | $6,225.10 | 23.1¢/kWh |
| Minnesota | $5,325.10 | 17.4¢/kWh |
| Mississippi | $974.62 | 14.5¢/kWh |
| Missouri | $2,593.48 | 16.1¢/kWh |
| Montana | $4,401.98 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| Nebraska | $2,961.31 | 13.8¢/kWh |
| Nevada | $1,190.57 | 12.8¢/kWh |
| New Hampshire | $7,174.88 | 26.6¢/kWh |
| New Jersey | $4,950.65 | 25.2¢/kWh |
| New Mexico | $2,475.04 | 16.1¢/kWh |
| New York | $6,389.80 | 29.9¢/kWh |
| North Carolina | $1,556.95 | 15.2¢/kWh |
| North Dakota | $4,430.53 | 13.4¢/kWh |
| Ohio | $4,064.00 | 19.4¢/kWh |
| Oklahoma | $1,610.15 | 14.3¢/kWh |
| Oregon | $2,264.72 | 16.0¢/kWh |
| Pennsylvania | $4,506.13 | 21.7¢/kWh |
| Rhode Island | $5,764.36 | 28.3¢/kWh |
| South Carolina | $1,206.55 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| South Dakota | $4,316.49 | 15.4¢/kWh |
| Tennessee | $1,680.76 | 13.7¢/kWh |
| Texas | $880.84 | 15.9¢/kWh |
| Utah | $2,662.16 | 13.1¢/kWh |
| Vermont | $6,472.64 | 23.8¢/kWh |
| Virginia | $2,273.20 | 17.5¢/kWh |
| Washington | $1,986.51 | 14.7¢/kWh |
| West Virginia | $2,563.71 | 15.8¢/kWh |
| Wisconsin | $5,539.37 | 19.1¢/kWh |
| Wyoming | $3,705.25 | 14.4¢/kWh |
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in your state, gas or electric heat?
In the US, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,216.17 a year on a 92% gas furnace, $4,056.96 on electric resistance heat and $1,448.92 on a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.8.
How much gas does a furnace use per month?
Annual load ÷ 0.1 ÷ AFUE gives therms per year. A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation at the US-average winter needs about 822 therms a year in a 92% furnace. In a typical northern heating pattern, January takes 20% of the year, about 164 therms.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost?
An electric furnace is resistance heat. In New York at 29.9¢/kWh and $1.70/therm, the 2,000 sq ft house costs an estimated $8,097.19 a year with an electric furnace and $1,707.39 with gas. Even in Washington, where electricity is 14.7¢/kWh, resistance costs $3,476.60 against $1,490.09 for gas.
Why is the heat pump line so different from "electric"?
Because of COP. Resistance heat has a COP of 1. A heat pump in zone 4 averages 2.8 over the winter, so the same electricity delivers 2.8 times the heat.
Where do these prices come from?
Electricity from EIA table 5.6.A and natural gas from EIA's residential price by state, converted from $/Mcf to $/therm (÷ 10.37). The price line under the result shows which values were used; type your own from your bill.
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