How Much Does It Cost to Heat a House?
Get a realistic monthly heating cost estimate for your home based on size, fuel type, and local rates.
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EIA forecast that US households would spend $642 on heating with natural gas and $1,390 with heating oil across November 2025 to March 2026 — about $128–$278 a month, depending on fuel. For a specific house, the heat-loss model on this page gives about $169 a month for an average-insulated 2,000 sq ft home on gas, $208 on a heat pump, $376 on propane and $584 on electric resistance heat.
House Heating Cost Estimator
Cost to Heat a House by Size and Fuel Type
| Home Size | Natural Gas | Electric | Heat Pump | Propane |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small (~1,000 sq ft) | ~$101/mo | ~$350/mo | ~$125/mo | ~$226/mo |
| Medium (~2,000 sq ft) | ~$169/mo | ~$584/mo | ~$208/mo | ~$376/mo |
| Large (~3,000 sq ft) | ~$254/mo | ~$875/mo | ~$313/mo | ~$564/mo |
One winter month averaging 35°F outdoors, average-insulated homes, whole-house heat loss of 300, 500 and 750 BTU/hr per °F respectively. Gas furnace 92% AFUE at $1.44/therm (EIA winter average, Nov 2025–Mar 2026); electric resistance 100% and heat pump seasonal COP 2.8 at 18.44¢/kWh (EIA Electric Power Monthly, May 2026); propane furnace 80% AFUE at $2.55/gal (EIA heating-season average, Oct 2025–Mar 2026). Insulation, air tightness and thermostat setting move these figures more than fuel price does.
What Drives Your Heating Bill?
Your bill is the product of two things: how much heat the house loses, and what you pay per unit of heat to replace it. An average-insulated 2,000 sq ft home in a winter month averaging 35°F outdoors needs roughly 10.8 million BTU of delivered heat. Buying that heat costs about $169 with a gas furnace at $1.44/therm, $208 with a heat pump, $376 with propane, and $584 with electric resistance heat.
The building envelope moves the first number, and it is the half you can permanently change. ENERGY STAR puts air sealing together with attic, floor and crawlspace insulation at an average saving of 15% of heating and cooling costs — around 11% of a household’s total energy. Air leakage alone is 25–40% of heating energy loss in homes built before 2000, which is why a caulk gun and a weekend often beat another layer of attic insulation.
The thermostat moves it too. The Department of Energy’s guidance is a 7–10°F setback held 8 hours a day, which it puts at about 10% a year off heating and cooling — one annual figure, not a per-degree-per-hour rule. For scale, EIA forecast household heating spending across November 2025 to March 2026 at $642 on natural gas and $1,390 on heating oil, which is roughly $128–$278 a month; those are October 2025 forecasts rather than measured outturn. For state-specific rates and bills, visit our heating cost by state page or use the state comparison tool.