Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in California
In California, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $967.83 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $3,662.08 with electric resistance heat and $1,181.31 with a heat pump. California's $2.12/therm gas against 29.8¢/kWh electricity keeps the gas furnace ahead of a heat pump by $213.49 a year.
State data
What California pays
- Electricity
- 29.8¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $2.12/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 2,500 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 3 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 3.1
California's electricity rate, 29.8¢/kWh, is 64% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, and the 4th-highest of the 51 on this site. California's gas price of $2.12/therm is the 4th-highest of the 51 on this site. Heating need in California is low by US standards: 2,500 degree-days against 4,500, climate zone 3.
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 California heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 64% · electricity 20% · propane 2% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 62% · central heat pump 3% · boiler 1%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 36%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,656 a year, of which $270 on space heating (14%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 38% of natural gas use · 4% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
California heats with gas, and it heats very little. In the 2020 survey, 64% of homes (about 8,400,000) named natural gas as their main heating fuel and 20% named electricity, against 51% and 34% for the country. Propane heats 2% of homes, the lowest share among the 35 states that report it, and fuel oil is too rare here for the survey to report at all.
The equipment is just as one-sided. 62% of homes run a furnace, close to the US figure of 60%, while a central heat pump is in only 3% of them (about 400,000), against 13% nationally: the 3rd-lowest share of the 33 states that report it. Boilers, at 1%, barely register.
The spending is where California stands apart. A household pays $270 a year for space heating, the 5th-lowest figure in the country and only 14% of a $1,656 energy bill, against $519 and 26% for the US. Water heating, at $292, costs the average home more than space heating does, and air conditioning, at $290, comes close to it. Heating takes just 4% of the electricity homes here buy, against 12% nationally, and 38% 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 California. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 29.8¢/kWh · California · EIA, August 2026 · gas $2.12/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 2,500 heating degree-days · climate zone 3 (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: $3,662.08 a year · Gas furnace: $967.83 a year, for 42.0 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 42.0 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $87.19
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $23.04
- Electric resistance, per year
- $3,662.08
- Gas furnace, per year
- $967.83
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$2,694.25
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 3.1
- Prices used
- electricity 29.8¢/kWh · gas $2.12/therm · propane $3.50/gal · oil $4.20/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $1,181.31
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 California
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in California needs about 42.0 MMBtu of heat a year (2,500 heating degree-days). At $2.12/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $23.04 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 29.8¢/kWh costs $87.19, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 3.1 (zone 3) costs $28.13. The year comes to $967.83 on gas, $3,662.08 on resistance heat and $1,181.31 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 3.1, the heat pump's heat still costs more than $2.12/therm gas in California.
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 California
In California the electricity price, not the winter, settles the gas-versus-heat-pump question. Gas is dear here too, at $2.12/therm, 43% above the US average of $1.48/therm, but a heat pump only matches the furnace's running cost at an electricity rate of 24.4¢/kWh, against a state average of 29.8¢/kWh. The tie rate and the average rate are far apart, so for a house on the average tariff the estimate favors gas with room to spare.
The mild climate cuts both ways. With 2,500 degree-days and climate zone 3, the calculator uses a seasonal COP of 3.1, a better figure than colder zones get, so each kilowatt-hour goes further. But a small heating load also keeps every dollar figure small: the yearly difference of $213.49 is measured on a house that needs only 42.0 MMBtu of heat in a year.
Where a heat pump clearly earns its place is in the 20% of homes that already heat with electricity and have no heat pump. Resistance heat costs 3.8 times as much as gas per unit of heat at these prices, $3,662.08 a year for the example house, so the comparison that matters there is resistance against heat pump, not gas against heat pump.
The survey's $270 sits below the calculator's figures because it averages every home in the state, apartments and homes that barely run their heat included, while the calculator prices one 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation. If your tariff has a lower winter or off-peak rate, type that rate into the calculator above rather than the average. To trim the gas bill you already have, the thermostat setback page prices a lower night setting, and the heat pump water heater page covers the end use that costs California homes more than space heating.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in California, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in California: $3,662.08 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $2,694.25 more than gas. Between gas ($967.83) and a heat pump ($1,181.31), gas comes out $213.49 a year ahead; a heat pump would match it at about 24.4¢/kWh. These are estimates at 29.8¢/kWh and $2.12/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in California?
About 457 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at California's 2,500 heating degree-days. That averages 38 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $2.12/therm, the year costs an estimated $967.83.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in California?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 29.8¢/kWh, that heat costs $87.19 per MMBtu in California, against $23.04 from a 92% gas furnace at $2.12/therm, 3.8 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $3,662.08 a year against $967.83.
Should I replace my gas furnace with a heat pump in California?
On running cost alone, not at the average rate. The heat pump ties with a 92% furnace only at 24.4¢/kWh, and the state average is 29.8¢/kWh. If your tariff gives you a lower rate for heating months or overnight, put that number in the calculator above. A heat pump also replaces an air conditioner, which matters in a state where cooling costs a household $290 a year; that is a separate calculation.
Why do homes in California spend so little on heating?
The survey puts space heating at $270 a year, or about $23 a month, the 5th-lowest among the 51 states. The state's 2,500 heating degree-days are 44% fewer than the US average of 4,500, so homes need less heat, and the figure averages every kind of home and fuel. A house heated with electric resistance will pay far more: the example house comes to $3,662.08 a year at 29.8¢/kWh.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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