Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Arizona
In Arizona, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $457.62 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $1,037.44 with electric resistance heat and $305.13 with a heat pump. Here the heat pump line comes in lowest: $12.97 per MMBtu of heat against $19.46 for gas.
State data
What Arizona pays
- Electricity
- 15.0¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.79/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 1,400 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 2 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 3.4
At 15.0¢/kWh, Arizona has the 36th-highest electricity rate among the 50 states and DC. Residential gas in Arizona is $1.79/therm, 21% above the US average of $1.48/therm. With 1,400 heating degree-days (NOAA), the 2,000 sq ft example in Arizona needs 23.5 MMBtu of heat a year, less than at the US average of 4,500.
Prices are statewide averages. Type the rate and gas price from your own bill into the calculator above to replace them.
How homes here heat
How homes in Arizona heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 36% · electricity 51% · propane 2% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 55% · central heat pump 25% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 31%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,994 a year, of which $230 on space heating (10%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 43% of natural gas use · 6% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
In Arizona heating is a minor cost and cooling is the major one. The survey puts space heating at $230 a year per household, the 3rd-lowest figure among the 51 states, and only 10% of a $1,994 energy bill, against $519 and 26% for the US. Air conditioning takes $658, or 31% of the bill, against 14% nationally, and water heating, at $278, also costs more than space heating.
Electricity leads the fuel mix. In the 2020 survey, 51% of homes (about 1,370,000) named it as their main heating fuel, against 34% for the country, the 9th-highest share of any state. Natural gas heats 36%, against 51% nationally, and propane 2%; fuel oil is too rare for the survey to report.
On equipment, 55% of homes run a furnace and 25% (about 670,000) a central heat pump, against 13% for the US, the 9th-highest share among the 33 states that report it. Fewer homes than nationally use a secondary heater: 31%, against 42%. Heating accounts for only 6% of the electricity homes here use, against 12% nationally, and 43% of their gas, against 68%.
EIA RECS 2020, state tables: shares of all occupied homes in the state and average spending per household in the survey year. "Not reported" means EIA's sample was too small to publish a figure.
Gas vs electric heat
B04Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for Arizona. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 15.0¢/kWh · Arizona · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.79/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 1,400 heating degree-days · climate zone 2 (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
On the furnace label: 0.80 older, 0.90–0.98 condensing.
Gas furnace costs less per year by
Electric resistance: $1,037.44 a year · Gas furnace: $457.62 a year, for 23.5 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 23.5 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $44.11
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $19.46
- Electric resistance, per year
- $1,037.44
- Gas furnace, per year
- $457.62
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$579.83
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 3.4
- Prices used
- electricity 15.0¢/kWh · gas $1.79/therm · propane $3.00/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $305.13
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.
Worked example
Worked example: 2,000 sq ft in Arizona
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Arizona needs about 23.5 MMBtu of heat a year (1,400 heating degree-days). At $1.79/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $19.46 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 15.0¢/kWh costs $44.11, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 3.4 (zone 2) costs $12.97. The year comes to $457.62 on gas, $1,037.44 on resistance heat and $305.13 on a heat pump. The heat pump is the cheapest to run here, by $152.49 a year over gas.
Load = sq ft × 0.35 × heating degree-days × 24 ÷ 1,000,000. Gas $/MMBtu = $/therm ÷ 0.1 ÷ 0.92. Resistance $/MMBtu = $/kWh × 293.07. Heat pump = resistance ÷ COP.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Arizona
Prices and climate both lean toward a heat pump in Arizona. Electricity costs 15.0¢/kWh, 17% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and gas costs $1.79/therm, 21% above the US average of $1.48/therm and the 10th-highest price in the country. The climate adds to it: with 1,400 heating degree-days, the 49th-highest count among the states, Arizona sits in climate zone 2, where the calculator uses a seasonal COP of 3.4, a higher figure than colder zones get. A heat pump would tie with a 92% furnace only at an electricity rate of 22.6¢/kWh, against a state average of 15.0¢/kWh.
What the climate also does is keep the stakes low. The example house needs just 23.5 MMBtu of heat in a year, so the gap of $152.49 between the furnace and the heat pump is small in dollars, and even resistance heat, at 2.3 times the cost of gas per unit of heat, comes to $1,037.44 a year.
The stronger argument is the one this calculator leaves out: a heat pump is also the air conditioner. In a state where cooling costs a household $658 a year, the choice between a heat pump and a furnace plus a separate AC is mostly a cooling decision, and the heating saving comes along with it. A heat pump sized for the cooling load covers both jobs. The heat pump vs furnace page compares the two systems over their life, and heat pump size checks the capacity.
The survey's $230 averages every home, apartments included, so it sits below the calculator's figure for one 2,000 sq ft house. Type the rate from your own bill into the calculator above; if your utility bills by time of day, use the rate that applies on winter mornings and evenings, when the heat runs.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Arizona, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Arizona: $1,037.44 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $579.83 more than gas. Between gas ($457.62) and a heat pump ($305.13), the heat pump is cheaper here: its heat costs $12.97 per MMBtu, gas $19.46. These are estimates at 15.0¢/kWh and $1.79/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Arizona?
About 256 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Arizona's 1,400 heating degree-days. That averages 21 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.79/therm, the year costs an estimated $457.62.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Arizona?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 15.0¢/kWh, that heat costs $44.11 per MMBtu in Arizona, against $19.46 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.79/therm, 2.3 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $1,037.44 a year against $457.62.
Is it worth replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump in Arizona?
For heat alone, the saving is small: the estimate puts a heat pump ahead by $152.49 a year for the example house, and the heat pump stays ahead up to an electricity rate of 22.6¢/kWh. The bigger factor is cooling. A heat pump replaces the air conditioner as well, so the comparison is worth running when the AC needs replacing, not only when the furnace does.
Do homes in Arizona spend more on heating or cooling?
Cooling, by a wide margin. The survey puts air conditioning at $658 a year per household, 31% of the energy bill, against $230 for space heating, 10%. Nationally, heating is the larger cost: $519 against $299 for cooling. The electric bill estimator shows how cooling shapes a monthly bill.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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