Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Michigan
In Michigan, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,265.48 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $7,471.08 with electric resistance heat and $2,988.43 with a heat pump. In Michigan, the gas furnace beats the heat pump on running cost by an estimated $1,722.95 a year.
State data
What Michigan pays
- Electricity
- 23.0¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.05/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 6,600 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
Electricity in Michigan costs 23.0¢/kWh, 27% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh; every electric option on this page pays that price per kWh. At $1.05/therm, Michigan is in the lowest gas band on this site ($1.10/therm or less): $11.41 per MMBtu of furnace heat. In climate zone 5, with 6,600 heating degree-days, the heat pump line for Michigan uses a seasonal COP of 2.5, lower than in warmer zones.
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 Michigan heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 77% · electricity 10% · propane 9% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 83% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 9%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 44%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,192 a year, of which $717 on space heating (32%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 80% of natural gas use · 9% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Few states lean on natural gas as hard as Michigan. In the 2020 survey, 77% of homes (about 3,000,000) named gas as their main heating fuel, against 51% for the country, the 3rd-highest share among the 50 states that report it. Electricity heats only 10% of homes, against 34% nationally, the 4th-lowest share in the country. Propane, at 9% (about 350,000), comes close to electricity's share, against 4% for the US.
The equipment is almost all furnaces: 83% of homes run one, against 60% nationally, the 3rd-highest share of any state, and 9% run a boiler. Central heat pumps are too rare in the sample for the survey to report a share at all.
Heating dominates the energy bill. A household spends $2,192 a year on home energy, the 9th-highest of any state, and $717 of it on space heating, 32% of the bill, against $519 and 26% nationally. Heating takes 80% of the natural gas homes here burn, against 68% for the US, but only 9% of their electricity, because so few heat with it. Water heating, at $225, is a smaller slice than nationally: 10% against 15%.
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 Michigan. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 23.0¢/kWh · Michigan · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.05/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 6,600 heating degree-days · climate zone 5 (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: $7,471.08 a year · Gas furnace: $1,265.48 a year, for 110.9 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 110.9 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $67.38
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $11.41
- Electric resistance, per year
- $7,471.08
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,265.48
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$6,205.60
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 23.0¢/kWh · gas $1.05/therm · propane $2.20/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,988.43
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 Michigan
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Michigan needs about 110.9 MMBtu of heat a year (6,600 heating degree-days). At $1.05/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $11.41 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 23.0¢/kWh costs $67.38, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $26.95. The year comes to $1,265.48 on gas, $7,471.08 on resistance heat and $2,988.43 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 2.5, the heat pump's heat still costs more than $1.05/therm gas in Michigan.
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 Michigan
On running cost, Michigan is about as clear a case for gas as the calculator produces. Gas costs $1.05/therm, 29% below the US average of $1.48/therm and the 9th-lowest price in the country, while electricity costs 23.0¢/kWh, 27% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Cheap gas against dear power is the combination that favors a furnace, and the winter enlarges it: with 6,600 degree-days, 47% more than the US average of 4,500, the example house needs 110.9 MMBtu of heat a year, and the climate-zone 5 seasonal COP of 2.5 is lower than a milder state would get.
The tie rate shows how wide the margin is. A heat pump would match a 92% furnace only at an electricity rate of 9.7¢/kWh, against a state average of 23.0¢/kWh. The two rates are far apart, so for a home on gas the estimate favors gas on operating cost, and any case for a heat pump rests on other grounds, such as replacing an air conditioner at the same time.
The homes this page matters most for are the ones not on gas. Resistance heat costs 5.9 times as much as gas per unit of heat at these prices, $7,471.08 a year for the example house, so for an electric-resistance home the comparison that counts is resistance against heat pump, not gas against heat pump. The propane homes, about 350,000 of them, are outside this calculator: the propane vs electric page compares propane with resistance and a heat pump using your price per gallon.
The survey's $717 a year averages every home, apartments and small houses included, so it sits below the calculator's figure for one 2,000 sq ft house. Type the gas price and rate from your own bills into the calculator above. With a long heating season and a furnace in most homes, the furnace size and thermostat setback pages are the next places a gas bill can be trimmed.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Michigan, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Michigan: $7,471.08 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $6,205.60 more than gas. Between gas ($1,265.48) and a heat pump ($2,988.43), gas comes out $1,722.95 a year ahead; a heat pump would match it at about 9.7¢/kWh. These are estimates at 23.0¢/kWh and $1.05/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Michigan?
About 1,205 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Michigan's 6,600 heating degree-days. That averages 100 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.05/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,265.48.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Michigan?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 23.0¢/kWh, that heat costs $67.38 per MMBtu in Michigan, against $11.41 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.05/therm, 5.9 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $7,471.08 a year against $1,265.48.
Would a heat pump lower my heating bill in Michigan if I have a gas furnace?
Not on the estimate at average prices. The heat pump ties with a 92% furnace only at an electricity rate of 9.7¢/kWh, and the state average is 23.0¢/kWh; gas here costs $1.05/therm. A heat pump does cool as well as heat, so if you are replacing a furnace and an air conditioner together, price both. For the running cost alone, type your own rates into the calculator above.
Why is heating such a big part of energy bills in Michigan?
The survey puts space heating at $717 a year, 32% of household energy spending and the 12th-highest figure among the 51 states. The heating season is long: 6,600 degree-days, the 12th-highest count among the states. Gas at $1.05/therm, 29% below the US average of $1.48/therm, holds the bill down; the same heat from electric resistance would cost the example house $7,471.08 a year.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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