Heat pump running cost by state
Against a 95% AFUE gas furnace, using a cold climate heat pump at HSPF2 11.0 with 10% backup heat, a heat pump costs less to run in 4 states, more in 33, and about the same in 8.
| State | Electricity $/kWh | Gas $/therm | Ratio | Heat pump vs gas furnace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 0.125 | 1.89 | 1.94 | Cheaper to run |
| Hawaii | 0.415 | 5.17 | 2.35 | Cheaper to run |
| North Carolina | 0.139 | 1.71 | 2.38 | Cheaper to run |
| Washington | 0.138 | 1.61 | 2.50 | Cheaper to run |
| Missouri | 0.120 | 1.39 | 2.51 | Too close to call |
| Texas | 0.157 | 1.75 | 2.62 | Too close to call |
| Arizona | 0.157 | 1.70 | 2.71 | Too close to call |
| Georgia | 0.141 | 1.50 | 2.74 | Too close to call |
| South Carolina | 0.155 | 1.62 | 2.79 | Too close to call |
| Oregon | 0.147 | 1.52 | 2.83 | Too close to call |
| Virginia | 0.157 | 1.56 | 2.95 | Too close to call |
| Alabama | 0.161 | 1.59 | 2.96 | Too close to call |
| Delaware | 0.166 | 1.59 | 3.07 | More expensive to run |
| Kentucky | 0.136 | 1.28 | 3.13 | More expensive to run |
| Mississippi | 0.144 | 1.33 | 3.16 | More expensive to run |
| Tennessee | 0.129 | 1.15 | 3.31 | More expensive to run |
| Kansas | 0.146 | 1.27 | 3.36 | More expensive to run |
| Nebraska | 0.117 | 1.01 | 3.40 | More expensive to run |
| Oklahoma | 0.126 | 1.04 | 3.54 | More expensive to run |
| West Virginia | 0.146 | 1.19 | 3.59 | More expensive to run |
| Massachusetts | 0.308 | 2.49 | 3.63 | More expensive to run |
| Utah | 0.131 | 1.05 | 3.64 | More expensive to run |
| Iowa | 0.127 | 1.01 | 3.70 | More expensive to run |
| Wyoming | 0.129 | 1.00 | 3.78 | More expensive to run |
| North Dakota | 0.112 | 0.84 | 3.90 | More expensive to run |
| South Dakota | 0.131 | 0.95 | 4.05 | More expensive to run |
| New Hampshire | 0.264 | 1.84 | 4.21 | More expensive to run |
| California | 0.327 | 2.22 | 4.31 | More expensive to run |
| Pennsylvania | 0.202 | 1.37 | 4.32 | More expensive to run |
| Vermont | 0.233 | 1.56 | 4.36 | More expensive to run |
| Nevada | 0.137 | 0.92 | 4.38 | More expensive to run |
| Rhode Island | 0.302 | 2.02 | 4.39 | More expensive to run |
| Wisconsin | 0.183 | 1.19 | 4.51 | More expensive to run |
| Montana | 0.130 | 0.84 | 4.54 | More expensive to run |
| Ohio | 0.175 | 1.13 | 4.54 | More expensive to run |
| District of Columbia | 0.239 | 1.52 | 4.59 | More expensive to run |
| Indiana | 0.161 | 1.01 | 4.65 | More expensive to run |
| Colorado | 0.165 | 1.03 | 4.69 | More expensive to run |
| New Jersey | 0.231 | 1.37 | 4.95 | More expensive to run |
| Connecticut | 0.281 | 1.66 | 4.97 | More expensive to run |
| Illinois | 0.171 | 0.98 | 5.10 | More expensive to run |
| Idaho | 0.122 | 0.67 | 5.37 | More expensive to run |
| New York | 0.286 | 1.56 | 5.37 | More expensive to run |
| Michigan | 0.197 | 1.01 | 5.72 | More expensive to run |
| Alaska | 0.256 | 1.25 | 6.01 | More expensive to run |
Heating season mean for 2025-12, 2026-01, 2026-02, from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Six states carry no gas price because EIA has not published a complete December to February residential gas season for them, so they are listed separately below with the fuels that are priced rather than left out of the site.
Six states with no gas comparison, and why they are still here
EIA has not published a complete December to February residential natural gas price for these six. An earlier version of this site dropped them from the dataset entirely, which was the right rule for a gas comparison and the wrong one for every other comparison on the site. Maine is the clearest case: it heats overwhelmingly with oil, EIA publishes the oil price, and there was no reason its page could not exist.
Everything on these pages is real. Only the gas column is missing, and it is marked as missing rather than estimated.
| State | Electricity $/kWh | Against heating oil | Against propane |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 0.126 | Cheaper to run | Cheaper to run |
| New Mexico | 0.148 | Cheaper to run | Cheaper to run |
| Minnesota | 0.151 | Cheaper to run | Cheaper to run |
| Florida | 0.156 | Cheaper to run | Cheaper to run |
| Maryland | 0.201 | Cheaper to run | Cheaper to run |
| Maine | 0.311 | Too close to call | Cheaper to run |
Reading this table
The ratio column is the price of a kWh of electricity divided by the price of a kWh worth of natural gas. Gas is cheaper per unit of energy everywhere, so the ratio is always above 1. What matters is whether it sits above or below the breakeven set by your equipment, because a heat pump moves roughly three units of heat for every unit of electricity it consumes.
Against propane, heating oil or electric resistance heat the picture changes completely and the heat pump wins in almost every state. Each state page carries all four fuels.